University of Houston Athletics
Game Notes - Houston vs. Southern
8/27/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug 27, 2013
Game Notes (PDF) | Game Notes Central | Weekly Press Conference
 | THE GAME |
| The Game At A Glance | |
|---|---|
| Date | Friday, Aug. 30, 2013 |
| Time | 7:30 p.m. CST |
| Location | Houston, Texas |
| Venue | Reliant Stadium |
| Capacity | 71,000 |
| Surface | Synthetic Turf |
| TV | ESPN3.com |
| Radio | KTRH 740 AM |
| Live Stats | UHCougars.com |
» The University of Houston opens its 68th year of football on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7:30 p.m. inside Reliant Stadium as it takes on Southern for just the second time in program history. Houston's all-time record in its first 67 years of existence is 388-341-15, including a mark of 34-31-2 in season openers and 38-29 in home openers.
» The 2013 season marks Houston's first in The American Athletic Conference and its first opportunity to automatically qualify for a BCS Bowl by winning the league crown. Houston previously spent 17 years as a member of Conference USA. The American is Houston's sixth conference since the program started in 1946. The Cougars are a combined 32-22-1 when their first years as a conference newcomer are combined.
» Houston's two-deep depth chart sports 23 underclassmen, including eight true freshmen, compared to the 21 upperclassmen among the chart.
» Houston returns on campus to the Houston Football Stadium in 2014 as its new stadium is being constructed on the footprint of its former home, Robertson Stadium. Houston will #PaintHoustonRed as it plays its 2013 games at three sites across the nation's fourth largest city. The Cougars will play five games in Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, one game at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of MLS' Houston Dynamo, and one game at Rice Stadium.
| | THE COACHES |
Dawson Odums | North Carolina Central University, 1997 | 4-5 (2nd year at Southern)
| | FAST FACTS ON THE SERIES |
» Series Record at Houston Houston leads, 1-0
» Series Record at Southern N/A
» Last Meeting Houston 55, Southern 3 (Aug. 30, 2008 at Houston)
| | PLAYERS TO WATCH |
 | DEONTAY GREENBERRY, WR, SO. In Greenberry's first season on campus, the 6-3 wideout spent his time on the outside of Houston's formations en route to being named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team with 47 receptions for 569 yards and three touchdowns. Under new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham, Greenberry was shifted to an inside receiver spot to take advantage of mismatches versus safeties (size) and linebackers (speed). |
 | DERRICK MATHEWS, LB, JR. After starting the first 26 games of his career at weakside linebacker, junior Derrick Mathews moves to the middle linebacker position in 2013. This season Mathews will be looking for his third straight season with triple-digit tackles after recording 126 last year and 106 in 2011 when he was named a Freshman All-American. A force behind the line of scrimmage in 2012, Mathews finished with 17 tackles for loss, which ranked 20th nationally, and six sacks. |
The weekly one-hour call-in radio show will take place each Tuesday from 8-9 p.m. CT and will air live on KPRC 950 AM (Weeks 1-5, 10, 12) and KBMF-AM SportsTalk 790 (Weeks 6-9, 11, 13). Join Houston head coach Tony Levine and host Jeremy Branham each Tuesday at Ragin Cajun restaurant at 4302 Richmond Ave. for the show.
| | MEDIA AVAILABILITY |
| Sunday First 30 minutes of practice open to media. Time: 6 p.m. Players and Coaches available post practice Estimated time: 7 p.m. | Monday No availability | Tuesday*#^ Media luncheon (11 a.m.), Carl Lewis Auditorium. First 30 minutes of practice open to media. Time: 4:30 p.m. Players and Coaches available post practice Estimated time: 6:30 p.m. | Wednesday Coaches available post practice Estimated time: 6 p.m. | Thursday-Saturday No availability |
| * Some players have evening classes and are not available. # Players and coaches who appear at the media luncheon are not available after the Tuesday practice. ^Coach Levine's radio show is Tuesday evenings and he is not available after practice that evening. | ||||
| | THE OPPONENT |
» Southern finished the 2012 season 4-7, including a 3-6 mark in the SWAC. The Jaguars dropped their lone meeting with an FBS team, a 66-21 season-opening loss at New Mexico.
» The Jaguars return their starting quarterback in Dray Joseph who threw for 2,516 yards in 2012 with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Joseph's top target, Lee Doss, also returns after pulling in 65 receptions for 703 yards and eight touchdowns. On the ground, Southern's second-leading rusher from last season, Darrius Coleman, returns after rushing for 183 yards on 54 attempts.
| | THE SERIES |
» Case Keenum threw for 392 yards and five touchdowns as the Cougars jumped out to a 24-0 lead. After Southern got on the board with 36-yard field goal with 6:38 left in the second quarter, Houston scored 31 straight to end the game.
| | MOVING TO THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE |
» One of four new programs in The American Athletic Conference, Houston will host Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU and USF while traveling to UCF, Louisville, Rutgers and Temple. Non-conference action will see UH face off against Southern, Rice, UTSA and BYU.
