Ready or not, here Texas comes. To the SEC, that is. It's happening. The "when" is still to be determined. But yes, Texas and Oklahoma will indeed be joining the SEC and the college football world still doesn't quite know what to do with that.
With Texas joining the SEC, I thought now would be an ideal time to examine the current landscape of the program. What do fans care about? Where could it be in a few years?
SEC fans, consider this your cheat sheet to be able to carry on a conversation about Texas that goes beyond "horns down."
Texas is already at an SEC level when it comes to head coaching buyouts
Whenever someone asks the question about Texas fitting in with the SEC, remember that we're almost 7 months removed from Texas firing Tom Herman and sending him home with a $15 million buyout. It was actually $24 million to fire the entire coaching staff. That was after a 7-3 season.
Yeah, you know that Steve Sarkisian guy
He's that offensive wizard who led Alabama to consecutive years with its highest-scoring units ever. The Broyles Award winner revived his career in Tuscaloosa. Some didn't want to give the former Washington/USC head coach credit for that because of the talent of Alabama's roster. Others, myself included, saw him scheme in ways we've never seen throughout Nick Saban's decade-plus of dominance.
The in-state recruiting numbers through the coaching change were woof
Imagine Texas only getting 1 of the top 20 recruits from the state. That just happened.
It actually happened for the second time in 5 years. That was, of course, also when Texas went through the change from Strong to Herman.
Here's a look at the amount of top-20 recruits from Texas who actually signed with the Longhorns:
The 12 top-20 Texas recruits was Herman's first full cycle. Go figure that Strong actually signed twice as many top-20 Texas recruits in his first class not his first full cycle than Herman and Sarkisian combined.
It probably helped that 2018 class that Texas A&M was in the midst of a coaching change. That could explain why the Aggies' 2021 class had 6 top-20 Texas recruits, which was better than 4 of the last 5 classes the Longhorns signed.
Everyone wants to know how Texas joining the SEC will impact recruiting, especially within the state. The 2022 class will be a fascinating study in that because it'll be Sarkisian's first full class, and Fisher won't be anywhere near a lame-duck coach.
Defensive consistency? What's that?
In the past 10 years, the Longhorns finished with a top-50 defense 3 times. That was in 2011, 2014 and 2017. You'll notice those 3 years were also each 3 seasons apart. Texas missed the memo on the whole "top-50 defense" thing in 2020. It finished No. 61 with first-year coordinator Chris Ash after Tom Herman fired Todd Orlando.
The future of the Longhorn Network is ironic
If you ask someone in the Big 12 about the failure of the conference in the past decade, you're likely to get an expletive-filled response about the Longhorn Network. At the time, it was a massive win for Texas. It kept the school in the Big 12, and it aligned itself with ESPN in a way that was unique for college athletics.
The problem? It didn't coincide with success in the 2 biggest revenue sports. In the 10 years of the Longhorn Network's existence, Texas had 1 top-10 finish in football it finished No. 9 in 2018, then infamously declared it was "back" and it didn't make it to a single Sweet 16 in men's basketball.
ESPN reportedly lost $48 million in its first 5 years of the network's creation. It was a 20-year contract worth $295 million. Now, as fate would have it, apparently that contract could actually expedite Texas' process to join the SEC before the media rights agreement with the conference runs out in 2025:
And what about Horns Down?
Never mind. SEC fans, you don't need a history lesson on that.
You'll be doing it for the next decade, penalty or not.
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sports/sec-fans-heres-primer-current-state-texas-football-2021/
With Texas joining the SEC, I thought now would be an ideal time to examine the current landscape of the program. What do fans care about? Where could it be in a few years?
SEC fans, consider this your cheat sheet to be able to carry on a conversation about Texas that goes beyond "horns down."
Texas is already at an SEC level when it comes to head coaching buyouts
Whenever someone asks the question about Texas fitting in with the SEC, remember that we're almost 7 months removed from Texas firing Tom Herman and sending him home with a $15 million buyout. It was actually $24 million to fire the entire coaching staff. That was after a 7-3 season.
Yeah, you know that Steve Sarkisian guy
He's that offensive wizard who led Alabama to consecutive years with its highest-scoring units ever. The Broyles Award winner revived his career in Tuscaloosa. Some didn't want to give the former Washington/USC head coach credit for that because of the talent of Alabama's roster. Others, myself included, saw him scheme in ways we've never seen throughout Nick Saban's decade-plus of dominance.
The in-state recruiting numbers through the coaching change were woof
Imagine Texas only getting 1 of the top 20 recruits from the state. That just happened.
It actually happened for the second time in 5 years. That was, of course, also when Texas went through the change from Strong to Herman.
Here's a look at the amount of top-20 recruits from Texas who actually signed with the Longhorns:
- 2012 8
- 2013 5
- 2014 4
- 2015 6
- 2016 7
- 2017 1
- 2018 12 (!)
- 2019 3
- 2020 5
- 2021 1
The 12 top-20 Texas recruits was Herman's first full cycle. Go figure that Strong actually signed twice as many top-20 Texas recruits in his first class not his first full cycle than Herman and Sarkisian combined.
It probably helped that 2018 class that Texas A&M was in the midst of a coaching change. That could explain why the Aggies' 2021 class had 6 top-20 Texas recruits, which was better than 4 of the last 5 classes the Longhorns signed.
Everyone wants to know how Texas joining the SEC will impact recruiting, especially within the state. The 2022 class will be a fascinating study in that because it'll be Sarkisian's first full class, and Fisher won't be anywhere near a lame-duck coach.
Defensive consistency? What's that?
In the past 10 years, the Longhorns finished with a top-50 defense 3 times. That was in 2011, 2014 and 2017. You'll notice those 3 years were also each 3 seasons apart. Texas missed the memo on the whole "top-50 defense" thing in 2020. It finished No. 61 with first-year coordinator Chris Ash after Tom Herman fired Todd Orlando.
The future of the Longhorn Network is ironic
If you ask someone in the Big 12 about the failure of the conference in the past decade, you're likely to get an expletive-filled response about the Longhorn Network. At the time, it was a massive win for Texas. It kept the school in the Big 12, and it aligned itself with ESPN in a way that was unique for college athletics.
The problem? It didn't coincide with success in the 2 biggest revenue sports. In the 10 years of the Longhorn Network's existence, Texas had 1 top-10 finish in football it finished No. 9 in 2018, then infamously declared it was "back" and it didn't make it to a single Sweet 16 in men's basketball.
ESPN reportedly lost $48 million in its first 5 years of the network's creation. It was a 20-year contract worth $295 million. Now, as fate would have it, apparently that contract could actually expedite Texas' process to join the SEC before the media rights agreement with the conference runs out in 2025:
And what about Horns Down?
Never mind. SEC fans, you don't need a history lesson on that.
You'll be doing it for the next decade, penalty or not.
https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sports/sec-fans-heres-primer-current-state-texas-football-2021/