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Houston Cougars Football Thread

Discussion in 'Football: NFL, College, High School' started by Chopped, Aug 29, 2011.

  1. seemoreroyals

    seemoreroyals Member

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    The way we played last year, all but the Rice and North Texas game, yikes. I am hoping for a much improved team to root for next year.
     
  2. Fulgore

    Fulgore Member

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    Did we get a transfer at qb? Haven’t heard anything.
     
  3. seemoreroyals

    seemoreroyals Member

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    Haven't heard. I am more worried about our defense. And we lost our mvp from last year's team. Our punter. Hoping for a great year but could very possibly be a long year.
     
  4. Poloshirtbandit

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    Not that I know of. Massoud is a freshman but I feel like we're gonna start off with Clayton Tune. :-/

    Is Bryson Smith that bad at QB? Or maybe his style wouldn't fit Dana's offense?
     
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  5. Fulgore

    Fulgore Member

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    Same thing I was thinking. Bryson is a helluva athlete. Give him a shot in training camp.
     
  6. Fulgore

    Fulgore Member

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  7. Poloshirtbandit

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  8. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Former Texas Tech junior RB Ta'Zhawn Henry announced he was transferring to Houston.
    Henry (5'7/185) made the announcement on Twitter, announcing that he had "flipped the switch." The speedy 5-foot-7, 185-pound back was a productive player for the Red Raiders in his two years on campus; scoring 11 touchdowns -- eight in his freshman year -- and rushing for 681 yards on 161 carries in that timeframe. He's also a threat as a receiver who has caught 22 passes each of the last two campaigns. Henry will need to receiver a waiver to play right away, but if he doesn't get cleared, he can count 2020 as a redshirt season and still have two years of eligibility beginning in 2021. A nifty get for the Houston offense.

     
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  9. bobrek

    bobrek Politics belong in the D & D

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  10. Pat

    Pat Contributing Member
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  11. Poloshirtbandit

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    ^ Fixed the post for you.

     
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  12. ShutURBiG!

    ShutURBiG! Contributing Member

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  13. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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  14. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    [Athletic] Houston believes it has done enough developing to be dangerous soon

    HOUSTON — Dana Holgorsen sat in his office on a Thursday morning in early March feeling good about where everything was heading. He’d just watched Houston’s seventh practice of the spring. The Cougars had gotten a head start on nearly everyone else in college football by beginning spring ball on Feb. 18, and the head coach genuinely liked what he’d seen so far. The trajectory they were on felt right.

    “There’s probably not too many people right now that are sitting seven practices in,” he noted, “and five of the seven practices were practiced out there in 70-degree weather. That’s pretty awesome stuff.”

    He didn’t know then just how fortunate he really was. Houston knocked out its eighth practice before going on spring break. The rest was canceled by the COVID-19 shutdown of college campuses across the country. This was an absolutely critical spring for the Cougars to take the next step, and they got more than half of their allotted 15 practices in. There’s a glass-half-full perspective to that, one that feels more prevalent in this program now that everyone has put 2019 behind them.

    At Houston, things had to get worse before they could get better. During Holgorsen’s debut season, he confronted the problems head-on rather than make excuses for them for years to come. The Cougars had a fundamental issue with the construction of their roster: It was unusually underdeveloped. Too many juniors and seniors hadn’t redshirted and weren’t on track to graduate on time. So they dealt with it. Five senior starters took four-game redshirts (some due to injury) and were granted more time to develop and come back better in 2020. It was a bold move, and those who didn’t understand it called it tanking. It wasn’t tanking. But it was costly.

    Houston went 4-8 with a team hit hard by injuries, one that had talent but not nearly enough depth. The Cougars played a brutal schedule — six losses came against top-25 opponents — and at times, they played well. The Washington State and Cincinnati games were tight before late turnovers. The Cougars blew a 28-7 lead in a wild last-second loss at Tulane. They had two chances late in the fourth quarter to drive and tie or beat SMU. Their blowout losses to UCF, Memphis and Navy were all close games at halftime. Houston gave up 19.1 points per game in the second half against FBS foes, second-worst nationally.