» Houston has never played three of the teams - BYU, Rutgers and UTSA.
» Entering its 23rd season as a football-playing entity, The American Athletic Conference holds its BCS automatic qualifier status for the 2013 season.
| TOP 10 HOUSTON OPENERS | ||
|---|---|---|
| 70,001 | vs. Texas A&M | 9/25/76 |
| 65,131 | vs. Texas A&M | 9/27/58 |
| 56,000 | vs. Mississippi State | 9/29/56 |
| 55,000 | vs. Baylor | 9/22/51 |
| 54,000 | vs. Texas A&M | 9/20/52 |
| 52,000 | vs. Miami | 9/21/57 |
| 45,000 | vs. Mississippi | 9/19/59 |
| 44,000 | vs. Mississippi | 9/17/60 |
| 43,917 | vs. Rice | 9/15/73 |
| 42,361 | vs. Texas A&M | 10/8/88 |
| | #PaintHoustonRed |
» Houston held its official groundbreaking for the Houston Football Stadium on the previous footprint of Robertson Stadium on Feb. 8, 2013. The 40,000-seat stadium is set to open August of 2014.
» With its on-campus home being constructed, the Cougars will #PaintHoustonRed as they play four of their 2013 games at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, one at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the MLS' Houston Dynamo and one at Rice Stadium.
» Houston is 1-4 all time at Reliant Stadium with its lone win coming last season when it defeated crosstown rival Rice, 35-14.
» The Cougars are 55-36-3 all time at Rice Stadium, home of the Nov. 23 meeting with Cincinnati, and have never played at BBVA Compass Stadium, the site of their Oct. 12 game vs. Memphis.
| | YOUTH IS SERVED |
» When Houston takes the field, its two-deep depth chart will sport just eight seniors among its 44 spots on offense and defense. Senior punter Richie Leone is not counted in the eight but holds down the starting position at kicker, punter and kickoff specialist, Houston's only senior on the special teams depth chart.
» All together, the Houston offensive and defensive two-deep shows four true freshmen, six redshirt freshmen, 13 sophomores, 13 juniors and the eight seniors.
» Nine true freshmen played in 2013 for Houston including 30 starts.
» Three of Houston's top nine receivers in 2013 were true freshmen while three of the top four rushers were sophomores or freshmen.
» Trevon Stewart led all freshmen nationally with 126 tackles in 2012.
» Stewart and receivers Deontay Greenberry and Larry McDuffey were named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team last season. Greenberry led the league's freshmen with 47 receptions for 569 yards while McDuffey led all first-year players in the league with four receiving touchdowns.
| THE AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE STANDINGS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The American | Overall | |||||||
| TEAM | W | L | Pct. | W | L | Pct. | LAST WEEK | THIS |
| Houston | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Southern |
| UCF | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Akron (Thursday) |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Purdue |
| Conneticut | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Townson (Thursday) |
| Louisville | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Ohio (Sunday) |
| Rutgers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | at Fresno State (Thursday) |
| SMU | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Texas Tech (Friday) |
| USF | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | McNeese State |
| Temple | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | at Notre Dame |
| Memphis | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | Bye |
| 2013 NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference | Overall | |||||||
| TEAM | W | L | Pct. | W | L | Pct. | LAST WEEK | THIS |
| Southern (SWAC) | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | at Houston |
| Rice (C-USA) | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | at Texas A&M |
| UTSA (C-USA) | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | at New Mexico |
| BYU (Independent) | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | .000 | - | at Virginia |
| | DEGREES IN HAND |
» Five Houston seniors entered the season having already earned an undergraduate degree. George Bamfo, Thomas Bates, Ty Cloud, Kevin Forsch and Ralph Oragwu all completed degree requirements prior to this season.
» Bates earned his degree in health while Oragwu completed course work for a sociology degree.
» On the business side of things, Bamfo and Cloud received degrees in consumer sciences and marketing while Forsch earned a business degree.
» Three additional Cougars complete their degree requirements this December: Aaron Johnson, Austin Lunsford and David Piland.
| | BEGINNER'S LUCK? |
» The American Athletic Conference marks Houston's sixth conference since the program was founded in 1946. UH also spent 17 years as an independent (1950, 1960-75).
» Houston never finished worse than third in the West Division of Conference USA after finishing in the top three in 2012.
» C-USA title game participants in 2011, 2009 and 2006, Houston and Tulsa (2012, 2008, 2007, 2005) established a grip on the C-USA West crown. Only SMU (2010) advanced from the west to the C-USA title game in the game's eight-year existence.
