University of Houston
No. 20 Washington State
Game Primer: Houston vs. Washington State
9/12/2019 9:15:00 AM | Football
GAME 3
Houston vs. No. 20/20 Washington State
Sept. 13 | 8:15 p.m. CT | NRG Stadium | Houston
TV: ESPN / ESPN app
Radio: KPRC 950-AM
TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2lz8Pp6
Game Notes: UH | WSU | The American
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
« Houston takes on No. 20/20 Washington State Friday inside NRG Stadium for the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff. The game will kickoff at 8:15 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN with Dave Flemming (pxp), Louis Riddick (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline) on the call. Radio coverage on KPRC 950-AM begins at 7 p.m. CT.
« Houston is 5-5 all-time in games played inside NRG Stadium. In their last game at NRG Stadium, the Cougars toppled then No. 3/3 Oklahoma, 33-23, in the 2016 AdvoCare Texas Kickoff. UH won four out of its last five matchups at NRG Stadium.
« Friday's game marks the fourth meeting between Houston and Washington State. Houston is 17-24 against current members of the Pac-12 Conference. Houston has won its last two meetings against Pac-12 foes, including a 45-18 win over Arizona last year. In the last meeting, Washington State came away with a 24-22 victory over Houston in the Aloha Bowl on Dec. 22, 2018. The last contest in Houston between both teams came on Sept. 23,1966, at the Astrodome (Houston won 21-7).
« The UH offense returns 91.2 percent of its 2018 rushing yards, 99.8 percent of its passing yards, 82.3 percent of its receiving yards and 85.3 percent of its scoring. The Cougars have plenty of experience on that side of the ball with five players owning at least 18 career starts: offensive lineman Josh Jones (38 career starts), offensive lineman Braylon Jones (32), quarterback D'Eriq King (24), wide receiver Keith Corbin (18), offensive lineman Jarrid Williams (18).
« Senior quarterback D'Eriq King is tied for the lead nationally among quarterbacks with three rushing touchdowns this season. King recorded two touchdowns on the ground in UH's 37-17 win last week over Prairie View A&M. One of the nation's top dual threat signal callers, King has also thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of the last 15 games he has played in.
« Junior safety Grant Stuard leads Houston and The American in tackles with 22 total stops through the first two games. After recording 14 tackles in UH's season opener at Oklahoma, Stuard led the way with eight stops against Prairie View A&M.
« The Cougar defense has recorded at least one takeaway in 19 straight games, the longest active streak in the country. Since 2013, Houston has recorded 102 interceptions, the most of any team in the country. The only other team to record at least 100 interceptions since 2013 is Ohio State (100).
« Washington State is off to a 2-0 start for the third straight season after defeating Northern Colorado, 59-17, in Pullman, Wash. Redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Gordon leads the nation with nine passing touchdowns through two games and has helped the Cougars average 606.0 yards of total offense (ranks seventh in the nation). The Cougars tallied 649 yards of total offense in their 59-17 win over Northern Colorado last Saturday.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
« Friday night marks an Air Raid reunion for Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen and Washington State head coach Mike Leach. Holgorsen served as an assistant with Leach at Valdosta State (1993-95) before moving to Lubbock in 2000 to serve as an assistant for Leach at Texas Tech. Holgorsen worked from 2000-07 at Texas Tech before moving to Houston to serve as the offensive coordinator from 2008-09.
« Houston co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brandon Jones played for both Holgorsen and Leach at Texas Tech (2003-06), appearing in four straight bowls for the Red Raiders. Jones was an honorable mention All-Big 12 pick at center for the Red Raiders in 2005, before joining the coaching staff at Texas Tech from 2007-08.
« The ties between both schools go beyond just each program's current coaching staff. As a physical education teacher at Houston in 1927, former Washington State head coach John R. Bender (1906-07; 1912-14) created the "Cougars" nickname as he coached the volunteer football program at UH.
« Against Prairie View A&M, the Cougars scored on their first six possessions. It marked the first time since Sept. 22, 2018, against Texas Southern that the Cougars recorded six straight scoring drives to open a game.