    “Our second halves were so bad because of lack of depth, fatigue, just exhaustion,” Holgorsen said.

    The benefit of those tough times is experience. This program now has 18 players on offense and 18 on defense who have started games. Just because last season was difficult doesn’t mean it wasn’t productive for their long-term growth. Going into Year 2, the difference is evident in meetings and workouts. As Holgorsen put it, “Stuff just makes sense to them now.”

    “I know a lot of people say 2019 was a failure. I don’t buy into that,” he said. “I mean, nobody wants to be 4-8. But there’s a lot of things that got accomplished.”

    A big part of the grand plan was dynamic quarterback D’Eriq King returning as a fifth-year senior in 2020. He chose to transfer in January and spend his final season at Miami. That departure hasn’t shaken Holgorsen’s confidence about where his team is heading. The staff has a lot of faith in junior quarterback Clayton Tune, who showed big potential in his nine starts, and all the veteran skill talent returning around him. They have a defense full of upperclassman starters. The talent level and competition at a lot of spots has been upgraded through the transfer portal. And the 35 players who redshirted last fall are ready to contribute to a team that should be much more dangerous in 2020.

    “We went through a lot, but it’s gonna make us better,” Holgorsen said. “I think that’s pretty much the whole attitude everybody’s got.”

    Roster analysis

    Quarterbacks:
    Clayton Tune had to take on the starting job four games in and play through a hamstring injury for most of the season, making it tough to show his full ability in 2019, but Holgorsen can’t wait to see what he can become now that he’s healthy and has a full offseason as the undisputed starter. After throwing for 1,533 yards on 59 percent passing with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in seven games, Tune says he has spent his offseason working on the mental side of the game.

    “I’m really getting in the film room and working on progressions and seeing defenses pre-snap, knowing where I should attack and where the ball needs to go against certain coverages,” Tune said.

    Logan Holgorsen, the head coach’s son, is Tune’s backup and helped lead the Cougars to a win over UConn last season. There’s not much in the way of proven depth behind them, though, with freshman Sofian Massoud and walk-on Ike Ogbogu. But they do have the versatile Bryson Smith, who took snaps in the Wildcat package last season and can be a big-play threat.

    “Everybody’s got quarterback depth issues, which is why everybody takes quarterback transfers,” Holgorsen said. “We’ve got four on our roster. It does gives us a little bit of a depth concern. But we’ve just got to keep three healthy and we’re good. Just like everybody else in the country: Keep your main guy healthy and you’re a better team.”

    Running backs: One player who’ll benefit from taking a four-game redshirt in 2019 is Mulbah Car. The fifth-year senior returns to lead a good running back room. Car missed the spring with a back injury. When he was healthy last season, he rushed for 136 yards against SMU and 132 against UCF.

    “Mulbah Car has gotta come back from his back,” Holgorsen said. “He’s different.”

    He’ll team up with Kyle Porter, the Texas transfer who produced 743 total yards and four touchdowns for the Cougars last fall. That’s the one-two punch. Terrell Brown, Chandler Smith and Kelan Walker will compete for snaps behind them. The Cougars also added Ta’Zhawn Henry from Texas Tech, who will likely have to sit out this season as a transfer. If he could get a waiver to play right away, he’d definitely help this group.

    Receivers/tight ends: This should be a great receiving corps. Marquez Stevenson is an electric playmaker who has accounted for 2,172 total yards of offense over the past two seasons. Among returning Group of 5 players, the only receiver who has put up more yards in the last two years is Memphis’ Damonte Coxie. Stevenson has earned first-team All-AAC honors in back-to-back seasons. He’s the star of a group full of dependable targets.