» Houston ended its Conference USA stint with the second-best league record since 2005 when the conference split into two divisions. Over the last eight years since the divisional split, Houston accumulated a league record of 45-19 and an overall record of 65-39.
| Conference | Years | Record | First Year/Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star | 1946-48 | 12-20 | 4-6/5th |
| Gulf Coast | 1949 | 5-4-1 | 5-4-1/3rd |
| Missouri Valley | 1951-59 | 49-37-3 | 6-5/4th |
| Southwest | 1976-95 | 115-108-4 | 10-2/1st |
| Conference USA | 1996-2012 | 104-103 | 7-5/1st |
| American | 2013- | 0-0 | 0-0/? |
| | LOOKING AHEAD TO 2013 |
» Twenty-six full or part-time starters, not counting specialists, return in 2013. Among those are last year's leaders in passing (David Piland), kick returns (Ryan Jackson), interceptions (Zach McMillian) and punting (Richie Leone).
» The 12 opponents on the 2013 schedule combined for a record of 85-65 (.567), eight finished .500 or better, six won at least eight games including three with at least 10 wins and seven played in bowl games.
» The program welcomes an incoming class of 29 that is comprised of 19 high school student-athletes, eight junior college transfers and two four-year transfers.
» Five of the 26 newcomers enrolled in the program in January for spring workouts - DE Trevor Harris, WR D'Juan Hines, LB Elandon Roberts, LB Caleb Tucker and DB Turon Walker.
» Houston's roster sports 47 players who were not with the program in 2012 and 15 who redshirted last season in their first year on campus.
| | LOOKING BACK AT 2012 |
» Houston finished its final season in Conference USA and its final year in Robertson Stadium with a 5-7 record including a 4-4 mark in C-USA play.
» Safety Trevon Stewart earned FWAA Freshman All-America honors while 13 total Cougars earned All-Conference USA honors.
» Nine true freshmen played on the year and accounted for 27 starts.
» With 45 points in its win over UTEP, Houston eclipsed the 35-point mark for the fifth straight game, a feat that had only been accomplished two other times in program history - by the 2011 team (12 straight games to open the season) and the 1989 team (six straight games to end the season).
» The 2012 senior class closed out its career in a tie for seventh for the most wins, 33, by a single class in a four-year period at the University of Houston.
» Injuries hit the Houston program especially hard last season as members of the team's two deep missed a combined 58 games this season due to injuries. Eight players suffered season-ending injuries and the team's most valuable player, Charles Sims, was forced to miss three full games and the second half of three others.
| | END OF CONFERENCE USA ERA |
» The 2012 season marked the end of Houston's 17-year run as a member in Conference USA. Houston's first year as a member came in 1996 as the Cougars recorded a 4-1 conference record. Houston finished its stint in C-USA with a 68-60 conference record in the 17-year span and an overall record of 103-104.
» Houston never finished worse than third in the West Division of Conference USA after finishing in the top three in 2012.
» C-USA title game participants in 2011, 2009 and 2006, Houston and Tulsa (2012, 2008, 2007, 2005) established a grip on the C-USA West crown. Only SMU (2010) advanced from the west to the C-USA title game in the game's eight-year existence.
» Houston ended its Conference USA stint with the second-best league record since 2005 when the conference split into two divisions. Over the last eight years since the divisional split, Houston accumulated a league record of 45-19 and an overall record of 65-39.
| School | C-USA Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Tulsa | 48-17 | 72-34 |
| Houston | 45-19 | 65-39 |
| East Carolina | 44-20 | 57-46 |
| UCF | 43-22 | 60-44 |
| Southern Miss | 36-28 | 57-45 |
| Rank | Team | Total Yards (06-present) | Season Average (06-12) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Houston | 48,315 | 6,902 |
| 2. | Oregon | 44,707 | 6,387 |
| 3. | Oklahoma | 44,702 | 6,386 |
| 4. | Nevada | 44,340 | 6,334 |
| 5. | Boise State | 41,947 | 5,992 |
| | ON THE OFFENSIVE |
» Since 2006, no team in college football has racked up more offensive yards than Houston who has 48,315 yards in that time.
| | QUICK STRIKE POTENTIAL |
» Of Houston's 64 offensive scoring drives last season, 30 came in under two minutes. Twelve of those 30 came in under a minute with the season's quickest drive lasting just seven seconds at East Carolina as David Piland hit Isaiah Sweeney in the end zone from 34 yards out.
» Sixteen scoring drives consisted of five plays or less.
» Fourteen of Houston's touchdowns last year covered at least 30 yards. Ten different Houston players crossed the goal line on the 14 30-plus yard TDs.
| | OFFENSIVE COACHING CHANGES |
» Doug Meacham, who spent the last eight seasons at Oklahoma State, joined the Houston staff on Jan. 14 as the program's new offensive coordinator. A vital part of an OSU offense that averaged at least 40 points in five of his eight years in Stillwater, Meacham will oversee the program's quarterbacks.
» Entering his second season at Houston, Travis Bush was elevated to co-offensive coordinator and assistant head coach and shifted back to leading the program's running backs after taking over as offensive play caller and quarterbacks coach during the 2012 season.