« Houston has scored at least 30 points in 14 out of its last 15 games dating back to the beginning of the 2018 season.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
« Washington State is led by eighth-year head coach Mike Leach, who is 51-40 with the Cougars. Leach led Washington State to an 11-2 record in 2018, setting the program record for single-season wins, while earning Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors. Leach's 51 victories rank as the third-most in WSU history. His overall coaching record is 135-83, which includes 10 seasons at Texas Tech.
« Washington State has earned 26 Pac-12 wins since 2015, the third-most in the conference. Only Stanford and Washington have earned more with 27 victories apiece, respectively. Heading into the 2019 season, the Cougars were picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12 North Division.
« Offensively, Washington State enters Friday night's game second in the country in passing yards per game (494.0) and seventh in total offense per game (606.0). Redshirt senior quarterback Anthony Gordon leads Washington State's Air Raid attack with 884 passing yards and nine touchdowns through two games. In his first career start on Aug. 31 against New Mexico State, Gordon completed his first 15 passes in the game and finished 29-of-35 with 420 yards and five touchdowns. He leads the nation with nine touchdown passes, ranks second in passing yards per game (442.0) and is fourth in completion percentage (81.1). Five different receivers have recorded at least 100 yards receiving this season for WSU with 10 different receivers making at least one catch.
« Last season, Washington State's defense led the Pac-12 in team sacks (38). Fifteen different players recorded at least one sack for the Cougars in 2018. The Cougars also forced 28 takeaways a year ago, which ranked second among Pac-12 teams. Through two games this season, WSU's defense has allowed 336.0 yards per game (ranks sixth in the Pac-12).
« Washington State finished the 2018 season ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Poll, its highest ranking to finish a season since 2003.
BACK HOME IN HOUSTON
« Dana Holgorsen was named Houston's 15th head coach on Jan. 2, 2019, after eight seasons in the same position at West Virginia. Holgorsen closed his tenure at WVU as the second-winningest coach in Mountaineer history with an eight-year record of 61-41. His 61 wins trailed only College Football Hall of Famer Don Nehlen for most wins in West Virginia history. He led the Mountaineers to bowl games in seven of his eight seasons including each of the last five.
« Holgorsen's first coaching staff at Houston features three full-time assistants who were a part of his WVU staff in co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Marquel Blackwell, co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Doug Belk and assistant head coach/receivers coach Tyron Carrier. Carrier is one of two Houston wide receiver alums from 2008-11 joining the Houston coaching staff as Justin Johnson was named the program's running backs coach in March.
« The offensive staff is rounded out by co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Brandon Jones, who spent the last two seasons on the Texas Tech staff, and tight ends coach Shannon Dawson who arrived after three years as offensive coordinator at Southern Miss.
« The defensive side of the staff also includes a pair who spent their last five seasons at Arkansas State in defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Cauthen and defensive line coach Brian Early. On the back end, special teams coordinator/nickels coach Blake Gideon arrives after one season at Georgia State and cornerbacks coach Zac Etheridge does the same after one season at Louisiana.
GAME 2 RECAP: PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
« Paced by a three-touchdown effort from senior quarterback D'Eriq King and a career-high 120 rushing yards from junior running back Kyle Porter, Houston defeated Prairie View A&M, 37-17, in its home opener.
« Three different Cougars found the end zone for Houston, including senior wide receiver Keith Corbin, who became the 48th Cougar in program history to rack up 1,000 receiving yards in a career, after pulling down a 21-yard pass from King for Houston's third touchdown of the contest.
« Porter recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game and scored the first Cougar touchdown of the night with a 20-yard run in the first quarter. King added 139 yards through the air and tossed a 21-yard touchdown to Corbin with 0:19 left in the first quarter. Houston's 24 points in the first quarter were the most scored by the Cougars in one frame since Oct. 4, 2018, against Tulsa (24, fourth quarter). King added two rushing scores, including a18-yard scramble in the second quarter.
« Junior safety Grant Stuard led the Cougars with team-high eight tackles. The Cougars finished with at least one turnover for the 19th straight game with a fourth-quarter interception from Shaun Lewis.
ON THE OFFENSIVE
« Since 2006, only Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas Tech have racked up more yards than Houston, which has 83,860 in that span. Houston has scored in 238 straight games dating back to Sept. 30, 2000.
Rank Team Total Yards (2006-present)
1. Oklahoma 87,760
2. Oregon 85,131
3. Texas Tech 83,959
4. Houston 83,860
5. Oklahoma State 82,199
« Houston ended 2018 fifth nationally in scoring offense with an average of 43.9 points per game and seventh in total offense with an average of 512.5 yards per game.
