Remember when Texas had the worst recruiting class in school history on National Signing Day 2017?

Of course you do. That happened a week ago. Tom Herman, in his first recruiting effort with the Longhorns, inked the school's worst class in the history of the 247Sports Composite Team Recruiting Rankings — without a single top-10 player in the state. It’s ultimately irresponsible to blame Herman for that 2017 lull – two months on the job isn’t enough to procure an elite class – but some high-profile misses have led more than a few people to question Herman’s recruiting acumen.

Herman will have the opportunity to alter that perception quickly in the 2018 class as two of the nation’s Top 10 players in the just-updated Top247 for 2018, No. 4 Anthony Cook and No. 8 BJ Foster, hail from Herman’s old stomping grounds near Houston.

That’s two of the nation’s elite players, and both defensive backs are potential perception-altering targets.

Additionally, five Top 100 prospects hail from Houston. With seven elite targets on the board in 2018, Herman will have every opportunity to prove that he can recruit at an exclusive level. Herman, who spent two years with the Cougars before taking the Texas job, has already established relationships with these Texan stars.

Next year will be Herman’s first full recruiting class, and he’ll have every opportunity to reel in an elite one.

Among those seven players are four defensive backs (Cook, Foster, Jalen Green and Leon O'Neal Jr.), two game-changing wide receivers (Jalen Preston and Brennan Eagles) and a beefy defensive end (Max Wright). There are certainly other impact prospects in the state (20 other in-state players in the Top247), but Texas needs to land at least a few of those seven to make a statement in 2018.

Yet the Longhorns are playing from behind for many of the group despite Herman’s history in Houston, according to E.J. Holland, the recruiting reporter for Horns247.

“I don't feel comfortable saying Texas is in the lead for many prospects in the 2018 class,” Holland said. “Last cycle didn't build up much momentum, and Tom Herman only has potential to sell. The program is coming off another losing season, and that once-coveted Texas offer appears to have lost its luster, especially with powerhouses like Ohio State invading the state. The good news for Herman and this staff is they have a multitude of ties in the Houston-area. And if you win Houston this cycle, you win the state. Of course, connections won't go very far if Texas doesn't win games on the field this fall. Simply put, Texas has to win.”

Those on-field results are a major question mark for the Longhorns. Charlie Strong left plenty of talent behind – 10-win talent no matter what, if you believe him – and Herman could swing Texas back rather quickly.

If that happens, the Longhorns will be in a strong position to make 2017 an aberration in terms of recruiting.

They have advantages in that quest, too.

Cook is the cousin of Texas defensive back Eric Cuffee, while Foster is from Angleton (the same place that produced recent Longhorn star Quandre Diggs) and has already said he prefers the Longhorns over the other in-state options.

Land that pair, or even one of the two, and Herman moves Texas into its normal stratosphere of recruiting on a consistent Top 10 level.