» Glen Elarbee joined the program on Jan. 14 as its offensive line coach after spending 2012 at Middle Tennessee State where his unit ranked second nationally with just seven sacks allowed on 344 pass attempts. The first-year Houston coach spent two seasons coaching alongside Meacham at Oklahoma State.
» Brandon Middleton and Jamie Christian both return in 2012 with Middleton coaching outside receivers and Christian taking on the inside receivers including the return of the tight end position.
| | THROWING IT AROUND |
» Two scholarship quarterbacks from 2012 return - junior David Piland and sophomore Bram Kohlhausen.
» Houston head coach Tony Levine announced David Piland as his starting quarterback on Friday, Aug. 23, and also announced that his backup, John O'Korn, will play against Southern.
» Piland started 10 games, missing one with an injury, and finished the year with 2,924 yards and 16 touchdowns on 256-of-448 passing.
» After stepping into action as a true freshman in 2010, Piland redshirted in 2011 before grabbing the starting reins in 2012. The junior currently ranks seventh in Houston history with 457 career completions and 5,585 career passing yards.
» Piland was fourth on the team in 2012 with 190 rushing yards including the season's longest rush - an 86-yard TD scamper at UCLA.
» O'Korn knows a thing or two about winning as he led St. Thomas Aquinas to the Florida Class 7A State Title en route to earning Florida 7A Offensive Player of the Year honors. He finished the year with 2,552 passing yards and 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions while rushing 95 times for 576 yards and 15 touchdowns.
» The program welcomes two more quarterbacks to the roster in 2013 - junior college transfer Billy Cosh and freshman Greg Ward Jr.
| | THE LINE ON THE LINE |
» For the second straight year, the Houston offensive line lost just one starter as right guard Jacolby Ashworth graduated after earning All-Conference USA honors in his final season.
» The returning group consists of six players with a combined 92 games of starting experience in their past - LT Rowdy Harper (26), LG Ty Cloud (26), RG/C Kevin Forsch (19), RT Ralph Oragwu (10), C Bryce Redman (8) and T DeAnthony Sims (3).
» The group of returning starters sports an average height of 6-3 with an average weight of 311 pounds.
» Houston's 2012 offensive line gave up just 18 sacks on the season, ranking second in Conference USA and 43rd nationally.
» The front line unit will be led by new coach Glen Elarbee who coached a Middle Tennessee State offensive line in 2012 that finished second nationally with just seven sacks given up.
» Houston's incoming offensive line class of Damien Parris, Ja'Braylin Thomas and Josh Thomas stand at an average height of 6-5 and have an average weight of 334 pounds.
| | A WHOLE CAST OF CHARACTERS |
| Opponent | # with a reception | # with receiving TDs |
|---|---|---|
| Texas State | 8 | 1 |
| Louisiana Tech | 10 | 4 |
| UCLA | 7 | 0 |
| Rice | 7 | 2 |
| North Texas | 8 | 2 |
| UAB | 11 | 1 |
| SMU | 8 | 2 |
| UTEP | 8 | 2 |
| East Carolina | 10 | 4 |
| Tulsa | 8 | 1 |
| Marshall | 10 | 3 |
| Tulane | 8 | 1 |
» The 10 returning players who recorded a catch in 2012 combined for a total of 191 receptions for 2,410 yards and 17 touchdowns.
» The 2012 season saw 19 different Houston players record a reception including eight players with at least 20 receptions and four with at least 37. At least seven different players had a reception in 11 of 12 games including 11 players with a catch vs. UAB.
» Five players accounted for seven 100-yard receiving efforts last season as Dewayne Peace (141 vs. Louisiana Tech, 103 at UCLA, 101 vs. Tulane), Daniel Spencer (157 vs. Louisiana Tech), Larry McDuffey (100 vs. Rice), Shane Ros (114 vs. UAB) and Charles Sims (114 vs. SMU) accomplished the feat.
» The group will be joined by a couple of newcomers as true freshmen Demarcus Ayers and John Leday are listed in the team's two deep. The duo's classmate, Donald Gage, could also see time at the wideout position as well.
| | RUSHING TO CONCLUSIONS |
» Sophomore Kenneth Farrow was second on the team in 2012 with 86 carries for 466 yards and two touchdowns. The 5-11, 216-pound back returns as Houston's starting running back.
» A second sophomore, Ryan Jackson, will team with Farrow after gashing Tulane for 129 yards and two TDs in last season's finale. Jackson finished the year with 252 yards and three TDs.
» Others to watch at the running back position are sophomore Justin Hicks and freshmen Joseph Glenn and Javin Webb.
| | CHANGES TO THE DEFENSIVE STAFF |
» Veteran NFL and NCAA defensive coach David Gibbs takes over as Houston's defensive coordinator in 2013. The 20-year coaching veteran has been part of a coaching staff that has played in a bowl game in seven of his 11 years on the collegiate level. The latest came in his last collegiate coaching stop when he served as defensive coordinator at Auburn in 2005. The Tiger defense ranked sixth nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 15.5 points per game, while ranking 11th in sacks with 39 and 16th in third-down defense.
