University of Houston Athletics
Barbay, Cougars Add to Offensive Coaching Staff
1/18/2024 9:00:00 AM | Football
Houston unveils newest offensive hires with 2024 season prep underway
HOUSTON – Following Tuesday's hire of Offensive Coordinator Kevin Barbay, University of Houston Football has added three new offensive coaches and welcomed back Houston-area native and Offensive Line Coach Eman Naghavi, Head Coach Willie Fritz announced Thursday.
Derrick Sherman joins the Cougars as Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach following two season of record-setting success at Tulane. Shawn Bell will serve as Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator following seven seasons at Baylor. Jordy Joseph, who spent five seasons at Tulane before helping take Southern Miss to new heights the last three seasons, takes over as Running Backs Coach. Naghavi enters his second season with the Cougars and 14th coaching collegiately.
The Cougars also welcome in Offensive Analysts Brian Bell and Henry Stone and return Robert Beacham, who joined Naghavi from Tulane prior to the 2023 season. Bell, a former record-setting quarterback at Sam Houston, spent the last two seasons with Baylor. Stone follows Barbay to Houston after spending the 2023 season as Quality Control at Mississippi State.
THE SHERMAN FILE
Sherman comes to Houston after spending the previous two seasons with Tulane, serving as wide receivers coach in 2023 and running backs coach in 2022.
Sherman helped guide a pair of All-American Athletic Conference honorees in wide receivers Chris Brazzell and Lawrence Keys III who earned third-team recognition during 2023. Two Green Wave wideouts earned postseason bowl invites in Keys III (Hula Bowl) and Jha'Quan Jackson (Senior Bowl).
The Green Wave entered the 2023 bowl season with an American Athletic Conference leading three wideouts ranked inside the league's top 12 for receiving touchdowns led by Keys III who was fifth with seven scores. Among underclassmen wide receivers, Brazzell, a redshirt freshman, ranked second in The American and fourth among all Group of 5 wideouts, with a 76.3 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus.
Entering bowl season, 12 different Green Wave student-athletes hauled in a reception including six different student-athletes with a touchdown reception.
During the 2022 campaign, the running back unit became a dominant group, finishing the season with over 2,800 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns.
Under Sherman's tutelage, senior running back Tyjae Spears was named Honorable Mention All-American, American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-AAC and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Most Outstanding Offensive Player in a game that saw him rush 17 times for 205 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. In addition, Spears led the nation (tied) with 21 touchdowns, as well as ranking fifth in the nation and leading the AAC with over 1,500 rushing yards. Following his stellar season, Spears was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans.
Prior to returning to Tulane in 2022, Sherman spent a season as the wide receivers coach for Georgia Southern. Under Sherman, flex option Amare Jones was named All-Sun Belt Conference First Team by Pro Football Network and receiver Khaleb Hood earned Honorable Mention honors in the 2021 season. For more on Sherman, click here.
THE BELL FILE
Shawn Bell joined University of Houston Football as its Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator in January 2024. The 2024 season will be his first with the Cougars. Bell comes to Houston from Baylor where he spent the last seven seasons.
The former Baylor standout signal caller started as an analyst with the Bears in 2017 before being elevated to offensive line coach in March 2018. He moved to tight ends under new head coach Dave Aranda for the 2020 season and was named quarterbacks coach in January 2021. The Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40 honoree (June 2021) spent the 2021-23 seasons as Quarterbacks Coach.
Bell helped tutor quarterback Blake Shapen who started 23 games across three seasons. Shapen's 5,574 career passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns each rank seventh in school history – one spot behind Bell – in Baylor career history. Shapen complete 63.7% of his passes, ranking third in program history. His 479 career completions rank fifth in Baylor history.
In 2022, Bell broke in a new starting quarterback for the second consecutive year leading the unit, helping Blake Shapen develop into an offensive weapon. Shapen threw for the ninth-most yards in Baylor single-season history, completing 63.3 percent of his passes, the fifth-best total in school annals. He ranks second in Baylor career history by completing 65 percent of his pass attempts. Shapen threw for 18 TDs and sported a 137.7 passing efficiency mark on the year. His 345-yard outing vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State marked the 50th most pass yards in a single game.
