For those who haven't taken notice, Tom Herman is doing big things at Houston. Within the past 1.5 weeks, they've picked up a 5*(with offers from TAMU and Bama), 4* and just picked up two 3* recruits. Apparently Herman is taking control of the Houston area which is fertile grounds in Texas.
Now I know, star don't mean everything...just look at our buddy the Timecop. But from reading around it would seem Tom Herman is the deal, and as Houston is just a pit stop on his way to something bigger. Honestly, I'm just curious to see how Houston does within the next 1-2 years. Should be really interesting/exciting to watch. ...some coach is going to have a sweet gig in a couple years when Herman leaves.
Sidenote: Tom Herman brought in Drake to appeal to recruits. Say want you want, but that shows that he's in tune.
Comments
It was always fun watching Cougar High play (especially the Rice rivalry). Looks like it'll be even better the next few years.
Hermann is a real good coach and was instrumental in our title run. He was highly regarded as an offensive genius and is credited with changing our offensive philosophy. The only question was when would he leave for a HC gig? In the way early speculation mode the thought is he would replace UM when he leaves.
BTW, it is customary in TOSU circles to point out he is a MENSA member whenever talking about him. Thus:
Did you know he is in MENSA?
Who else googled MENSA, and still has no idea what it is?
*raises hand*
Granted, I haven't googled it yet. I just assumed it was one of those things that everybody was aware of that I wasn't.
The fact that OSU78 capitalized the entire word is a bit misleading. It's not an acronym for anything. It's a latin word used as the name for a society
and yes, I did google it
I didn't know exactly what it stood for, but I did know it was an international organization for people who tested well enough to be considered geniuses.
Fun fact: Nolan Gould, who plays Luke Dunphy (the boy) on Modern Family has been in Mensa since a very young age after testing to have an IQ of 150. He graduated high school at 13.
It's an organization, even if you could join, you really don't want to. Sorta like getting accepted at UVA...
Basically, a club of this:
this guuuuy, I like this guy.
That's some top notch polytech-ing
I'll leave this here:
...starting to sound real familiar.
Winning over state recruits...Even though there are better options available in the same state.
Has one fact about him that everyone repeats over and over...
By the way, did you know Mike London used to be a cop?
Maybe its just the cynic in me, or maybe its the clear cheating that has gone on in the past that has me skeptical, but every time I see one of these lower schools (especially non-P5 schools now) go head to head with and beat out legitimate powers for top 5* and 4* kids, I have to wonder what was promised behind the scenes to the kid. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm sure Herman is a great coach, but, all extraneous things being equal, there is no logical reason why someone would choose to go and play football for Houston over Texas or Texas A&M when they are good enough to start, or at the very least get significant playing time at any of them.
I think I heard some where that he is selling the staying home and playing for your home school thing, kinda like what Randy Edsall is doing at UMD.
UMD is the flagship school of the state though. There are arguably 5 and some seasons 6 better schools in Texas than Houston. (UT, TAMU, Baylor, TTU, TCU, SMU)
Yeah, but Texas is huge. The play close to home and be around family is more important to people than they think; especially when mom, dad, and everyone else starts pushing it.
While your point is logical, and generally makes sense across all of college football, for most people in Texas that's not the case. For almost every person who plays football in Texas, starting in little league, the dream is to play at t. u. or A&M. Every other school is basically an afterthought, ESPECIALLY the likes of SMU, Rice, and UH. It's only into the high school years that some players have to start thinking realistically about what their real options are. This is where the factors such as proximity to home come into play, but if that were the biggest factor, you should see Rice pulling better Houston recruits, simply because it's a far better school in a very nice part of town. Meanwhile, Cougar High is kind of in the hood, and except for the Pharmacy program, their academic prestige, like that of Texas Tech and UTEP, is inferior to that of any other football school in Texas.
I believe Herman is selling the point that these recruits could be the ones that "put Houston on the map". They can go to Texas AM and get lost in the noise or they can come to Houston and be a famous Houston Alum for the rest of their lives.