» Also new to the Houston defensive staff is linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves. 28-year coaching veteran has been part of a coaching staff that has played in a bowl in 12 of his last 15 seasons including back-to-back BCS National Championship appearances at Miami.
» In his second season at Houston, Ricky Logo will take over the entire defensive line while Zac Spavital handles the secondary for the sixth season.
| | TACKLING MACHINES |
» With its opponents winning the time of possession battle, Houston defenders were given the opportunity to pile up some numbers in 2012 and several did so as 10 Cougars racked up 37 double-digit tackle efforts.
» Derrick Mathews led the way with eight double-digit tackle efforts in 2012. With last season's effort, Mathews has 10 career games with at least 10 tackles.
» In his first year on the collegiate level, Trevon Stewart led all freshmen nationally with 126 tackles and was second to Marshall's Dominick LeGrande (132) as the nation's top defensive back in tackles.
» Stewart was second behind Mathews with his six games with at least 10 tackles including a Houston season-high 21 stops against East Carolina. The 21-tackle total marked the seventh-best tackle game in Houston history.
» Mathews and Stewart finished tied for second on the team with 126 tackles each, just two behind the 128 of team leader, 2012 senior Phillip Steward.
| | SECONDARY STARTERS |
» With all four starters from the 2012 season finale returning, the Houston secondary is in a battle with the offensive line as the team's most experienced group.
» Behind linebacker Derrick Mathews with 26 starts, senior cornerback Zach McMillian has the most starts of all defensive players with 25 career starts including all 12 games last season. The No. 2 corner on the team until D.J. Hayden went down with a season-ending injury, McMillian stepped up into the lead role and finished the season with interceptions in four of the last five games including all three games that Hayden missed.
» Also affected by Hayden's injury was senior corner Thomas Bates who started the final three games of the season at the No. 2 corner. In those three games Bates collected 26 tackles after only totaling nine tackles in the first nine games of the season. Bates also led the team in passes broken up, with 10 including five in the three games he started.
» At free safety, Trevon Stewart returns after starting the final 10 games of 2012 at the position en route to earning FWAA Freshman All-America honors. The Patterson, La., native also broke up seven passes.
» Adrian McDonald started two games in 2012 at nickel back before starting the season-finale at strong safety. A high school quarterback in his first year on defense, McDonald finished his lone start with eight tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. The Lawton, Okla., native also picked off two passes on the season.
| | LOOK AT THE LINEBACKERS |
» With the loss of the most experienced player on the team in strongside linebacker Phillip Steward, new linebackers coach Vernon Hargreaves will look to replace Steward and starting middle linebacker Everett Daniels in 2013.
» Hargreaves' track record coaching linebackers speaks for itself. With seven linebackers at Miami alone drafted, Hargreaves also has Butkus Award, Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award winners on his resume along with two of three finalists for the Butkus Award in 2003.
» The group's lone returning starter from 2012, Derrick Mathews is the defense's most experienced player with 26 career starts and moves to the middle for 2013 after starting 26 straight games on the weakside. The junior has posted triple-digit tackles in his first two seasons on campus including 126 last season. His 80 assisted tackles in 2012 was the third-best single-season assisted tackle total in Houston history.
» Replacing Mathews on the weakside will be senior George Bamfo, a veteran of 34 career games who seemed to click in the spring. Backing Bamfo is junior Efrem Oliphant, a veteran of 23 career games with three career starts as a true freshman in 2010 when he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
» On the strongside, redshirt-freshman Steve Taylor has grabbed the starting spot and will be backed up by senior Austin Wilson. A veteran of 31 games, Wilson has 17 career tackles.
» The linebacking group welcomed two newcomers in the spring in sophomore Elandon Roberts, who transferred from Morgan State, and freshman Caleb Tucker, who enrolled early from high school in Monroe, La. In his lone season at Morgan State, Roberts was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the nation's top freshman on the FCS level, as he finished the year with 107 tackles, two sacks, one interception and broke up two passes.
| | THREE OR FOUR? |
» Depending on Gibbs' defensive call, Houston fans could possibly see a 4-3 or a 3-4 formation without a single player leaving the field as the returning defensive ends have the ability to easily shift to a stand-up linebacker position.
» The only returning defensive lineman that was a regular in the 2012 starting lineup is junior defensive tackle Joey Mbu. With eight starts last season, Mbu had 27 tackles on the year while constantly holding up the point of attack.