During his first season at the helm of the quarterback room in 2021, Bell helped Gerry Bohanon finish the season with 27 total touchdowns, which tied for the second-most in the Big 12 and earned him a spot on the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team. Bohanon was also named a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
After Bohanon went down with a hamstring injury, Bell helped Shapen, then a redshirt freshman, guide the team to a pair of wins in Bohanon's absence, including the Big 12 Championship game. Against Oklahoma State, Shapen went 23-for-28 for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a Big 12 Championship and AT&T Stadium college record 17-straight completions in the first half. Shapen was named the Big 12 Championship's Most Outstanding Performer.
For more on Shawn Bell, click here.
THE JOSEPH FILE
At Southern Miss, Joseph helped guide Frank Gore Jr. to record-setting success. Gore Jr. rushed for 1,482 yards in 2022 – the most for the program in 15 seasons (Damion Fletcher; 2007). Gore averaged 6.06 yards per play (23rd in the nation) and 106.3 yards per game (16th in the nation). In the LendingTree Bowl against Rice, Gore broke the NCAA bowl game rushing record with a 328-yard performance.
That season, Joseph's group totaled 1,718 yards on the ground, an average of 139.4 yards per game, and accounted for 14 rushing touchdowns on the year. The running back room also hauled in 40 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown. Joseph spent the 2023 season as Quarterbacks Coach.
During his first year with the Golden Eagles, Joseph oversaw Gore Jr., who led the team in rushing with 801 yards on 179 carries while earning All-Conference USA Honorable Mention. His rushing yards were the most by a Southern Miss running back in the last four seasons. Redshirt freshman Dajon Richard ended the year with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games of his own to give the Golden Eagles a total of four during the year.
In 2021, Southern Miss transitioned into a "SuperBack" offense after top Golden Eagle quarterbacks were injured. Over the final three games, the Golden Eagles enjoyed two of their top three rushing outputs, averaging 214.3 yards per contest over that span. Golden Eagle running backs also threw for 215 yards on 20-of-28 passing with four touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
Joseph spent the 2016-20 seasons on Tulane's staff following a five-year playing career with the Green Wave. After spending his first four seasons as a walk-on quarterback, Joseph earned a scholarship as a senior.
He spent the 2018-20 seasons as an offensive analyst. During the three-season stretch, Tulane ranked eighth nationally in rushing first downs (435), ninth in rushing yards (8,632) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (94). The Green Wave's 1,195 points and 15,811 total yards ranked 21st and 26th in the FBS, respectively. Tulane logged 21 games with 200+ rushing yards (10th nationally), 15 games with 250+ rushing yards (7th nationally) and 10 games with 300+ rushing yards (8th nationally).
For more on Joseph, click here.
THE NAGHAVI FILE
Naghavi is reunied with Head Coach Willie Fritz. In 2023, the Cougars were led by left tackle Patrick Paul who earned Second Team All-America honors by The Athletic after leading the nation with a 92.8 pass block grade according to PFF. As a unit, the Cougars permitted just one sack in four Big 12 matchups and allowed just seven sacks across four league road games (751 pressure opportunities).
Despite the leap into the Big 12, during Naghavi's 2023 season as Run Game Coordinator, the Cougars increased their PFF run grade from 78.0 in 2022 to 79.5 highlighted by a breakout season from running back Parker Jenkins. Among true freshmen running backs, Jenkins ranked second nationally with 20 rushes of 10+ yards, fifth in first down rushes (25) and eighth in yards after contact (307).
Naghavi played an integral role in Tulane's 12-2 season during 2022 that included an American Athletic Conference championship and Cotton Bowl victory over No. 10 USC. The Green Wave's offensive ranked fifth nationally in fewest offensive penalties, No. 12 in rushing touchdowns and No. 19 in scoring offense.
In the Cotton Bowl, the Green Wave rushed for 305 yards on 34 rushes for four touchdowns alongside an average of 9.0 yards per carry. Three Tulane offensive linemen earned all-conference recognition including two first-team honorees.
The Katy, Texas, native is a former team captain and 2003 state champion at Katy High School. He went on to become an All-American offensive lineman at McNeese State.
Naghavi spent the 2021 season at Georgia State, helping the Panthers to their most successful season in school history, highlighted by a program-best eight victories and first-ever win over a Top 25 opponent while developing two All-Sun Belt Conference offensive linemen. Naghavi's unit helped power a Georgia State rushing attack which ranked eighth nationally with 226.4 rushing yards per game.
During a three-year period at ULM, the Warhawks finished in the top three in the Sun Belt for yards per play in three consecutive seasons. In 2017, ULM ranked No. 25 nationally in scoring offense.