« Houston, Oklahoma and Clemson were the only schools to rank in the top 25 for both passing offense (No. 16, 295.5) and rushing offense (No. 24, 217.1) in 2018.
« The offense ranked fifth nationally with 92 plays of at least 20+ yards and 11th with 13 plays of 50+ yards. The versatility of UH's offense was evident as 10 different players had receiving TDs, eight of which return in 2019, and nine different players across three position groups had rushing TDs, of which eight return in 2019.
« Houston opened the season with 40+ points in its first three games of a season for the first time in program history and expanded the streak through its first eight games. The eight-game streak set the Houston record for
the longest such streak.
« With 45 points at Rice, 49 at Texas Tech and 49 at Navy, Houston scored 45+ in at least three road games in a season for only the third time in program history (1989 and 2011). It was also the first time since the 2011 team accomplished the feat five times.
« After 18 of Houston's 53 scoring drives in 2017 lasted less than two minutes, the Cougars had 43 scoring drives of less than two minutes in 2018 with 13 lasting less than one minute. Houston had 32 scoring drives of five plays or less.
« Since 2015, Houston has 19 games with 500+ yards of total offense and eight games with 600+ yards. It has scored more than 40 points in 22 of 54 games and more than 50 points on seven different occasions.
THE KING CONTINUES TO REIGN
« With 50 total touchdowns and a two-point conversion in 11 games during the 2018 season, D'Eriq King was responsible for 302 points, leading the nation with an average of 27.5 points responsible per game.
« With his 50 touchdowns responsible for, King broke The American's previous single-season record of 45 set by UCF's McKenzie Milton in 2017. He was 13 touchdowns away from the NCAA single-season record of 63 set by Hawaii's Colt Brennan in 2006.
« With his 36 passing TDs, which ranked sixth nationally, King was only three away from breaking The American's single-season record set by Memphis' Riley Ferguson in 2017. King finished seventh nationally and tops in the league with an average of 332.4 yards of total offense per game while leading The American and ranking 16th nationally with 271.7 passing yards per game.
« The Manvel, Texas, native also ranked seventh nationally and led The American with a passer rating of 167.0. King also ranked 20th nationally and fourth in the conference with 14 rushing touchdowns.
« Named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts, King threw for his third 400-yard game of the season against USF on Oct. 27, 2018, with 419 yards and five touchdowns on 28-of-40 passing. He also added his second 100-yard rushing game of the season with 132 yards and two scores on the ground. He became only the 13th FBS QB with 400+ yards passing and 100+ yards rushing in a game with the performance.
« Last season, King was the first UH QB to throw for at least 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in a game since Kevin Kolb in 2003, and is the only UH quarterback to accomplish the feat twice in a season after also doing so again versus Temple.
« With five passing touchdowns and one rushing score against Temple in 2018, King had at least two passing scores and a rushing score in 10 straight games. It was the longest such streak by an FBS player in over 20 years.
« King is one of just three quarterbacks in FBS history with at least 35 passing TDs and 13 rushing TDs in a single season. In 2018, King joined Marcus Mariota (Oregon) and Geno Smith (West Virginia) to record at least 25 touchdowns and no more than three turnovers in his team's first six games to begin a season.
« King is steadily climbing the UH record charts - ranking No. 2 in career passing efficiency, No. 3 in completion percentage, No. 6 in career passing touchdowns, No. 8 in career rushing touchdowns, No. 10 in total offense and passing yards.
LENDING A HAND OR TWO
« Houston returns 82.3 percent of its receiving yards from the 2018 season to go along with 35 of its 45 touchdown receptions.
« Houston is one of six schools nationally, and two in The American, to have a 1,000-yard receiver each of the last four seasons as Demarcus Ayers (2015, 1,222 yards), Linell Bonner (2016, 1,118), Steven Dunbar (2017, 1,070) and Marquez Stevenson (2018, 1,019) each accomplished the feat.
« Named to The American's First Team, Stevenson has proved to be electrifying with six plays of 50+ yards and 12 plays of at least 30 yards, which ranked sixth and 11th in the nation, respectively. He led The American with five games of at least 100 receiving yards and was fifth in the league with 78.4 receiving yards per game and third with 5.8 receptions per game.