» After starting at Houston as a defensive back before moving to linebacker, Eric Eiland has now made the move to defensive end as he continues to bulk up without losing his quickness. A former minor league baseball player, Eiland exploded in the season finale of his freshman year with four tackles, a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
» Junior defensive end Eric Braswell holds down the starting end spot opposite Eiland. Braswell has 13 career starts with two coming in 2012 while his backup, Cameron Malveaux, has bulked up to 252 pounds on his 6-6 frame. He is joined on the starting lineup chart by sophomore defensive tackle Tomme Mark who earned his first career start last season.
| | BEHIND THE LINE |
» The Houston defense ranked 10th nationally with 36 sacks and 22nd in the nation with 85 tackles for loss although a number of those will have to be replaced. Derrick Mathews led all returners with 17 tackles for loss, a number that ranked 17th nationally last season, and six sacks, which ranked ninth in Conference USA.
| | LEAVE IT TO LEONE |
» Senior Richie Leone will handle the starting punting duties for the fourth straight year. In addition to punting, Leone is also Houston's starting kicker and kickoff specialist.
» As a punter, the Roswell, Ga., native earned First Team All-Conference USA honors last year as he tied the Houston school record with an average punt of 45.5 yards. The average is the second-best nationally among all returning punters.
» Leone placed 18 of his punts inside opponents' 20-yard line including nine inside the 10-yard line. Twenty of Leone's 60 punts exceeded 50 yards including four over 60 yards and a career-long 77-yard punt vs. Louisiana Tech. Just 21 of Leone's punts were returned with opponents calling for 24 fair catches with just six touchbacks on the year.
» Leone also handles kickoff duties for the Cougars with 25 touchbacks on 71 attempts in 2012.
» Leone handled the majority of the kicking duties in the spring and held on to the starting duties coming out of fall camp while sophomore Kyle Bullard will back him up. Bullard earned Second Team All-State honors as a senior at Samuel V. Champion High School in Boerne, Texas.
» Sophomore Dylan Seibert will back up Leone at punter after transferring to Houston from Oklahoma at the start of fall camp. The Tulsa, Okla., native did not see any game action at OU but has quickly impressed in the Houston camp. Seibert also grabbed starting holder duties in the fall.
» Highly-touted freshman kicker Ty Cummings joined Houston in August. The Southake Carroll product was rated the nation's top kicker by Scout and will back Leone on kickoffs.
» At deep snapper, sophomore Nolan Frese takes over after backing up Brandon Hartson, who signed a three-year deal with the Chicago Bears, last season. The Roanoke, Texas, native was ranked by Chris Sailer Kicking as the No. 1 long snapper in the state of Texas in 2010 and the No. 7 long snapper in the nation. He'll be backed up freshman Byron Simpson.
| START CHART | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 2012 | Streak | Career |
| Offense | |||
| Cloud (OL) | 12 | 26 | 26 |
| Harper (OL) | 12 | 26 | 26 |
| Forsch (OL) | 5 | 1 | 19 |
| Piland (QB) | 10 | - | 18 |
| Greenberry (WR) | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| Oragwu (OL) | 10 | - | 10 |
| Redman (OL) | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Spencer (WR) | 7 | - | 7 |
| Maxwell (WR) | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| McDuffey (WR) | 4 | - | 4 |
| Farrow (RB) | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| D. Sims (OL) | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Ros (WR) | 3 | - | 3 |
| Jackson (RB) | 1 | - | 1 |
| Defense | |||
| Mathews (LB) | 12 | 26 | 26 |
| McMillian (CB) | 12 | 16 | 25 |
| Brooks (S) | 4 | - | 14 |
| Braswell (DL) | 2 | - | 13 |
| Stewart (DB) | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Valencia (S) | 6 | - | 10 |
| Mbu (DL) | 8 | - | 8 |
| Bates (CB) | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| McDonald (CB) | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Olifphant (LB) | - | - | 3 |
| Bamfo (LB) | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mark (DT) | 1 | - | 1 |
| | RETURNING RETURNERS |
» Tony Levine and special teams coordinator Jamie Christian will have plenty of options to work with in the return game as seven of the nine Cougars with multiple returns in 2012 return this season.
» Sophomore Larry McDuffey is penciled in as Houston's starting punt returner. The receiver did not return any punts in his first year on campus. He'll be backed up by junior Damian Payne, the only returning player with multiple punt returns in 2012, taking back nine punts for a total of 33 yards (3.7 average). Opposing punters in 2012 forced 19 fair catches from Cougar returners while placing 27 punts inside the Houston 20-yard line.
» At kick returner, Houston will see one new face to the team and one new face to the kick return position. Sophomore Justin Hicks, who received the Offensive Scout Team MVP in 2012, is listed as starting kick returner as is freshman Demarcus Ayers. Hicks, who redshirted in 2011 and did not see any action in 2012, could also see time in Houston's backfield. A receiver at Houston, Ayers played quarterback in high school, finishing with 1,337 rushing yards and 1,823 passing yards as a senior.
» Sophomore Ryan Jackson was the only Houston player to hit double digits in kick returns as he led the way with 14 returns for 304 yards (21.7 average). Junior Daniel Spencer had four returns for 69 yards (17.2 average) while sophomore Kenneth Farrow's total of three returns for 128 yards (42.7 average) was boosted by a team best 61-yard return at Marshall.
