University of Houston Athletics
Defense Highlights Second Scrimmage
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 17, 2010
Houston, Texas - Even though the potent Cougar offense generated its normal amount of passing yards, the Houston defense stole the show on Saturday, racking up eight sacks and four interceptions in an hour-long scrimmage at Delmar Stadium.
Junior-college transfer Sammy Brown paced the attack, as the linebacker posted three sacks and one interception. Sophomore linebacker Kelvin King provided two of the sacks and finished with five tackles overall.
Offensively, junior quarterback Cotton Turner carried the load at signal-caller, throwing for 229 yards and two touchdowns but suffering three of the four interceptions. Junior Austin Elrod completed all four of his pass attempts for 103 yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore Crawford Jones (7-of-9 for 122) and redshirt freshman Drew Hollingshead (6-of-7 for 102) accounted for the other two touchdown tosses.
Heisman trophy candidate Case Keenum saw limited action and led Houston to a field goal on one of his drives.
"You have to be excited to play the game," UH head coach Kevin Sumlin said. "It also goes without saying if you have confidence, then you can be excited. If you lack confidence and are unsure of what you're doing, it is hard to get excited about something you are not prepared for.
"We've made some steps with 11 practices. Our guys are playing with enthusiasm and playing with excitement. That's good. That's players and that is also coaches."
With fellow senior James Cleveland sitting out spring recovering from off-season shoulder surgery, wide receiver Kierrie Johnson led all receivers with five catches for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson had a 33-yard scoring catch from Jones and then made a highlight-reel one-handed grab on a 43-yard strike from Elrod. Johnson finished up with a 60-yarder from Hollingshead.
Houston returns to the practice fields on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday next week before bringing spring practice to a close on Saturday, April 24, with the annual Red-White game at noon at Robertson Stadium.