« Keith Corbin was second in The American and 21st nationally with 10 touchdown receptions, while Stevenson was third and 29th with nine. Against Prairie View A&M, Corbin became the 48th UH receiver to surpass the 1,00-yard mark for receiving yards in a career.
« After going without a touchdown reception in his first two seasons, Corbin pulled in 10 in 2018. He had a TD in eight of 12 games. Corbin had a career day at Texas Tech, pulling in seven receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns, both career highs, as he eclipsed the century mark for the first time in his career.
« Courtney Lark doubled up his career touchdown receiving total entering the season with two scores against Rice. He recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game at Navy with 106 yards, including a career-long 65-yarder.
« The trio is joined by three others with double-digit receptions in 2018, led by converted sophomore quarterback Bryson Smith who finished the year with 30 receptions for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Smith's classmate, Jeremy Singleton had 19 receptions for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while senior Terry Mark had 11 receptions for 99 yards and two scores.
BACK TO THE BACKS
« With 91.2 percent of its 2018 rushing yards returning in 2019, it's no surprise that Houston is returning five of its top six backs.
« Senior Patrick Carr leads the way, starting all 10 games UH with a RB and led Houston with 873 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 152 attempts. Carr rushed for a career-best 139 yards and two TDs against on Tulane on only 18 attempts, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. He was fifth in The American with 11 runs of at least 20 yards a year ago.
« Houston's second-leading running back, senior Mulbah Car suffered an injury versus SMU last year and missed two games, returning at Memphis. He finished the season with 325 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries during the season. Against Oklahoma, Car ran nine times for 76 yards and scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter. Junior Chandler Smith, who had 30 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns saw additional action in 2018 and earned a scholarship during fall camp.
« Junior Kyle Porter also joins the Cougars' backfield rotation for 2019. Porter played in 27 career games with three starts at Texas and recorded 130 carries for 468 yards and five touchdowns. The Katy, Texas, native added 11 catches for 63 yards and one touchdown across his career. Porter set a career high with 120 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown in Houston's 37-17 win over Prairie View A&M. It marked Porter's first-ever 100-yard rushing game.
THE LINE ON THE LINE
« For the fourth straight year, a new offensive line coach has stepped in with options across the front as Brandon Jones will oversee a group that has a combined 82 career starts and 156 career games played from last season, although it will look to replace two day-to-day starters in center Will Noble, a four-year starter, and left guard Mason Denley.
« Senior tackle Josh Jones leads the way with 38 career starts, having stepped into the left tackle role in the 2016 opener and never looking back. Senior Braylon Jones make the move to center after starting every game the last two seasons (25) at right guard and has 32 career starts in total.
« Senior Jarrid Williams is third on the line in terms of starts, having started 18 career games including all 13 games in 2018 at right tackle.
« Junior Keenan Murphy owns two career starts, stepping into the starting lineup at left guard for since graduated Denley last season versus USF. The Crosby, Texas, native saw action in all 13 games on the line in 2018.
« Graduate transfers Justin Murphy (UCLA) and Gio Pancotti (Texas Tech) bring valuable experience up front for the Cougars. Murphy started four games at UCLA in 2018 and has 16 career starts. Pancotti played in three games last year at Texas Tech before transferring to Houston. Murphy and Pancotti were teammates with the Red Raiders in 2016.
TURNOVER U
« Since the start of the 2013 season, no program has taken the ball away from opposing offenses more than Houston with 174 turnovers forced in that time with three in 2019, 24 in 2018, 21 in 2017, 18 in 2016, 35 in 2015, 30 in 2014 and 43 in 2013. Houston has an 18-turnover lead on its closest competitor in that stretch.
« Houston has forced a turnover in 19 straight games, the longest active streak in the country. The Cougars led the country with 102 interceptions since 2013.
« UH has forced multiple turnovers in 57 of its last 87 games.
« Houston has been opportunistic with its turnovers, ranking third nationally since 2010 with 45 non-offensive touchdowns including 25 defensive touchdowns over the last seven seasons.
« Houston was sixth nationally and second in The American with four defensive touchdowns in 2018, including a touchdown in each of the final three road games of the season.
