Texas Football: Why the Future Is Brighter Than Ever for the Longhorns

More than a year has passed since Charlie Strong was named the head football coach of the University of Texas.

Change is something that will always follow when a new head coach is hired to take over a football program. But the number of changes Texas underwent in 2014 may have been larger than what some people anticipated. 

Strong made a point to do things his way at Texas, which led to hiring new assistant coaches and removing nine players from the team for violating his five core values. 

Some questioned if Strong was too tough for Texas or if he would lose the locker room after dismissing players from his program.

But if recent history proves anything, it is that Strong has full control over the program and has the Longhorns heading in the right direction.

Where It All Began

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Strong held his first press conference as the head football coach at Texas on Jan. 6, 2014. He spoke on many topics, primarily his goal to put Texas back at the top of the college football ranks by instilling toughness in the program.

Strong hit the ground running and had his new staff in place by Jan. 15. It was then time to focus on recruiting.

The staff had less than a month to hold together the Longhorns' 2014 recruiting class. Texas had a couple of decommitments but signed the No. 20 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.

The Longhorns would soon lose a handful of players either to career-ending injuries or dismissals.

Removing nine players from a team before the season began was not an easy move for the first-year head coach, but it was proof that Strong was not playing around when it came to obeying his core values—no drugs, no weapons, no stealing and treating women with respect and honesty.

The Season

The Longhorns' first season under Strong did not play out the way some may have hoped. Texas suffered yet another embarrassing loss to BYU and entered conference play with a losing record for the second consecutive year.

The Longhorns hit an all-time low when they were shut out by Kansas State. They had a 3-6 record and dwindling hopes of making it to a bowl game.

But the team took matters into its own hands and decided it was not the time to give up. Texas answered by winning three of its final four games of the season and nabbed a bowl bid to face former Southwest Conference foe Arkansas in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl.

The bowl game did not go in the Longhorns' favor. Texas was embarrassed by Arkansas in the 31-7 defeat.

The game may have looked bad for Texas fans, but the momentum train had already begun moving in the Longhorns' direction.

The Momentum

Convincing recruits to attend your school is not always an easy task. Convincing recruits to attend your school after you had a losing season is even more difficult.

But Strong has managed not only to recruit well but also land some of the top talent in the 2015 recruiting class, beginning with 5-star commit Malik Jefferson.

The talented linebacker appeared to be a Texas A&M lean throughout the majority of the recruiting process. But Strong and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford proved they would not give up on landing the athlete.

Their work and dedication was rewarded. Jefferson announced his commitment to Texas on Dec. 18, 2014.

But the momentum did not end with Jefferson.

The Longhorns have received verbal commitments from 4-star linebackers Cecil Cherry and Anthony Wheeler, 4-star tight end Devonaire Clarington, 4-star defensive backs Davante Davis and Tim Irvin and 3-star wide receivers Gilbert Johnson and Deandre McNeal.

In other words, the train is rolling for Strong and the Longhorns.

The Future

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Texas will be looking to replace a handful of players on both sides of the ball, but the defense will take the biggest hit. However, the amount of talent the Longhorns will sign on national signing day who could very well be contributors in 2015 cannot be ignored. 

There's a solid possibility that a number of these signees will play in 2015. One of the biggest questions will be who starts at quarterback for the Longhorns.

That question has yet to be answered, but Texas will have more than one option to lead the Longhorns in the next few years.

A lot of hype surrounds redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard—and rightfully so. The young quarterback was a stud in high school and led his team to back-to-back state championships during his junior and senior seasons. 

Heard did not enroll early and therefore was a bit behind in the quarterback competition during his true freshman year in 2014.

But redshirting Heard is a blessing for the future of the program.

Texas has not had the chance to redshirt an eventual starting quarterback since Colt McCoy in 2005. Heard's chance to have more than a year to get used to the college game and offensive scheme can only help the Longhorns' future.

If Heard can take over the reins and these talented commits develop into their college roles, the future could be very bright for the Longhorns.

Unless otherwise noted all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Recruiting star ratings via Rivals.com.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.