April 25, 2005

SAN MARCOS - Improving on Texas State University's passing game numbers starts with a multi-step plan ... literally.

This spring Tom Herman, the Bobcats' new passing game coordinator, placed an emphasis on the basics as he became acquainted with the program's quarterbacks.

"I really wanted to get back to some of the fundamentals like how to take a drop, where do my eyes go and who do I read," Herman said. "Ultimately, we want to instill leadership in our quarterbacks, get back to fundaments and keep the passing game as simple and concise as possible."

Herman joined the Texas State staff after a successful four-year stint at Sam Houston State where he served as the wide receivers coach and was also responsible for the Southland Conference rival's special teams.

Sam Houston advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs twice in the past four years including in 2004 when the squad went 11-3 and advanced to the championship's semifinals. Sam Houston led the conference and ranked second nationally in passing offense, averaging 385.5 yards. The team's 471 yards of total offense per game ranked fifth among Division I schools last season.

As wide receivers coach, Herman mentored the league's two leading receivers who both ranked among the nation's Top 15 when it came to receiving yards.

Having played the position as a collegian at California Lutheran along with his experience as the receivers position coach at Sam Houston has allowed Herman to bring a unique perspective to working with the Bobcats' signal callers.

"I think I am able to relay to our quarterbacks, `Hey this is the timing that we need. This is the ball placement we need. This is what's going on with those guys (the wide receivers) out there verses press coverage, verses off coverage, verses a physical guy or a speed guy,'" he said.

"Hopefully I have been able to convey some of that experience to them and it has helped them in terms of their timing."

Texas State returns two quarterbacks who both saw time as a starter last year.

Senior Barrick Nealy opened the season as Texas State's starter but missed two games due to injuries during the year. As a junior, Nealy completed 84-of-143 passes for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 144.03 pass efficiency rating ranked 14th in Division I-AA last year. He was also the team's third-leading rusher, carrying the ball 111 times for 409 yards.

For his career, Nealy has completed 324-of-616 passes for 4,331 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Chase Wasson started four games and played in eight last year as a red-shirt freshman. He completed 46-of-105 passes for 477 yards and four touchdowns while carrying the ball 55 times for 260 yards and five scores.

"We want to be as high percentage in our passing game as we can be. We don't mind throwing a three-yard flat route to one of our real good athletes and letting him go run with it. We will major in the short to intermediate passing game with the ability to force the ball down field when we need it, whether using play action or some designed route scheme." Tom Herman, Passing Game Coordinator

While both players have been leaders on the field, Herman wanted to help them expand on that trait this spring.

"I think they had always been looked at as leaders but leadership also stems from how well you play and how well you know the offense," Herman said. "It comes from the kind of command you have out on the field. We really tried hard to dive into the playbook, to study it and know it inside and out."

"From Practice One to Practice 15, Barrick and Chase made unbelievable strides when it comes to fundamentals and mechanics as well as game management and huddle procedure," he added. "All those things are necessary to be a really good quarterback."

Herman said his philosophy to the passing game is very completion oriented.

"We want to be as high percentage in our passing game as we can be," he said. "We don't mind throwing a three-yard flat route to one of our real good athletes and letting him go run with it. We will major in the short to intermediate passing game with the ability to force the ball down field when we need it, whether using play action or some designed route scheme."

Herman began his coaching career down the road at Texas Lutheran in Seguin. In addition to coaching the team's wide receivers, he coordinated the team's off-season developmental programs and directed offensive scouting. His wide receivers were part of an offense that averaged 424 yards per game in 1998 and ranked second in the American Southwest Conference in both passing and total offense.

He went back to school to earn a master's degree in education from the University of Texas and while there was a graduate assistant coach for the Longhorns. Herman worked primarily with the offensive line and special teams scout units. At Texas, he coached two All-American offensive linemen and an All-Big 12 kicker.

Even though Texas State has not run a play in a real game since he has been on campus, Herman said the past few months at the university have been special.

"This is an unbelievable university and I have enjoyed getting to know the city and the community," he said. "All of the assistant coaches here do a great job. Probably most importantly, we have a great head coach in David Bailiff. He is great to work for not only on the field but off the field, everything he does in the community is a great example of how to be successful. He has given a young guy like me the freedom to coach the way I feel best as well as giving me suggestions and pointers from his experience."

Herman is a 1997 cum laude graduate of California Lutheran University in Thousands Oaks, Calif., where he was a Presidential Scholarship recipient as well as a Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society member. He earned his master's degree from Texas in 2000. Herman and his wife Michelle have a one-year old daughter, Priya Nicolette.