» Other returners with multiple kick returns were sophomore Larry McDuffey (3-63), junior Aaron Johnson (2-9) and junior Damian Payne (2-42).
» Marcus Williams was the only Houston player with multiple returns to graduate as he had six returns for 123 yards.
| | PRESS CONFERENCE |
HOUSTON HEAD COACH TONY LEVINE
Opening statement
"I've done more talking since the end of last season it seems like than I would have preferred to. I don't mind it, but we're close to being done talking at this point. Our guys are ready to go. Everybody within our program is. We're three days away now. We've had a great three weeks of preparation and practice. I've said this before and I'll say it again. The young men are ready to tackle somebody else, score touchdowns against somebody else, and go out and compete Friday night to show everybody what this 2013 University of Houston football team is going to look like. I'm excited for the game to get here. We have practice this afternoon. We'll do about an hour and forty-five minutes in helmets and shoulder pads then we'll go for about an hour just in helmets."
On how quickly junior college transfer Markeith Ambles will be ready to play
"We've got an extensive checklist of things he has to go through with compliance, getting the physical, and things academically. He certainly will not play Friday night and in my mind the Rice game, in week three after the bye-week, will be the target for him to get up-to-speed. "
On differences in preparation this year from last year
"We've done things a lot differently than we did last year. In terms of hours worked and preparation, it's been the same. We've made some changes to practice and we have a new offensive and defensive coordinator. We've done some things in terms of modifying how we practice. To help our defense, we've changed some things within our August schedule to help our guys stay fresh and more injury-free. It's been a great three weeks of preparation."
On feelings going into the game
"It's a completely different team. Of the 105 men practicing with our team at this point, 43 are brand new to our program. There's a new team here and there's a bunch of new faces on the coaching staff. I definitely have a different feeling in terms of entering the season."
On veteran offensive line
"When you look at their résumé, if you will, we have five offensive linemen that have all started for us in the past. Ty Cloud is banged up and I don't anticipate him playing much if at all Friday evening. We have the emergence of Zach Johnson at the right tackle position, so he will start there. Rowdy (Harper) who has been a two-year starter for us; we're moving him into left guard in place of Ty. Ralph Oragwu we're going to move over to left tackle position. Kevin Forsch we're going to use on the inside. There's a number of ways to win football games. One of them, I believe, is to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football."
On freshman kicker Ty Cummings' playing time
"We anticipate playing Ty Cummings. He's extremely talented."
On punt return and kick off return starters
"At punt return, we've narrowed it down to three guys right now. Starting at punt return Friday night will be Larry McDuffey and the two back-ups will be Damian Payne and William Jackson. At kick off return, you'll see Justin Hicks and true freshman Demarcus Ayers."
On season-long plan for quarterbacks David Piland and John O'Korn
"We're going to go into this game with a specific plan at quarterback like we do all positions and then take it from there."
On the new season and new feeling of the program
"Someone asked me a while ago what our motto was last season and I said `I've forgotten everything from last season'. I certainly haven't but it's like that old saying, we're looking through the windshield, not the rear view mirror. We're looking ahead and I think our team, and some people might say this is coach speak but it's true, is a completely different team. We have four new full-time coaches on our staff. We have about 43, 44 guys now including Markeith Ambles, who weren't even here last year. It has a whole new feel to it. One of the biggest examples, at least as a coach and certainly in the program, is sitting in here as a team last week and having our student-athletes vote on six captains, and those captains being a sophomore, three juniors and two seniors. That tells me a lot. We're not allowed to be out there during the summertime but you can see that the attendance in the weight room is as good as it's ever been. The player-run practices, I know they were great because when the guys showed up for practice three weeks ago we could immediately see improvement. There's a lot of leadership right now in our program from our student-athletes from freshmen all the way to fifth-year seniors. That's why our guys and everybody in our program are just excited to get the first game underway and get going."
On the defensive mentality Coach Gibbs has brought to the team
"When you talk about the mentality of a team, to me it's confidence. Historically and traditionally across the country, defensive coaches, and specifically defensive coordinators, can see problems more than anything and be negative by nature. David Gibbs is not that at all. He's very confident and he's very positive. We've seen a change in our demeanor defensively from our student-athletes and I think we're going to see that starting Friday night. Defensively we believe in a couple things. Notably, they have to know what to do. I've said this a couple times that we have simplified things defensively. We're going to be aggressive but we've simplified our package and allow them to play fast. Our kids have had a great camp. They have made major strides from when you saw them at spring practice. It's a confident bunch right now. Success breeds success and certainly more confidence. We're excited about that right now and about Friday night, and showing everyone what this year's defense will look like. I anticipate a vast improvement defensively."
On how the team has been preparing for Southern
"They've got a new staff as well. Because of them being number one (on our schedule), because of their new coaching staff and because of lack of film on them it's been about Houston. Our plan is to go and execute offensively, execute defensively, execute in the kicking game and do the things that we have to do to win football games regardless of our opponent. There's a number of things that we're focused on that whether we're playing Southern, Temple, Louisville, Rutgers, it doesn't matter. We have to do those things. Because this is the first game, it's a new coaching staff and not much film, the emphasis has been on Houston."
