Fruits Of Championship Bring Bountiful Recruit Crop

2/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football

Feb. 7, 2007

HOUSTON - As defending Conference USA champions, the University of Houston took another step towards a repeat performance, today signing 23 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. The Cougars also Wednesday inked three student-athletes to Statements of Financial Aid.

Among the Class of 2007 are 20 from the state of Texas, including 11 from the Greater Houston area. UH head coach Art Briles, who was the 2006 Conference USA Coach of the Year while leading the Cougars to the league title, likes what he sees in this class.

"We're still carrying momentum from last season's championship run," said Briles, who will be entering his fifth season at the helm of the Houston program this fall. "We are one of only 11 teams that won a Division I (conference) championship, and (this title) allows us to create excitement and interest in the University of Houston football program. This is going to be reflected in our recruiting class.

"We know that we have some quality players that are quality people that are going to be great ambassadors for the University of Houston in future years."

The Class of 2007 includes seven offensive linemen, six defensive backs, five wide receivers, three defensive linemen, two each of linebackers and athletes and one running back. The list is headlined by junior-college transfer Rodney Brisbon, who was a 2006 NJCAA First Team All-America at Northwest Mississippi Junior College.

Houston-area players include the LaMarque High School tandem of wide receiver Joseph Florence and defensive tackle Michael Ray, wide receiver Tyron Carrier from Worthing High School, Brenham High School defensive back A.J. Edwards, St. Pius wide receiver Bakari Maxwell, linebacker Bo Mosley from Friendswood High School, Hempstead High School wide receiver Chris Tate, offensive lineman Chris Thompson of Hitchcock High School and Lamar High School athlete Demetrius Woods.

The Cougars also picked up DeKalb High School running back Terrance Ganaway, Converse Judson High School defensive back Roisean Haynes, Justin Johnson out of Berkner High School in Richardson, Garland South High School defensive tackle Demarcus Lattier, offensive lineman Chad Mullen from Scurry-Rosser High School, Sharyland High School offensive lineman Michael Sanchez and defensive back Ryan Tennison from Kimball High School in Dallas.

Briles and his staff reached outside the state of Texas and grabbed four from the state of Mississippi and one from Alabama. Besides Brisbon, offensive lineman Cory Bailey from Northwest Rankin High School in Brandon, wide receiver E.J. Smith from Camden Velma Jackson High School, and Brisbon's teammate at NWMJC, defensive end Tramaine Williams, all signed with Houston Wednesday.

Going outside the state of Texas, Briles was able to fill some needs with some talented players.

"We've been really strong in representing ourselves in the state of Mississippi the last three or four years," added Briles. "We get a lot of interest from players within that state that contact us, so we decided to get in there and recruit a bit. It has been beneficial to us. There are a lot of good players there.

"Of course, the majority of our players will come from the state of Texas because that is our last name, Texas. But, if we can branch out and get two or three each year from other states, then we want football players that will benefit our program."

Already on campus and enrolled at the University of Houston are offensive lineman Naseri Eteunit from Butler Community College, defensive back Loyce Means from Madison High School in Houston, and linebacker Tyrell Graham, a transfer from the University of Arkansas that prepped at Yates High School.

The Cougars begin their drive for back-to-back Conference USA titles on March 1, with the start of spring practice. The annual Red-White Game is slated for April 5 at John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium.

Name	Cl.	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Hometown	Previous School
Cory Bailey	Fr	6-5	275	OL	Brandon, Miss.	Northwest Rankin HS
Ricardo Bates	Fr.	5-11	170	DB	Prattville, Ala.	Prattville HS
Rodney Brisbon	Jr.	6-6	330	OT	Wetumpka, Ala.	NW Mississippi JC
Tyron Carrier	Fr.	5-9	170	WR	Houston, Texas	Worthing HS
A.J. Edwards	Fr.	6-1	178	DB	Brenham, Texas	Brenham HS
*Naseri Eteuini	Jr.	6-4	305	OL	El Dorado, Kan.	Butler County CC
Joseph Florence	Fr.	6-4	200	WR	LaMarque, Texas	LaMarque HS
Justin Freeman	Fr.	6-3	259	OL	Cuero, Texas	Cuero HS
Terrance Ganaway	Fr.	6-0	199	RB	DeKalb, Texas	DeKalb HS
*Tyrell Graham	So.	6-3	210	LB	Houston, Texas	Univ. of Arkansas
Cedric Hall	Fr.	6-3	230	DE	Carthage, Miss.	Carthage HS
Roisean Haynes	Fr.	5-11	170	DB	Converse, Texas	Judson HS
B.K. Johnson	Fr.	6-0	170	DB	Silsbee, Texas	Silsbee HS
Justin Johnson	Fr.	6-1	208	ATH	Richardson, Texas	Berkner HS
Demarcus Lattier	Fr.	6-2	285	DT	Garland, Texas	South HS
Bakari Maxwell	Fr.	6-1	170	WR	Houston, Texas	St. Pius HS
*Loyce Means	Fr.	5-10	156	DB	Houston, Texas	Madison HS
Bo Mosley	Fr.	6-2	220	LB	Friendswood, Texas	Friendswood HS
Chad Mullen	Fr.	6-6	270	OL	Scurry, Texas	Scurry-Rosser HS
Michael Ray	Fr.	6-2	236	DL	LaMarque, Texas	LaMarque HS
Michael Sanchez	Fr.	6-2	248	OL	Sharyland, Texas	Sharyland HS
E.J. Smith	Fr.	6-1	185	WR	Camden, Miss.	Velma Jackson HS
Chris Tate	Fr.	5-11	176	WR	Hempstead, Texas	Hempstead HS
Ryan Tennison	Fr.	5-10	190	DB	Dallas, Texas	Kimball HS
Chris Thompson	Fr.	6-3	270	OL	Hitchcock, Texas	Hitchcock HS
Tramaine Williams	Jr.	6-3	255	DE	Mobile, Ala.	NW Mississippi JC
Demetrius Woods	Fr.	6-0	170	ATH	Houston, Texas	Lamar HS