Going into spring practices it's not exactly rare for coaches to want to see improvement from certain players or even see a difference in an entire group of players. Texas head coach Tom Herman might have taken it a step further and essentially called his defensive lineman fat.
Videos by FanBuzz
RELATED: Tom Herman calls out Ohio State in handling of offensive coordinator following season
Before spring practices got underway on Monday, Herman took a shot at his defensive lineman. "We've gotta find some D-linemen," Herman said. "I'm not sure about the types of bodies we have there. We've gotta find some length."
The linemen have been in the weight room and under the supervision of trainers as well as nutritionists the past few months, but apparently the progress made has not been up to snuff for Herman.
"The effort, as a group, has not been to our... requirements here in this program. The body types, again I think we'd know a lot more if some of these fat guys lost some weight. What does their body look like? Right now I don't know. The last time I checked, you've gotta play with a defensive line."
The staff before Herman was trying to bulk up guys since there was a lack of depth along the line, but that shouldn't be the case this year with more guys who are naturally big and four linemen who weigh over 300 pounds a pop. The Longhorns also have some length now as well with four guys measuring 6'5" or taller.
Herman did eventually bring it back around to a more positive note and said it will be the job of his defensive coaches to put guys into a position to succeed and work in the scheme they will run.
"We could go out and practice and make it the best position, I don't know," Herman said. "I've seen things like that happen. But it is a concern knowing the league we play in. But I also know we've got four defensive coaches that are as good as there are in the country; I've seen Todd Orlando make chicken salad out of some lesser parts. So I have a lot of confidence in the staff and what they're able to do with whatever talent we've inherited."
Regardless of what happens, the defensive linemen at Texas have officially been challenged and will be trying to prove Herman wrong about the weight issue.
[h/t SB Nation]