FOREMEN
« Switching from a three-man front to a four-man front, Houston will essentially be looking for three new starting defensive linemen in 2019 with junior defensive end Payton Turner the lone returning day-to-day starter from 2018, starting the first 11 games of the season before a season-ending injury.
« The top tackler among returning defensive linemen, Turner finished his sophomore campaign with 42 stops including 4.5 tackles for loss while breaking up four passes and blocking one kick.
« Junior Isaiah Chambers will be counted on after suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game of 2018. Despite only playing in five games, Chambers was second on the Houston team and 14th in The American with 4.5 sacks, part of his 10 tackles and six tackles for loss on the year.
« With three-time All-American Ed Oliver limited with injuries in 2018, senior Aymiel Fleming picked up six starts to end the season, finishing the year with 21 tackles including one for loss and a forced fumble.
« Oliver's injury also allowed for additional playing time for senior Blake Young who saw action in 10 games including action in each of the final eight. Young has started the first two games for the Cougars at defensive tackle.
« Logan Hall played in all 13 games, starting the Armed Forces Bowl versus Army, and finishing the year with 14 tackles including three for a loss.
« Houston has added bodies to the competition in the spring with junior college transfers Taures Payne and Olivier Charles-Pierre.
SMASHMOUTH FOOTBALL
« Just as the numbers along the line has changed, the same will be true for the linebackers in 2019 switching from four starting linebackers to three, which comes after losing three of four starting linebackers from the 2018 team including NFL Combine invitee Emeke Egbule and a member of The American's All-Conference First Team in Austin Robinson.
« Houston's lone returning starter from the linebackers room is senior Leroy Godfrey who started all 13 games in 2018 after starting six in 2017. Godfrey finished last season with 42 tackles including 5.5 for loss as well as two pass breakups.
« Sophomore Derek Parish made his mark on the Houston defense, picking 1.5 sacks as part of 21 total tackles on the year. Parish recovered a fumble against Oklahoma on Sept. 1 and added four tackles.
« Junior David Anenih is Houston's returning leader in terms of tackles for loss, picking up 6.5 TFLs in 2018 including four sacks as he posted 20 total tackles in 12 games of action. Anenih made his first career start against Prairie View A&M.
« A second junior linebacker, Elijah Gooden, saw action in all 13 games in 2018, finishing the year with 14 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
« Two Houston sophomores saw major action in 2018 as true freshmen. Donavan Mutin played in 10 games finishing the year with seven tackles, while Zamar Kirven saw action in nine games with eight tackles. Mutin has started the season as the starter for the Cougars at MIKE linebacker.
« Senior Jordan Milburn has seen action in 37 career games, including all 13 in 2018, and has 11 career tackles with over half, six, coming in 2018.
« Junior Jordan Carmouche picked up nine games of action in 2018, finishing with 12 total tackles.
« Houston also added another face to the linebackers room in the spring in junior college transfer Terrance Edgeston. Edgeston has started both games for the Cougars at WILL linebacker so far this season.
STRENGTH AND SAFETY
« It is a tale of two positions in the secondary as Houston returns its starting safeties in juniors Deontay Anderson and Gleson Sprewell after losing its top three corners with a combined 41 career starts in a Houston uniform.
« After stepping into the starting lineup in the fourth game of 2018, Sprewell finished third on the Houston team, and leads all returning tacklers, with 81 total stops.
« After picking off his first pass vs. Tulane, Sprewell doubled it up in the next game, picking off two Memphis passes, one he returned 63 yards for a Houston touchdown, his second defensive touchdown of the year.
« Sprewell had eight stops against USF while breaking up two passes and had six PBUs on the year to go along with his three interceptions.
« He followed at SMU with a career-high nine tackles and his first defensive score, returning a fumble 24 yards for a TD.
« Anderson arrived in Houston in 2018 after one season of action at Ole Miss. Ranked the No. 1 safety in the nation by ESPN in the 2016 recruiting class, he earned Freshman All-SEC honors in 2016.
« Anderson finished just behind Sprewell with the fourth-best tackle total in 2018, finishing the year with 72 stops including four tackles for a loss.
« The transfer made his first turnover in a Houston uniform vs. Tulsa, picking off a pass to set up UH's final TD of the night. He also forced a fumble in the game that was recovered by Emeke Egbule.
