Texas Football: Realistic Expectations for the New Coaches in 2015

Charlie Strong made a name for himself this spring for his ability to recruit talent to the University of Texas. That effort has extended to his coaching staff, where he has made three significant additions since the end of the season.

Following the Texas Bowl fiasco, Strong let go of wide receivers coach Les Koenning and longtime tight ends coach Bruce Chambers. Both positions underachieved in 2014 outside of the 1,000-yard receiver John Harris, making their recruiting misses, as noted by SB Nation's Wescott Eberts, the final nails in the coffin.

The Horns also lost noted defensive line coach Chris Rumph to Florida, much to the chagrin of his incoming recruits, per Eberts.

But just as he replaced his 10 departed starters with a top-10 recruiting class, Strong got exactly what he needed to add to his staff.

Strong quickly went out and grabbed Jay Norvell, who brings play-calling experience from spread concepts, to coach the wide receivers.

Then, the head coach hit two home runs in one swing, bringing in defensive line coach Brick Haley and Jeff Traylor, one of the state's best high school coaches. Haley will fill in directly for Rumph, while Traylor will handle both the tight ends and a bulk of the special teams.

Realistically, Texas fans can expect these three guys to influence the direction of the offense and recruiting in the eastern part of state, while Traylor mends the holes on special teams. 

More Spread and Tempo

Matt Strasen/Associated Press/Associated Press

Current quarterback Jerrod Heard thrived while running the uptempo spread in high school.

Many have alluded to Texas' shift toward the uptempo spread attack that has become so prevalent. Hiring Jay Norvell as the wide receivers coach made that philosophy change almost official.

Zach Gentry cited the changes when he flipped to Michigan, current signee Kai Locksley discussed them as part of his decision and Charlie Strong elaborated further on signing day:

"

We have to tweak it. We know this. I look at five games last season where we scored 20 points or less. We know we have to get better, and we have to tweak it some. We have a lot of time to sit down as a staff and decide what we're going to do there.

"

Yes, offensive change is coming, and wide receivers coach Jay Norvell will have a key role in it. Per 247Sports' Jeff Howe, Norvell has extensive experience running uptempo systems from his days at Oklahoma and figures to employ more dual-threat action from the quarterback position at Texas.

Beyond any sort of doubt, this shift will help projected starter Jerrod Heard find success as he adjusts to the college passing game. After all, the 6'2" quarterback ran for almost 5,000 yards in high school.

But as much as Heard will benefit from the shift in tempo, so will Texas' less prototypical wide receivers. Norvell coached diminutive wideouts Ryan Broyles, Sterling Shepard and Jalen Saunders to huge seasons at Oklahoma, whereas dynamic talent Armanti Foreman received only 12 offensive touches in 2014.

Heard, Foreman and incoming freshman Ryan Newsome should all benefit from Norvell's presence, as should the rest of an offense that lacked any sort of identity last season.

Better Recruiting in East Texas and the Louisiana Pipeline

All three of Texas' recent hires add a new demographic to its recruiting reach.

In a limited sample size, Charlie Strong has done a great job of canvasing both the state of Texas and most of the Southeast region. His coaching hires only bolster the presence he has established over the past year.

In Haley, the Horns have a coach with proven NFL success and recruiting experience in Louisiana. At LSU, he was running an 11-year streak of sending one his defensive linemen to the NFL, and he recruited seven top-10 players at their position during his time in Baton Rouge, per SB Nation's Wescott Eberts.

Adding to that prevalence along the Texas-Louisiana border is Traylor, who won three state titles at East Texas powerhouse Gilmer High School. As Howe notes, he carries significant weight in a region that produced players like Daylon Mack, Justin Dunning and Jay Bradford in 2015.

Kris Boyd was Texas' lone commit from the region this cycle, and he just happened to play for Traylor.

"

New #Texas assistant Jeff Traylor once sent me to Pittsburg High to watch a kid way before he ever hit anyones radar: Kendall Wright

— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) February 13, 2015"

As for Norvell, his influence already helped Texas flip Ryan Newsome on signing day as his lead recruiter at Oklahoma. The new receivers coach is a noted recruiter in the state and one who can sell the offensive changes to the dynamic athletes needed to add explosiveness to the attack.

In summary, this trio bolsters the Longhorns in-state while adding some reach in Louisiana to Strong's presence in Florida. Those three states alone have 109 recruits with a 4-star rating or better for 2016.

More Reliable Special Teams

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Nick Rose's inaccurate leg was only part of the problem for Texas' special teams in 2014.

Traylor's first function will be recruiting, but the new special teams coordinator has quite a task on his hands.

Last season, the Longhorns were the 114th-rated special teams unit in the country, according to Football Outsiders. Only Kansas was worse in the Big 12.

Texas punted the ball well in 2014, but that was about it. The Horns averaged just 19.6 yards per kickoff return and gained only 177 yards of punt return yardage, giving up 30.1 and 336 in each respective category. Then there's the fact that Nick Rose only connected on two-thirds of his field-goal attempts.

Traylor has also been charged with coaching the tight ends, but getting them more involved will be an organizational effort. However, the special teams will be mostly tied to Traylor, as Howe writes here.

Based on his reputation, the new blood will figure out how to get this crew playing sound football again.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and information courtesy of TexasSports.com, with recruiting data sourced through 247Sports.com.