AUSTIN, Texas -- Nine assistant coaches zoom around the offices with cellphones attached to their ears, chirping 100 miles per hour. All 25 seats in the war room are filled with staffers pecking away feverishly on their devices while the nearby fax machine spits out printout after printout and a 10-foot projector screen blasts the latest breaking news from all over the country.

National signing day is always chaotic, and the madness was on full display Wednesday morning in the Texas football offices. But while a swarm of Longhorns assistants and staffers are collecting national letters of intent from 18 new 2017 recruits, Texas coach Tom Herman quietly sits at the head of a large mahogany table staring intently at his iPhone.

"I just got the table run on me," Herman eventually says, causing everybody in the room to pause and look at him. "Some junior just ran the freaking table on me in this 8-ball game. The things we do to make recruits happy."

That moment perfectly encapsulates the balancing act national signing day 2017 was all about for Herman. While UT was putting the final touches on the present class, ranked 33rd in the country and second in the Big 12, the Longhorns also spent a considerable amount of effort, and game time, focusing on the future.

University of Texas head coach Tom Herman walking to his office on national signing day. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

At 6:47 a.m. CT, the fax machine crackles for the first time, and the coaches say Jordan Pouncey's letter of intent is in. Pouncey, a 6-foot-2, 183-pound three-star receiver is the first official signee of the Herman era in Austin, and the coach is eager to congratulate the newest Longhorn. "We're excited to have you help us get back to the national championship level," Herman tells Pouncey via phone. "You're officially my first signing at Texas. We're forever linked together. We're going to do big things together. I can't wait."

Herman is eager to get the news of his first signing announced as soon as possible, but he's told by his staff that Pouncey wants to wait until 12:15 p.m. to announce his commitment with a video posted to his Twitter page. Herman isn't amused by the news, but he understands, and eventually, Pouncey is the final signing of the 2017 class announced by the school -- more than six hours after he signed.

Receivers coach Drew Mehringer, left, speaks with a new signee, and offensive line coach Derek Warehime, middle, waits for a letter of intent at the fax machine. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

By 7:40 a.m., the fax machine is on an endless repeat cycle of ring, answer and print, as more and more Texas commitments become signees. Eight Longhorns position coaches come through the war room door in a two-minute window passing cellphones to each other or putting their phones in Herman's hands to let him talk to the newest member of the UT class.

Noticeably absent in the pandemonium is offensive coordinator Tim Beck. He eventually re-emerges from his office and said he was able to sneak away for what he called "a great discussion with a really, really good 2018 player."

"I'm ecstatic about Sam Ehlinger, who we've already signed and get to work with in spring practices, but it's going to be vital for us to get a great quarterback in 2018," Beck said. "I've got three or four I'm already working on, and, with the way recruiting is going, you have to go quickly on them. You also have to be ready to go on another group of guys in case those don't pan out."

The Longhorns have indeed been active with 2018 quarterbacks, offering coveted 2018 signal-callers Joey Gatewood, Justin Fields and Casey Thompson despite each having already committed elsewhere.

Corby Meekins, the Longhorns' tight end coach, talks with the rest of the staff about the commitments still waiting to arrive at the football offices. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

Much of the attention leading into Wednesday was focused on how Texas was likely going to miss out on local ESPN 300 offensive line product Stephan Zabie and ESPN 300 defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson -- and the Horns did, as Zabie signed with UCLA and Chaisson with LSU -- but by 8:06 a.m., two of Texas' biggest recruiting wins in the 2017 cycle officially came on board.

Head coach Tom Herman watches as recruit Stephan Zabie, a local player the Longhorns had heavily recruited throughout the year, decided to sign with UCLA. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

ESPN 300 defensive end Ta'Quon Graham and ESPN 300 receiver Damion Miller were players originally committed to Charlie Strong's staff, and both had to be recruited again by the new staff. Graham was so open at one point that he took an official visit to TCU and almost visited Oklahoma before reaffirming, and the Horns had to hold off a late charge from Ohio State for Miller. In the end, Herman's staff won both battles, and these two represent the fourth- and fifth-highest-ranked recruits in the class.

