Texas launches slick new social media presence

Four days ago, former Alabama Crimson Tide creative director Matt Lange officially joined the Texas Longhorns staff in a similar capacity, tasked with helping create the graphics to sell head coach Tom Herman’s program.

The results are already impressive, and part of a coordinated attempt to reach fans and recruits with high-quality design.

“We've got to show them what Texas is capable of,” Herman said on National Signing Day. “We've got to show them what Texas can be, and what Texas has been in the past, and what we're capable of being in the future.”

On Thursday, coaches sent out a series of tweets unveiling the new slogan for the 2018 recruiting class — RevolUTion18:

Other staff members sent out similar tweets with the same graphic, but more personalized messages:

The staff, including Director of Media Production Thomas Lakes, is also intent on taking advantage of positive media coverage, like US News and World Report ranking Austin No. 1 on a list of the 100 best metropolitan areas in the country to live based on affordability, job prospects, and quality of life:

The most recent graphic shows Lange flexing his creative muscles by incorporating a tilted Austin skyline into the shoulder pads of the anonymous Texas football player pictured. Professional stuff on a level that the Longhorns haven’t had in the past.

After all, the school was mom-and-popping it for a long time, from Mack Brown to Charlie Strong.

For Herman, every detail is important and social media is a big part of pitching the advantages of playing college football in Austin.

How much of an impact the graphics and tweets will have on malleable teenagers remain to be seen, but any positive impact would be a victory when compared to the previous staffs, which showed little to no interest in using Twitter to promote the school’s brand.