On young leadership on the team
"We're looking towards both (long term and short term success). We have young leaders and some guys who are maybe not captains but will be key contributors for the program that may be freshmen, sophomores or even some juniors. I think a lot of that is coaching, and we have to continue as coaches to bring them along and to cultivate their leadership and growth and maturity levels, because it begins to be an intense fall semester when everything starts. I'm excited about the fact that not only do we have the six captains, but that three are juniors and one is a sophomore. That speaks volumes of the type of young men that we have in our program. As coaches we have to continue to bring them along."
On what sophomore defensive back Adrian McDonald did to earn a starting spot
"Adrian McDonald is a classic example, and I made him an example to our team a week a half ago when we started having individual meetings over the two-a-day period with our young men. He was a quarterback in high school and ran the football quite a bit but a great athlete and we offered him a scholarship and said `you're going to go play defense' which was something he'd never done before. He got here, did a great job in camp and initially we thought we'd redshirt him. We knew he had great ability but again playing a position that was really foreign to him. He developed over the course of the season on scout team defense and scout special teams. By about two-thirds of the way into the season we knew this young man could help us. Before you know it, he was out there starting for us defensively. For me, if you'll recall, Trevon Stewart last fall at every practice created a turnover, primarily with interceptions. Adrian McDonald is now in that role. I mentioned him going into our first scrimmage, and he comes up with an interception on the opening play and two plays later forces a fumble and recovers it. He loves to play the game, is very instinctive and loves to come up and tackle. He is one of our most sure tacklers."
HOUSTON SENIOR DEFENSIVE BACK ZACH MCMILLIAN
On last year's effort
"You don't want to look back on last year as far as living in the past. We didn't end last year very well. We want to increase on past success, and we want to work on getting better every day. We know it's a new team with new dreams. We want to go out and win games."
On being a senior
"I remember being a freshman moving into Cullen Oaks. It goes very fast."
On the confidence going into this season
"My confidence level is very high just because I have put in the work and effort. I put in the hours this summer, and when you prepare you can prevent not performing at your best."
On playing against other teams
"We've had a couple fights in practice, and it just shows that we're tired of hitting each other. We want to go play against someone else. We are ready to compete, and show that our hard work has paid off."
On expectations for this season
"I want to continue to go out, and be a leader. Be able to keep working hard, and for the team it's about going out being excited for every game. Being a new team, and being in a new conference is exciting."
On starting a new conference
"It keeps you on your toes. Playing in a lot of games you know what type of game you'll be in for. When you play UTEP it's going to be a hard running game. When you play Rice you know they are going to try and spread you out. When you haven't played any of these teams it makes you prepare that much more for the task at hand."
On what the defense wants to prove this year
"We need to develop a chip on our shoulder as far as people not thinking Houston can't play defense. Houston plays good defense here. We want to show we are the backbone of this team."
HOUSTON SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK KENNETH FARROW
On being back on the field
"We're just excited to be back. We've had one of the best summers since I've been here as far as the intensity of the workouts. Everybody did a good job of showing up ready to work each day. I'm excited because I know it's going to pay off, and I'm excited to show what we can do."
On sharing duties with sophomore running back Ryan Jackson
"It's exciting because we both know the game pretty well. We both can pick up the blitz, and it's going good being back there with him. We each have goals we set for each other, and it'll be fun to go out there and make big explosive plays."
On supporting Ryan Jackson through competition
"Absolutely I do. He's one of my good friends off the field, and we go out there and try to make each other better on the field each day. If the team feels tired or fatigued we try to go and get them going. We have a great relationship."
On feeling like a new era with the new conference
"Oh absolutely, with this being the first year in a new conference we have something to prove. We have new uniforms and new stuff all around we're just ready to play."
JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN BRYCE REDMAN
On the upcoming season
"We're very excited just be able to compete against someone other than our own teammates. We're looking forward to having a chance to get rid of the bad taste from last season and start taking steps to what we expect to be this season."
On the new conference
"It's a fresh start for us. We have a new offensive line coach, and it's a fresh start all around. This is the closest we have been as a team since I've been here. We have something to prove this year, and it'll be a good season for us."
On the talent here
"If we go out and execute the way we're supposed to, we can be a tough team to beat."
On experience coming back on the offensive line
"A lot of times you aren't sure how a guy is going to react when the lights come on. You can practice, but when the game gets going it's different. Expectations are high, and having guys who can step up for us is huge. DeAnthony Sims can step up in a lot of roles. He can play guard, or switch over and play tackle which is huge for us."
On stepping up as a team leader
"I'm just really excited to have an opportunity to play this year. I didn't know about any of the preseason honors until my friends told me. I was excited more that my coaches believed in me, and that I was able to prove them right."