« At corner, Houston lost Alexander Myres (18 games started at Houston), NFL Combine invitee Isaiah Johnson (12) and Nick Watkins (eight games in lone season at Houston) and will now look to retool the position in 2019.
« One name that will be given an opportunity to make an impact right away will be junior college transfer Damarion Williams who earned NJCAA First Team All-America honors in 2018 at Highland Community College where he led the nation with seven interceptions and 17 pass breakups in 10 games.
« Houston has four corners who have seen action for the program led by senior Ka'Darian Smith (28 career games played), junior Javian Smith (20), sophomore Shaun Lewis (15) and junior D.J. Small (9).
« The group of returners was led in 2018 by Ka'Darian Smith who had six tackles while Lewis and Javian Smith each had four.
AMONG THE BEST
« Since 2013, Houston and TCU lead the state of Texas among FBS schools with 53 wins. The Cougars are four wins ahead of Texas A&M, six ahead of Baylor and 12 games ahead of Texas in that span. Houston leads the state of Texas FBS schools with 10 seasons of at least eight wins since 2006. TCU is second in that span with nine.
« Houston enters 2019 second on The American's all-time win list in conference games with 33 conference wins. Since the league's inception, UCF leads with 37 wins, while Temple is third with 31 wins.
« After three years of competition, the 2019 senior class is the 31st-most winningest class in Houston football history with 24 wins since 2016. Ten wins will move the group into the UH top 10, in a tie for seventh, while the class is 14 wins away from the record of 38 established by the 2016 senior class.
« Houston enters 2019 riding a streak of six straight bowl appearances, the 16th-longest active streak in the nation and the longest in The American. The current six-game streak is a program best, topping the previous from 2005-09.
SPOONMAN
« Junior Dalton Witherspoon took over the starting kicking role in Houston's second game of 2018 vs. Arizona and never looked back, responding with a 35-yard field goal and connecting on all six extra point attempts.
« Witherspoon nailed a career-long 46-yard field goal against Prairie VIew A&M last Saturday. The junior finished 3-for-3 against the Panthers, becoming the first UH kicker to make at least three field goals in one game since 2016 (Ty Cummings, Memphis). For his efforts, Witherspoon was named The American's Special Teams Player of the Week, his first weekly honor of his career.
« Witherspoon is also a perfect 80-for-80 on PATs for his career. He leads The American in scoring with 20 total points through two games and is 4-for-4 on field goals this season.
« Last year, he had his first career multi-field goal game vs. Tulsa, connecting on kicks from 40 and 33 yards out. After totaling two points versus Army, Witherspoon ranked third among kickers, and sixth among all players, in The American with 93 points last season.
THE PUNT-AH
« Thirty-year old senior punter Dane Roy is back for his fourth and final season in America as Houston's starting punter. A former ice cream salesman, Roy is the third oldest player in FBS football behind Colorado kicker James Stefanou (32) and UCLA punter Wade Lees (31), both natives of Melbourne, Australia.
« Roy picked up the longest punt of his career in the season opener at Oklahoma, recording a 69-yarder that flipped the field in the first quarter. Roy ranks fourth in the conference with 45.3 yards per punt this season, his best career average.
« The Bunyip, Australia, native and former Australian rules football player for Richmond Central led The American in 2017 with 25 punts inside the 20 and with 43.1 percent of his punts inside his opponents 20. Twelve of his 55 punts were inside his opponents' 10-yard line. Despite leading the league in punts inside the 20, Roy was fifth in The American with an average of 41.8 yards per punt in 2017.
« Prior to arriving in Houston, Roy won the longest kick competition at the AFL grand final in Melbourne, Australia, after booting a torpedo 73 meters, which equates to 79 yards. Roy, who stands 6-7, also has a personal-best hang time of 5.4 seconds.
A HOUSTON WIN WOULD ...
« Improve Houston's program win-loss record to 443-365-15 all-time since 1946.
« Give Houston its 55th win since 2013, the most in Texas in that span.
« Give Houston its second win over Washington State in series history.
« Improve its record to 18-24 against current members of the Pac-12 Conference.
« Give the Cougars their second straight win over a ranked opponent inside NRG Stadium (defeated No. 3/3 Oklahoma, 33-23, on Sept. 1, 2016, in the Advocare Texas Kickoff).