For more on Naghavi, click here.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Football by purchasing season tickets, supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective, giving to Houston Rise, and by joining 46ers and The Huddle which provides financial support directly to Houston Football for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarFB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Cougar Football. Fans can also follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarfb.
Derrick Sherman joins the Cougars as Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach following two season of record-setting success at Tulane. Shawn Bell will serve as Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator following seven seasons at Baylor. Jordy Joseph, who spent five seasons at Tulane before helping take Southern Miss to new heights the last three seasons, takes over as Running Backs Coach. Naghavi enters his second season with the Cougars and 14th coaching collegiately.
The Cougars also welcome in Offensive Analysts Brian Bell and Henry Stone and return Robert Beacham, who joined Naghavi from Tulane prior to the 2023 season. Bell, a former record-setting quarterback at Sam Houston, spent the last two seasons with Baylor. Stone follows Barbay to Houston after spending the 2023 season as Quality Control at Mississippi State.THE SHERMAN FILE
Sherman comes to Houston after spending the previous two seasons with Tulane, serving as wide receivers coach in 2023 and running backs coach in 2022.
Sherman helped guide a pair of All-American Athletic Conference honorees in wide receivers Chris Brazzell and Lawrence Keys III who earned third-team recognition during 2023. Two Green Wave wideouts earned postseason bowl invites in Keys III (Hula Bowl) and Jha'Quan Jackson (Senior Bowl).
The Green Wave entered the 2023 bowl season with an American Athletic Conference leading three wideouts ranked inside the league's top 12 for receiving touchdowns led by Keys III who was fifth with seven scores. Among underclassmen wide receivers, Brazzell, a redshirt freshman, ranked second in The American and fourth among all Group of 5 wideouts, with a 76.3 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus.
Entering bowl season, 12 different Green Wave student-athletes hauled in a reception including six different student-athletes with a touchdown reception.
During the 2022 campaign, the running back unit became a dominant group, finishing the season with over 2,800 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns.
Under Sherman's tutelage, senior running back Tyjae Spears was named Honorable Mention All-American, American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-AAC and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Most Outstanding Offensive Player in a game that saw him rush 17 times for 205 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. In addition, Spears led the nation (tied) with 21 touchdowns, as well as ranking fifth in the nation and leading the AAC with over 1,500 rushing yards. Following his stellar season, Spears was drafted in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Tennessee Titans.
Prior to returning to Tulane in 2022, Sherman spent a season as the wide receivers coach for Georgia Southern. Under Sherman, flex option Amare Jones was named All-Sun Belt Conference First Team by Pro Football Network and receiver Khaleb Hood earned Honorable Mention honors in the 2021 season. For more on Sherman, click here.
THE BELL FILE
Shawn Bell joined University of Houston Football as its Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Coordinator in January 2024. The 2024 season will be his first with the Cougars. Bell comes to Houston from Baylor where he spent the last seven seasons.
The former Baylor standout signal caller started as an analyst with the Bears in 2017 before being elevated to offensive line coach in March 2018. He moved to tight ends under new head coach Dave Aranda for the 2020 season and was named quarterbacks coach in January 2021. The Dave Campbell's Texas Football 40 Under 40 honoree (June 2021) spent the 2021-23 seasons as Quarterbacks Coach.
Bell helped tutor quarterback Blake Shapen who started 23 games across three seasons. Shapen's 5,574 career passing yards and 36 passing touchdowns each rank seventh in school history – one spot behind Bell – in Baylor career history. Shapen complete 63.7% of his passes, ranking third in program history. His 479 career completions rank fifth in Baylor history.
In 2022, Bell broke in a new starting quarterback for the second consecutive year leading the unit, helping Blake Shapen develop into an offensive weapon. Shapen threw for the ninth-most yards in Baylor single-season history, completing 63.3 percent of his passes, the fifth-best total in school annals. He ranks second in Baylor career history by completing 65 percent of his pass attempts. Shapen threw for 18 TDs and sported a 137.7 passing efficiency mark on the year. His 345-yard outing vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State marked the 50th most pass yards in a single game.
During his first season at the helm of the quarterback room in 2021, Bell helped Gerry Bohanon finish the season with 27 total touchdowns, which tied for the second-most in the Big 12 and earned him a spot on the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team. Bohanon was also named a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.
After Bohanon went down with a hamstring injury, Bell helped Shapen, then a redshirt freshman, guide the team to a pair of wins in Bohanon's absence, including the Big 12 Championship game. Against Oklahoma State, Shapen went 23-for-28 for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns, including a Big 12 Championship and AT&T Stadium college record 17-straight completions in the first half. Shapen was named the Big 12 Championship's Most Outstanding Performer.
