What's next for the Longhorns? Make sure you're in the loop by signing up for our FREE Texas newsletter!

Question of the Week: What's your biggest takeaway from Texas' time at Big 12 media days?

Bobby Burton, Publisher

There's a new guy in charge at Texas. Whether he makes it or not is for the future to tell us. But one thing is for sure. He's going to try to win and win big. Nothing he said could reasonably lead anyone to believe that he merely wants to return Texas to respectability. He wants to win. And win big.

Jeff Howe, Senior Writer

While everyone who heard the story about P.J. Locke III and a missing water bottle was entertained by the story, it drove home one of something Tom Herman mentioned in one of his first press conferences. Not talk of alignment, which everyone has been focused on, but rather the fact that this staff doesn’t miss. After watching Texas lose games that were there for the taking under Charlie Strong due to some small detail like a punt snap, a timeout snafu, or a failure to give players proper instructions on how to handle a coin toss, I don’t think that’s going to happen under Herman. That’s not to say this staff is perfect, but what it does say is the Longhorns will no longer be a team that’s routinely at a disadvantage by way of not paying attention to the little things. I mentioned alignment as part of this, and for the first time in a long time on the Forty Acres I feel like the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. Connor Williams told me Yancy McKnight, whom Herman has called his culture coach, has kicked guys out of workouts for not having the right attitude. If someone isn’t bringing it or is holding the group back, Williams said McKnight has pulled a guy out of a workout in the middle of a lift and told him to go home and see if he can get right for tomorrow. The culture at Texas seems to be shifting to one of either go in the direction of everyone else or get the heck out of the way. This staff indeed doesn’t miss, and you’re not going to get away with cheating the process it takes to win football games under Herman and his staff. That mentality changing and the heightened sense of urgency while working with a purpose is something Texas has been sorely missing for a long time.

EJ Holland, Lead Recruiting Reporter

Tom Herman didn't speak much about Texas recruiting, but when he did, he was very humble in regards to UT's image with current recruits. As Herman put it, recruits in the 2018 class have only seen two winning season from the Longhorns since they were 10 years old. Herman has done a terrific job on the recruiting cycle despite the lack of success in recent years. It's easy to infer that UT could put together a special class with a strong season.

Garrett Callahan, Managing Editor

One thing that struck me was simply the confidence of everyone Texas brought to the event. The players were humble and said the right things, but they seemed loose, making jokes on social media and enjoying their time at The Star. Michael Dickson made jokes about being just the punter while P.J. Locke told stories about Herman and a water bottle. It's still yet to be seen if this means anything, but it confirms, at least in my eyes, the Longhorns are building off the field as well as on, from pool parties, trips to Lake Travis and everything else. That, of course, only goes so far, though, and Herman knows that. What matters is wins and Herman has a plan for rebranding Texas that's more than just a new social media team and more creative videos.

Mike Roach, Recruiting Analyst

My biggest takeaway has less to do with Texas, and more to do with the conference as a whole. I think there's been some rejuvenation with Tom Herman, Lincoln Riley, and Matt Rhule. I thought all three guys had impressive showings at media day. I'm not sure if anything can truly "save" this conference, but I think there's some new intrigue going into the season.