Texas Football: Can UT Finally Turn Signing Day Success Into On-Field Results?

Texas is no stranger to recruiting wins, but as the conference title drought goes over a decade, can the Longhorns finally turn potential into production?

If you listened closely, you could hear a dull roar of applause from the Longhorn faithful on national signing day when Texas passed rival Oklahoma and into first place in the Big 12 in the final recruiting rankings. 

After all, for a Texas fan, a win over Oklahoma in anything from October in the Cotton Bowl to an intermural game of darts is a cause for at least mild celebration. 

Unfortunately for the Longhorn faithful, holding the title of the Big 12's best recruiting class has come often, but an on-field championship has proven far more elusive. 

Over the last 11 years the Longhorns have held the No. 1 recruiting ranking in the Big 12 nine times according to 247 Sports, yet Texas has suffered an 11-year conference title drought, currently the second-longest in program history (behind 1930-42.

In the 2019 season Banner Society had Texas tied for sixth in blue-chip ratio at 60 percent, which measures the number of players on a roster with four stars or more according to the 247 Composite. 

Of the 11 teams ranked ahead of or tied with Texas (Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Clemson, USC, Penn State, Oklahoma and Michigan), eight finished the year ranked in the AP top 10. The group also accounted for four out of the five Power Five conference champions.   

Nine of those teams finished with better records than Texas (USC finished with an identical 8-5 mark).

That data tells us two things. First, recruiting rankings clearly matter and are a good indicator of on-field success. Second, Texas hasn't been making the most the talent on its roster. 

It wasn't just wins that eluded Texas', however. It was also developing NFL talent. Every school on the list other than the Longhorns have at least one player on Pro Football Focus' top 100 draft board. A stat that is admittedly a little skewed considering the Longhorns' small number of seniors in 2019. 

So while Texas fans can mildly celebrate another signing day win, the administration and coaching staff shouldn't expect anything more than a golf clap from the UT fans.

After all, this is a group that's not used to championship droughts - and it's growing more and more impatient for this one to end.