    Keith Corbin redshirted last year and is ready to make an impact again after scoring 10 touchdowns in 2018. “He’s got a really good attitude and he’s starting to make a lot of plays,” Tune said. Jeremy Singleton got a chance to step up last year when Corbin sat out and caught 26 passes for 381 yards and three scores. Tre’von Bradley is the No. 4 option and a good one. But watch out for junior college transfer Nathaniel Dell, a speedy 5-foot-10, 155-pound wideout who goes by “Tank.” Tune said he quickly emerged as a playmaker this spring and will make them better. Bryson Smith will continue to be a factor in this passing attack, too.

    Behind them, Ja’Kori Morgan and Ke’Andre Street should push for playing time at inside receiver, and Cole McGowan will be in the mix as well. Houston also brought in Missouri transfer Kam Scott, who would need a waiver to play in 2020. As for the tight end spot, Christian Trahan is back and was productive as a sophomore starter with 22 catches for 244 yards and one score. Shane Creamer should be the backup there.

    Offensive line: What’s the biggest question mark for this Houston team? Holgorsen doesn’t hesitate to answer: “O-line. Depth of the O-line. Numbers on the O-line.” The obvious first issue here is replacing left tackle Josh Jones, a 45-game starter and third-round pick. The head coach likes the potential of Patrick Paul, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound redshirt freshman who got to start the final three games at left tackle last season. He feels really good, too, about having senior starting center Braylon Jones, another four-game redshirt player who had started 34 games, back for one more season. “He’s a pro,” Holgorsen said.

    But the post-spring loss of right tackle Jarrid Williams, who’s joining King at Miami as a grad transfer, will force offensive line coach Brandon Jones to do some reshuffling. Houston could still have seniors in every other starting spot with Gio Pancotti at right tackle, Dennis Bardwell at right guard and Keenan Murphy at left guard. Jack Freeman filled in for Jones at center last season, earning seven starts, and should be one of their top reserves. This offensive line went through a lot last year due to injuries, and by the end of the season it was leaning on backups like Paul, Max Banes and Jordan Boatman to start. That’s never ideal. “We finished the year with the O-line that was on our scout team at the beginning of the year,” Holgorsen said. “But that gave those guys some good experience, too.” The hope is they continue to improve and establish some continuity, and the depth starts to show.

    “We pieced it together last year,” Holgorsen said, “which means we’ll be better this year.”

    Cougars Returning Production
    Category | % returning | Top returner
    Pass yds | 73% | Tune, 1,533
    Rush yds | 70% | Porter, 615
    Rec yds | 93% | Stevenson, 907
    OL starts | 49% | Pancotti, 11
    Tackles | 91% | Stuard, 97
    TFLs | 83% | Stuard, 9.5
    Sacks | 73% | Anenih, 5
    INTs | 100% | Williams, 2
     
  15. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Defensive line: Houston’s defense only lost four players who had starting experience this offseason, and that gives Holgorsen a lot of confidence about where they’re heading.

    “I’ve got no concerns with us defensively,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of competition, we’ve got good players, we’ve got a lot of experience. We’re gonna be solid there.”

    They’re in good shape with their pass rushers. Senior Payton Turner, a two-year starter, leads them up front at the Bandit spot with David Anenih back as the starting defensive end. They’ve got experienced juniors in Derek Parish and Logan Hall backing them up. D’Anthony Jones, a junior college All-American, could make an immediate impact in a variety of roles. Alabama five-star transfer Eyabi Anoma was a bust and was dismissed from the program in February, but this group is not thin. Jamykal Neal looks like the starter at defensive tackle with Olivier Charles-Pierre at nose guard exiting spring ball. Junior college transfer Sedrick Williams is going to help in the middle, as will Willie Smith III and Atlias Bell.

    Linebackers: Grant Stuard showed just how good he can be in 2019, racking up 97 tackles and earning second-team All-AAC honors in his nickel role. He’ll move to Will linebacker and provide more speed and playmaking ability in the box. Donavan Mutin started 12 games last season and Zamar Kirven started five, so the Cougars have some good experience at the Mike linebacker spot now. Junior college transfer Malik Robinson came in at midyear, and D’Anthony Jones can contribute at linebacker, too. If guys like Terrance Edgeston and Jordan Carmouche can stay healthy, Houston should have solid depth.

