University of Houston Athletics
Football Returns Outside Wednesday
9/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston football returned outside for a two-hour workout under sunny conditions Wednesday afternoon at the UH Athletics Complex.
The Cougars continue their three-game homestand when they face Grambling State at 6 p.m., Saturday at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium. 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.
"We needed to get back outside after being indoors on Tuesday," head coach Art Briles said. "Our kids needed to sweat and move at a faster pace. We had a good workout today but there are something that we need to improve upon before we strap it up on Saturday."
The Cougars picked up a dominating 45-7 victory over Tulane last Saturday, while GSU fell in overtime for the second consecutive week.
Briles knows how dangerous Division I-AA teams can be. A couple of weeks ago, Colorado lost its season opener 19-10 to Montana State, while Northwestern fell 38-17 to New Hampshire last week.
"All we have to do is look in the paper Sunday morning after the games and there are always upsets that happen," Briles said. "We don't want to be another statistic, and we're taking steps to avoid that. Our goal is to continue to improve each week we step out on the field and to protect our home turf."
On offense, Brandon Landers has already thrown for 544 yards and six touchdowns. Landers spreads the ball around to four primary receivers, who are separated by 11 yards in yardage. Tim Abney is the explosive one of the bunch, averaging 19.6 yards per catch on only seven catches but has two touchdowns.
"Grambling's scheme is centered around being a big play offense," Briles said. "They have a lot guys on the field that won 11 games last year. Their players know how to win and aren't going to let us win easily Saturday. They're going to put up a fight, and we have to match their intensity."
Linebacker David Hicks paces the defense with 18 tackles, while linebacker Dimitri Carr is right behind with 14 stops.
"Hicks is very fast on the outside, while Carr is very strong on the inside," Briles said. "They also have a very strong secondary that plays very smart."
Saturday will mark the first time that Houston and Grambling State will meet on the gridiron. The Cougars are 8-0 all-time against Division I-AA opponents, including a 31-10 victory over Sam Houston State a season ago.
