University of Houston Athletics
Wednesday Football Practice Report
10/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 11, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team returned outside to the practice fields at the UH Athletics Complex for a two-hour workout Wednesday afternoon.
Houston (4-2, 2-0 C-USA) lost a 31-28 decision to Louisiana-Lafayette at Robertson Stadium, while Southern Miss (3-2, 1-1 C-USA) fell 20-6 at Tulsa on Oct. 3.
The Cougars square off with Southern Miss at 6 p.m. (CDT), Saturday at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg. That game can be heard live on ESPN 790 AM with the pregame show beginning one hour before kickoff. Tom Franklin will handle the play-by-play duties, while former record-setting UH quarterback David Klingler will provide color analysis. Former All-Southwest Conference center Chuck Brown serves as the sideline reporter. All Cougar Football games can be heard live on the Internet by logging onto www.UHCougars.com.
The All-N-One Lil' Coogs were out at practice for the last 30 minutes providing crowd noise as the team drove down the field.
"It's always invigorating when you have young people out here," head coach Art Briles said. "They have young and fresh minds. They did a great helping us simulate crowd noise."
Houston will face another mobile quarterback as Jeremy Young has thrown for 625 yards and three touchdowns in addition to averaging 4.5 yards per carry in his 23 carries for the Golden Eagles this season. Stephen Reaves also has seen action at quarterback in four games, passing for 231 yards.
Southern Miss paces Conference USA and ranks No. 13 in the nation, averaging 169.0 yards per game on the ground. Damion Fletcher headlines the USM rushing attack, posting 120.2 yards per game. Fletcher has also found paydirt five times.
Both quarterbacks look to tight end Shawn Nelson, who has a team-best 15 receptions for 189 yards. Damion Carter is the deep threat in the offense, notching 20.9 yards a reception. Carter has caught two of the three passing touchdowns for USM this season.
"They are a ball-control run base offense," Briles said. "They're big and powerful up front. They run a high percentage offense. Young is a solid quarterback who can move. We have to stop them on first down and put them in more predictable situations in the later downs."
The Golden Eagle defense allows 17.0 points per game, while the secondary has seven interceptions in five games.
Brandon Sumrall headlines the Southern Miss defense, recording 34 tackles, including 24 solo efforts. The rover is an all-around threat with two sacks and an interception. Martavius Price anchors USM's 3-4 scheme with eight of his 17 tackles coming for a loss from his defensive tackle spot.
"Southern Miss has built their reputation as a program on solid defense," Briles said. "They're a tough team to move the ball and score points on."
Saturday's game marks the 10th time that Houston and Southern Miss have met on the gridiron. The Cougars snapped a six-game winning streak that the Golden Eagles enjoyed in the series with a 27-24 victory at Robertson Stadium last season.
"Our guys will rise up to the challenge without a doubt in our mind," Briles said. "We have guys with a lot of determination, heart, fight and pride in them. We're breathing so we're fighting. It's a deal where I believe our season begins again this week. Everything good or bad is behind us."