    Defensive backs: Troy transfer cornerback Marcus Jones should be one of the Cougars’ best players on defense. Jones was the Sun Belt’s Freshman of the Year and a freshman All-American in 2018 as a corner and kick returner. He’s one of many transfers who make the secondary a lot more competitive in 2020. Damarion Williams started all 12 games at corner last year and grabbed a team-high two interceptions. The senior should hold down that role again, and Shaun Lewis, a three-game starter in 2019, should contribute here.

    At safety, Deontay Anderson leads all returning defenders with 24 career starts. The former Ole Miss transfer had to sit out the spring with an ankle injury but should be ready in time for fall camp. Gervarrius Owens started games at both safety and corner last season and should be the favorite to hold down the starting free safety role. Gleson Sprewell and Garrison Vaughn got to start games there last year, too.

    But there’s a lot more transfer help on the way with safeties Hasaan Hypolite (Colorado) and Thabo Mwaniki (Oklahoma State) and cornerback Kelvin Clemmons (Minnesota). All three sat out last season and are ready to contribute. Jayce Rogers, a junior college transfer who had previously committed to Holgorsen at West Virginia, should factor in at cornerback, as could Javian Smith if he stays healthy. The staff added another junior college corner in Art Green, plus freshman Theron Stroops, a former Baylor commit, in May.

    West Virginia grad transfer JoVanni Stewart has already proven to Holgorsen he’s a perfect fit for the nickel role. Stewart accounted for 54 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and four sacks for the Mountaineers in 2018. Texas A&M transfer Jordan Moore will back him up there after earning one start last fall. So although the Cougars are pretty set at nickel, there are several ways the back end of this 4-2-5 defense could shake out. From a numbers standpoint, the secondary ought to be a strength.

    Special teams: The Cougars had to say farewell to the great Dane Roy, the AAC Special Teams Player of the Year who finally graduated. Houston will try to replace him with another ProKick Australia product, Laine Wilkins, who enrolled at midyear. Kicker Dalton Witherspoon is back and made 20 of his 24 field goal attempts in 2019. Bubba Baxa transferred from Miami and should have to sit out this fall. Holgorsen says deep snapper is actually one of his concerns after graduating two seniors there. Marquez Stevenson returned two kickoffs for touchdowns last season, and Marcus Jones returned three for touchdowns at Troy in 2018, so that’s a pretty darn good return duo to go along with Bryson Smith, who handled most of the punt returns last year.

    How the Cougars have recruited from 2017-20

    [​IMG]

    When Houston signed five-star Ed Oliver and the No. 36 class in 2016, one of the best Group of 5 hauls of all time in terms of recruiting rankings, the message Oliver and the Cougars aimed to send was clear: The top recruits in the city of Houston need to team up and stay home.

    A few players from that class are still in the program today — Braylon Jones, Stevenson, Car, Corbin, Murphy — and they’ll help lead this team in 2020. But Houston was not able to leverage that historic 2016 class into bigger things in recruiting. Since the 2016 class, the program has signed zero four-star high school recruits. In fairness, having three different head coaches in this four-year span doesn’t help much.

    This staff embraces another method for getting great Houston-area recruits to join their program: the transfer portal. During his time at West Virginia, Holgorsen determined the best way to build Big 12 title contenders and consistent success was the transfer market, so they focused 50 percent of their recruiting efforts and scholarships on upgrading their talent level that way.

    “We’re gonna do the same thing here,” Holgorsen said last summer. “We’re gonna start in Katy and go to New Orleans and get kids that wanna be here out of high school, and then be able to get as many top-end transfers as we can.”

    They’ve already landed 16 FBS transfers in their first 17 months on the job. Including their junior college additions, the 2020 Houston roster will have more than 30 players who entered the program as transfers. Every year, blue-chip players in Texas go out-of-state for college but eventually realize they’d rather move close to home and get more playing time. Chasing them is a logical priority. It’s working for SMU with DFW Metroplex kids, and it’s working for Houston, too. And when you fill up on those transfers, you give your freshmen more time to develop. This staff is going to find underrated gems in their home state and in Louisiana who benefit from that emphasis on redshirting and long-term roster building.