Also, if your main goal is to go to the NFL, honestly most 5*s are talented enough to make it no matter where they go to school. As long as they keep their nose out of trouble and work hard every day. Khalil Mack is the prime example of this when he was drafted top 5 from Buffalo. If you're good, scouts are going to notice you no matter where you are. It's the lower talent guys that benefit from the exposure of the larger programs, that probably wouldn't be noticed at a school like Houston.
Obviously, everyone has their opinion on why he choose Houston but sometimes the Alabamas, USCs, and Texas (Texases?) aren't for every recruit.
Plus, he'll probably see more fans at his spring game than Brown and Blanding ever have.
Oh I think that's definitely how he's pitching UH. That and waving around his shiny new ring. I'm not one of those that questions how he's getting recruits, I was more arguing against the idea of how proximity to home is that relevant in Texas, especially in Houston.
eh, Baylor, UT, and A&M are all less than 3 hours from Houston. If playing at a school closer to home than that is a big priority for a lot of these kids then VT is screwed.
SMU is a stretch...
But Maryland is the main public university for their state playing in a Power 5 conference. Houston is the 3rd largest public university in its state playing in a non-Power 5 conference.
While I don't disagree with you that something fishy may be going on, I am just trying to say that this could be a thing that he is selling. I do find it odd that a 5* doesn't want to play at a power 5 school.
did they have star ratings when Ben Roethlisberger graduated high school? He's the first big time QB that comes to mind who went to a nothing school (Miami of Ohio)
That depends on your definition of big time QB and "nothing" school.
Plenty of current starters are from schools outside the big 5 conferences
Tony Romo, Blake Bortles, Derek Carr, Ryan Fitzpatrick, that guy from the ravens, Jimmy Garropolo (likely starting while Brady is suspended), Kaepernick, Josh McCown, and Big Ben.
Flacco went to an FCS no less.
Went to Pitt out of HS though before transferring, so slightly different. Couldn't beat out Tyler Palko...
Are you forgetting Phil Simms went to Morehead State?
This I disagree with - As an out of state student, there was no "logical" reason for me to go to VT over UMD, but I just liked VT a lot more. Could be the same for some kid from Texas. Maybe other options are too close to home, or too far away. Maybe he really likes the campus. Maybe the draw of changing a program is important to him. Maybe he just likes Tom Herman more than any other coach.
TL:DR; A high level recruit picking a smaller school does not mean there was foul play
I disagree as well. Houston may not be as high profile now, but they were a perennial top level team for a long time (60's-80's.) They won the Southwest Conference (beating Texas, Texas A&M, SMU when they were cheating their asses off) in 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1984. They were one of, if not the best, split back veer offense of all time.
Can't agree there. I mean, I know in-state vs out of state tuition and all, but I've been to College Park, and I'll gladly pay the out of state tuition to not be in College Park for 4+ years.
Obviously I felt the same way, point being that said blue chip recruit may feel this way too.
Yikes- growing up in Md, near Bethesda, I wanted to get as far from College Park as possible. Sure, visit home and trip to the Voux, but beyond that it was a cesspool.
He is employing the time-honored (and smart) tradition of hiring a great player's high school coach.
This, plus I believe his brother is on the team. A lot pushing him to that school it would appear. If several others start to join him, then perhaps there would be some reason for suspicion. Otherwise it seems like a knee-jerk response/hot take.
Close to home and I believe a lower recruited brother is there. I mean that certainly helped us land Kendall haha
Well, sorta, we did put all of his brothers in the NFL.
In defense of Herman, I can see several logical reasons for a 5* to go to UH:
1. He's probably going to play a lot more and have a chance to get noticed by pro scouts
2. Herman is viewed as an up and coming star, (think Meyer at Bowling Green) and thus will be coached by a coach that is as good as many at big name schools; in addition his reputation no doubt helps him with reason 3:
3. Herman has put players in the NFL and scouts know him, so he can get a kid noticed
4. Being the big time guy that stayed to paly for the home town school isn't a bad way to be remembered when your NFL days are over
And, of course, the obligatory Herman is in Mensa...
They also got themselves a brand new stadium. Which is cool.