Tom Herman has some work to do to whip the Texas Longhorns into shape, literally.

Herman was expected to come into Austin and get the program back on track to being a Big 12 and national title contender, but first he needs to see some players on his defensive line trim down their waist lines.

With Texas about to open spring practices, Herman is setting goals for his team and outlining the mission to help get started on turning things around. Among the first orders of business is getting his players in shape. So far, Herman does not seem pleased with how some of his players have been handling themselves in the offseason, and it seems he’s going to have to start cutting back on the meals these players are enjoying.

“The effort as a group has not been to our requirements here in this program,” Herman said Monday, according to The American-Statesman. “I think we’d know a lot more if some of these really fat guys lost some weight.”

Five Texas defensive linemen weigh in at 300 pounds or above, and Herman wants to make sure that weight issued to their advantage and not slowing them down. The good news is these are changes that can happen in plenty of time for the start of the 2017 season in the fall, but Herman is looking to set the tone for his new program now. Having any players lagging behind in spring will only slow things down a bit in making the transition within the program. Fortunately, it seems Herman is pleased with how the majority of his new players have bought into the goals and plans of Herman and the coaching staff leading up to the spring.

While Herman’s predecessor, Charlie Strong, may have done what he could to instill new values and moral standards his players had to be held up to, it appears Herman’s approach will be more about the physical standards he expects from his team. Texas got overmatched far too often in recent years, so having better athletes on the line is a good start.

[American-Statesman; Photo Credit: Texas at 24-7 Sports]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.