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Texas Recruiting Brandon Harris Is A Calculated Gamble
Texas and Tom Herman are recruiting former LSU quarterback Brandon Harris, but it is highly unlikely to put him under center and in charge of another offense.
March 23, 2017
Texas and Tom Herman are recruiting former LSU quarterback Brandon Harris, but are highly unlikely to put him under center and in charge of another offense.
Tom Herman is in the beginning stages of, he hopes, turning Texas back into a national powerhouse. His hiring was seen as a home run in Austin, a young coach that had been tutored by Urban Meyer and got his head coaching chops for two years in Houston, where he was wildly successful.
He has brought a lost energy back to the program, which makes his latest move somewhat peculiar.
Herman confirmed on Thursday that the Longhorns are indeed recruiting former LSU quarterback Brandon Harris. Yes, the same Harris that lost his starting job after less than two games this past season due to ineffectiveness and being prone to turnovers.
There are only two reasons why Herman would be interested in Harris, and neither of them have to do with him ever seeing the field as the man under center.
First, like many quarterbacks who no longer find that their arms are needed at the position, Harris could make the switch to receiver. He won’t be the first big-time player to do it – Braxton Miller at Ohio State and Kodi Burns at Auburn come to mind – and won’t be the last. If there is any position a quarterback might be more familiar with it is at receiver, where the routes have been planted into his brain for quite a while.
The second would present more of an insurance plan: bringing Harris on as a backup and using a redshirt on the much-hyped freshman Sam Ehlinger. While Ehlinger is supposed to compete with returning starter Shane Buechele for the starting position, all signs point toward Buechele winning that battle. If saving a year of Ehlinger’s eligibility by having Harris serve as a backup would benefit the Longhorns, Herman would be smart to roll with that. If Buechele gets injured, Ehlinger can easily burn the redshirt and the Longhorns won’t miss a beat.
What the Longhorns and Herman plan to do with Harris if he were to spend his final college days in Austin are anyone’s guess, but the two options detailed below seem to be the route that Herman would go.
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