For more on Shawn Bell, click here.
THE JOSEPH FILE
At Southern Miss, Joseph helped guide Frank Gore Jr. to record-setting success. Gore Jr. rushed for 1,482 yards in 2022 – the most for the program in 15 seasons (Damion Fletcher; 2007). Gore averaged 6.06 yards per play (23rd in the nation) and 106.3 yards per game (16th in the nation). In the LendingTree Bowl against Rice, Gore broke the NCAA bowl game rushing record with a 328-yard performance.
That season, Joseph's group totaled 1,718 yards on the ground, an average of 139.4 yards per game, and accounted for 14 rushing touchdowns on the year. The running back room also hauled in 40 passes for 371 yards and a touchdown. Joseph spent the 2023 season as Quarterbacks Coach.
During his first year with the Golden Eagles, Joseph oversaw Gore Jr., who led the team in rushing with 801 yards on 179 carries while earning All-Conference USA Honorable Mention. His rushing yards were the most by a Southern Miss running back in the last four seasons. Redshirt freshman Dajon Richard ended the year with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games of his own to give the Golden Eagles a total of four during the year.
In 2021, Southern Miss transitioned into a "SuperBack" offense after top Golden Eagle quarterbacks were injured. Over the final three games, the Golden Eagles enjoyed two of their top three rushing outputs, averaging 214.3 yards per contest over that span. Golden Eagle running backs also threw for 215 yards on 20-of-28 passing with four touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
Joseph spent the 2016-20 seasons on Tulane's staff following a five-year playing career with the Green Wave. After spending his first four seasons as a walk-on quarterback, Joseph earned a scholarship as a senior.
He spent the 2018-20 seasons as an offensive analyst. During the three-season stretch, Tulane ranked eighth nationally in rushing first downs (435), ninth in rushing yards (8,632) and 10th in rushing touchdowns (94). The Green Wave's 1,195 points and 15,811 total yards ranked 21st and 26th in the FBS, respectively. Tulane logged 21 games with 200+ rushing yards (10th nationally), 15 games with 250+ rushing yards (7th nationally) and 10 games with 300+ rushing yards (8th nationally).
For more on Joseph, click here.
THE NAGHAVI FILE
Naghavi is reunied with Head Coach Willie Fritz. In 2023, the Cougars were led by left tackle Patrick Paul who earned Second Team All-America honors by The Athletic after leading the nation with a 92.8 pass block grade according to PFF. As a unit, the Cougars permitted just one sack in four Big 12 matchups and allowed just seven sacks across four league road games (751 pressure opportunities).
Despite the leap into the Big 12, during Naghavi's 2023 season as Run Game Coordinator, the Cougars increased their PFF run grade from 78.0 in 2022 to 79.5 highlighted by a breakout season from running back Parker Jenkins. Among true freshmen running backs, Jenkins ranked second nationally with 20 rushes of 10+ yards, fifth in first down rushes (25) and eighth in yards after contact (307).
Naghavi played an integral role in Tulane's 12-2 season during 2022 that included an American Athletic Conference championship and Cotton Bowl victory over No. 10 USC. The Green Wave's offensive ranked fifth nationally in fewest offensive penalties, No. 12 in rushing touchdowns and No. 19 in scoring offense.
In the Cotton Bowl, the Green Wave rushed for 305 yards on 34 rushes for four touchdowns alongside an average of 9.0 yards per carry. Three Tulane offensive linemen earned all-conference recognition including two first-team honorees.
The Katy, Texas, native is a former team captain and 2003 state champion at Katy High School. He went on to become an All-American offensive lineman at McNeese State.
Naghavi spent the 2021 season at Georgia State, helping the Panthers to their most successful season in school history, highlighted by a program-best eight victories and first-ever win over a Top 25 opponent while developing two All-Sun Belt Conference offensive linemen. Naghavi's unit helped power a Georgia State rushing attack which ranked eighth nationally with 226.4 rushing yards per game.
During a three-year period at ULM, the Warhawks finished in the top three in the Sun Belt for yards per play in three consecutive seasons. In 2017, ULM ranked No. 25 nationally in scoring offense.
For more on Naghavi, click here.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Football by purchasing season tickets, supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective, giving to Houston Rise, and by joining 46ers and The Huddle which provides financial support directly to Houston Football for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarFB on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at Houston Cougar Football. Fans can also follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarfb.
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