University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Conclude Camp With Scrimmage
8/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
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HOUSTON - The University of Houston football team concluded its preseason camp with its second full scrimmage this afternoon on the infield of the Carl Lewis International Track and Field Complex. With their second scrimmage behind them, the Cougars now concentrate on the first day of classes on Monday, August 24, as well as fine-tuning their production leading up to the season opener two weeks from today against Northwestern State on John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium.
"What we wanted to do is come out today, and get to the 66 or 70 guys that we are going to work with during the season," UH head coach Kevin Sumlin said. "The guys that were on the bubble, the guys that are young guys, we want to get them out here live without coaches, and they played a lot of football.
"The Ones (first-teamers) played about 25 snaps, and those other guys played about 55 snaps. And, that is about a game (worth of plays.) A game is about 60 or 70 (plays), so that will give us something to look at."
Even though the offense did score four touchdowns on the hot and humid afternoon, the defense put up some impressive numbers as well, registering four sacks, eight tackles for loss and one interception.
Freshman running back Charles Sims had the first score of the game, bulling in from one-yard out, while junior Marc Woods and redshirt freshman Jeremiah Alexander each tacked on 2-yard scores. The other touchdown was a 16-yard pass from sophomore Austin Elrod to redshirt freshman Ronnie Williams.
Junior quarterback Case Keenum connected on 10-of-15 passes for 86 yards before turning the scrimmage over to his understudy, sophomore Cotton Turner. Turner tacked on 82 yards on eight-of-14 throwing with the lone interception, picked off by senior Carson Blackmon.
Alexander led all rushers with 22 yards on nine carries, while five Cougars (Chaz Rodriguez, Marcus Williams, Isaiah Sweeney, Chris Gilbert and Alexander) had three catches a piece.
True freshman defensive end Zeke Riser continued to open eyes in his first collegiate camp, posting two quarterback sacks and three total tackles. Senior linebacker C.J. Cavness led all tacklers with seven total stops.
After taking Sunday off, the Cougars get into their regular weekly routine on Monday, with practices all week leading up to their final weekend before the season opener on September 5.