Receivers coach Drew Mehringer, left, and director of player personnel, Derek Chang, right, watching social media in the Longhorns' conference room leading up to impending announcements. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

"Oscar Giles did an amazing job with TQ," Herman said. "We didn't make a big deal about the visit because we didn't want to put too much pressure on him. Coach Giles worked really hard on selling him on the positives of Texas and not focusing too much on the other guys.

"The same was true with Damion. Not a lot of people know Ohio State came after him hard and wanted him to go on a visit, but he and his family believed in us and what we're going to do here. Those ended up being two very good keeps that kind of went under the radar for most people."

Recruiting coordinator Jason Washington, left, and special-teams and secondary coach Craig Naivar, right, working in their offices on national signing day. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

By 8:20 a.m. it's crystal clear Texas' signing day plan will be about the underclassmen in next year's class. Director of player personnel Derek Chang said that earlier this week the coaches identified a select group of juniors they wanted to communicate with on signing day and encouraged those recruits to call Wednesday. Now the coaches' cellphones are blowing up with the underclassmen on the other line. Special signing day edits were also created for those prospects, and running back Keontay Ingram and cornerback Brendan Radley-Hiles announce on Twitter that they've landed new offers from the Longhorns.

"These juniors see their classmates signing, so this is a way to get them excited about their futures," Chang said. "It's the official kickoff to the 2018 class."

Tom Herman chats with new signee Josh Thompson, a cornerback from Nacogdoches (Texas), after Texas receives his letter of intent. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

By 9 a.m., the final big piece in the Longhorns' 2017 class is in place. Top-ranked junior college linebacker and top-10 player overall Gary Johnson has sent in his letter of intent. Herman tells the war room a story about Johnson running a 10.59-second 100-meter dash in high school at 6 feet, 215 pounds.

"What's amazing about it is that he doesn't use the starting blocks like everybody else," Herman said. "He just lines up like he's going to run a 40-yard dash and flat-out smokes everybody."

Texas defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who inherits former top recruit and another athletic linebacker in Malik Jefferson, obviously loves Johnson's athletic traits. What's more attractive, however, is Johnson's ability to fly around and make plays.

"He's a hammerhead, and when he hits you, you can feel it," Orlando said. "But what really sold me was his leadership qualities. He was the leader of his defense, the leader of his team, and we need that from players at the University of Texas. He's going to come in here and have every opportunity to get on the field. It's going to be up to him, like I told him when we were recruiting him."

Texas defensive end Charles Omenihu, left, checks in with head coach Tom Herman on the recruiting class before heading to work out. It was business as usual for Omenihu, a signee two years ago, who had class and normal workouts Wednesday. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

By 10 a.m., the 2017 class is done and dusted and the Longhorns are all-in on 2018. Herman gets to work taking call after call from "the best high school football players in Texas." Herman said he talks to the prospects about how critical their class will be to the future of the Texas program and how he wants to sign the best Longhorns group since the 1999 class that ranked in the top five and featured USA Today players of the year Chris Simms and Cory Redding.

"Are we gonna be there next year?" Herman asks. "Absolutely. Absolutely we will."

To get there, Herman knows he's going to have to recruit against the fact that most 2018 recruits have seen only two winning seasons and four seven-loss seasons at Texas since many were 10 years old. But that's exactly why he spent just as much time Wednesday celebrating his 2017 signings as he did putting effort, and game time, into next year's class.

"The Texas they know is much different than the Texas that we know," Herman said. "So we've got to show them what Texas is capable of. We've got to show them what Texas can be. We have to get out in front of it, and you have to make sure that the three of the top six players in the state of Texas don't leave the state again. Our mission has to be to keep the best players in the state of Texas in the state of Texas.

After having his full class signed and faxed in, head coach Tom Herman paces in his office as he turns his attention to the class of 2018 and beyond. Spencer Selvidge for ESPN

"We've got to make everything that is great about this great program, this great university and this great city of Austin known to these young men, and that's all through communication and relationships. Winning helps, it certainly does, but we've got to show them all the great things about this place, and today's effort was a big part of that."