    Impact of coaching changes

    Houston’s staff did not experience much change after Year 1, which is definitely encouraging. Blake Gideon left to become special teams coordinator at Ole Miss, and Justin Johnson left for the running backs job at Baylor. Holgorsen didn’t blame those two for departing — those new jobs doubled or tripled their salaries — and moved quickly to replace them.

    Mark Scott was promoted from special teams analyst to coordinator to replace Gideon. That was a pretty easy call for Holgorsen, as Scott has been working with him since 2012. The other vacancy went to Corby Meekins, who returns to Houston as the tight ends and inside receivers coach. Meekins, the former head coach at Houston Westfield High School, worked at UH from 2015-2016 under Tom Herman before following him to Texas.

    “I replaced them with two guys I feel really good about,” Holgorsen said.

    Holgorsen made some changes to job duties going into his second year, too. Shannon Dawson was elevated from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Marquel Blackwell held that role in 2019 but will now oversee the running backs. Again, it’s easy to see why Holgorsen was comfortable with making that switch. Dawson was his offensive coordinator at West Virginia from 2012-2014.

    The most important thing to Holgorsen as he continues reconstructing this program in his second year? “The schemes are the same,” he said. They’re not looking to disrupt things too much here. They know the key to getting a lot better in 2020 is building upon what they started last season, giving their players more reps, more experience and more confidence in the same systems.
     
  16. J.R.

    J.R. Member

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    Schedule analysis

    Sept. 3 Rice
    Sept. 12 at Washington State
    Sept. 19 at Memphis
    Sept. 26 North Texas
    Oct. 8 Tulane
    Oct. 16 at BYU
    Oct. 24 at Navy
    Oct. 31 UCF
    Nov. 7 at Cincinnati
    Nov. 14 USF
    Nov. 21 at SMU
    Nov. 28 Tulsa

    Holgorsen is a little happier with this schedule than the one Houston had in 2019, which opened in brutal fashion at 1-3 with losses against Oklahoma, Washington State and Tulane. “We were cooked,” he said. “We had some guys in a really bad place.” Still, this one poses a lot of challenges. He admits he’s not thrilled about playing two road games against Power 5-caliber foes in their nonconference slate. They’re in a good enough conference that they don’t need to be making things that much tougher with trips to Washington State and BYU.

    The fact Houston has to play road games against four of the best teams in the AAC — Memphis, Navy, Cincinnati and SMU — certainly stands out when you look over this schedule. “It’s as challenging of a road schedule as has to exist in college football,” Holgorsen said. There aren’t many easy stretches in this slate, and playing an equal number of home and road games isn’t ideal. Holgorsen is grateful to not have any short weeks this season, which is a big improvement from what the Cougars endured in 2019. That helps make this hard schedule a little more tolerable.

    “Our schedule is what it is,” he said. “Defend home turf and then plug away on the road.”

    Final assessment

    Houston is going to be better in 2020. What will it take for Year 2 to be a big success? The Cougars need Tune to play up to his potential and the offensive line to come together and keep him clean. They need steady improvement on defense, with more pressure and more takeaways. They need a lot better luck on the injury front, because their depth is still a work in progress in a lot of spots. And they need to find a way to win nearly all of their home games and steal a few road victories. All things considered, seven wins with a chance to get to eight in a bowl game would be a pretty impressive turnaround.
     
  17. Buck Turgidson

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    Pardon my french, but what the **** are you talking about?
     
  18. Nook

    Nook Member

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    They have a lot of talent. They can win 9-10 games and be ranked this year if they remain healthy.
     
  19. Hustle Town

    Hustle Town Contributing Member

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    I don't see Tune's potential as being that high. Losing King is a huge loss. The talent on offense isn't there.
     
    Fulgore and Poloshirtbandit like this.
  20. Poloshirtbandit

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