The Texas Longhorns went 7-6 in their first season under head coach Tom Herman last season, making a bowl game for the first time in three seasons.
In an appearance on the Jim Rome Show, Herman revealed that he wasn't sure what Texas' potential was because of how "fragile" they were when he took over.
"Just how fragile this team was when we took over," Herman said on Jim Rome Show. "Three straight losing seasons will do that to you."
However, Herman said that he thinks the mindset of his players really turned in their bowl victory over Missouri.
"I think we did kind of have a seminal moment in the bowl victory," Herman said. "We were out, by my count, eight guys who had started games for us. Out of 22, 11 on each side of the ball, to have eight starters down and to go play an SEC team that had won six straight games, and beat them the way we did, I think there was a bit of an ah ha moment in that locker room where I think a lot of those kids said, 'Hey, we can do this. If we do what this crazy guy and his staff tell us to do, then we can accomplish some pretty incredible things.'"
That has helped lead to a bigger buy-in from the players, according to Herman, who told ESPN his players have really started to understand his message this spring.
"I said to them, 'What do you guys think is different?' And one of the kids said, 'We're happy,'" recalled Herman, who had just punished them with 100 up-downs after a quarter of the team failed a random hydration test. "I told them, 'The standards haven't changed. Here's what's changed: You guys are adhering to [the standards] so much more that the moments of discipline are few and far between now.' It was like, they didn't even realize it. Like, 'Oh, that's what culture is?'
"It was 14 months to get to this point. And they were excited about that. ... The buy-in level now is just through the roof."
Texas has not won double-digit games in a season since 2009 when they made it to the BCS National Championship game before losing to Alabama, and that is a mark the Longhorns are hoping to hit in 2018.
Vegas does not see that happening, however. BetDSI set Texas' over/under win total at seven on the season.
The Longhorns will open the year on September 1 at Maryland. They have opened as 12-point favorites.
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