2008 Houston Cougars football preview

Houston Cougars

2007 Record: (8-5, 6-2 C-USA)
Coach: Kevin Sumlin (1st year as head coach)

Starters Returning: 15 (6 offense, 8 defense, 1 specialist)

Offensive Starters Lost: Jeff Akeroyd, OL; Anthony Alridge, RB; Donnie Avery, WR; Dustin Dickinson, OL; Jeron Harvey, WR; Perry McDaniel, WR.

Offensive Starters Returning: Carl Barnett, OL; Michael Bloesch, OL; Mark Hafner, TE; Case Keenum,QB; SirVincent Rogers, OL; Sebastian Vollmer, OL.

Defensive Starters Lost: Trent Allen, ILB; Brendan Pahulu, OLB; Rocky Schwartz, FS.

Defensive Starters Returning: Ell Ash, DE; Brandon Brinkley, CB; Kenneth Fontenette, SS; Phillip Hunt,DE; Cody Lubojasky, LB; Ernest Miller, SS; Tate Stewart, DE; Quinte Williams, CB.

Starting Specialist Lost: T.J. Lawrence, PK.

Starting Specialist Returning: Chase Turner, P.

2008 Houston Cougars Overview

2008 will mark the beginning of the Kevin Sumlin era at the University of Houston.

Sumlin, the former co-offensive coordinator at Oklahoma, was hired to lead the Cougar football program when former head coach Art Briles resigned to take the head job at Baylor. Last year under Sumlin, the Sooners' offense ranked fifth in the nation in total offense.

Prior to his arrival in Norman, Sumlin spent two seasons at Texas A&M University, where he served as the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. During the 2002 campaign, Sumlin was thrust into the offensive coordinator role, and the Aggies averaged 33.0 points per game after posting just 16.0 ppg before he took control.

Sumlin also has stops at his alma mater, Purdue, (1998-2001), Minnesota (1993-97) and Wyoming (1991-92). He began his career as a graduate assistant at Washington State, first for Dennis Erickson (1988) and then Mike Price (1989-90).

Sumlin is making history as the first African-American head football coach in the 63-year history of the Houston program. In fact, he's the first African-American to be hired as a head football coach of a Division I-A program in Texas.

His success with the Cougars will depend on doing something Houston hasn't been able to accomplish consistently since its first days in the Southwest Conference in the 1970s. Sumlin must make the Cougars a contender rather than an afterthought in local recruiting and convince his share of top Houston-area recruits to stay at home.

"We only need 24 or 25 guys a year, it's not like we need 100," Sumlin said after being hired. "And there's way more than that in this state. It's a great opportunity. Like I've said a bunch of times, it's a gold mine."

2008 Houston Offense:

Sumlin’s first move at the Houston helm was to bring in Dana Holgorsen from Mike Leach’s staff at Texas Tech to serve as offensive coordinator and install the spread offense.

The Cougars have a tandem of quality quarterbacks who have taken to Holgorsen’s new offensive scheme. Sophomore Case Keenum, C-USA’s returning freshman of the year, and junior Blake Joseph split the snaps under center this spring and both are expected to see extensive playing time in the fall. Keenum started seven games last year and threw for 14 TD’s with 10 interceptions. Joseph tossed 9 TD’s and was picked off 4 times in five starts.

Both quarterbacks should be well protected, as the offensive line is solid with four returning starters in Sebastian Vollmer (RT), Michael Bloesch (RG), Carl Barnett (C), and Sir Vincent Rogers (LT). Senior Isaiah Agson or redshirt freshman Chris Thompson will start at left guard.

With the departure of Anthony Alridge, Houston is searching for a feature tailback. Andre Kohn, a 5-11, 200-pound sophomore, made a strong impression this spring. In the Red-White Game, he led all rushers with 34 yards on six carries. Look for Kohn and sophomore Terrance Ganaway, who averaged 5.0 yards per carry last season, to get the bulk of the carries.

The Cougars were hit hard by graduation at the wide receiver position. The spread offense features four wideouts and there will be four new starters filling the void. Mark Hafner, making the transition to big slot receiver from tight end, caught seven balls for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Red-White Game. The 6-3, 230-pound senior is primed for a huge season. Chris Gilbert is also taking advantage of the departures of Donnie Avery and Jeron Harvey. The 5-9, 175-pound junior caught 11 balls for 100 yards and two touchdowns in the Red-White Game. Sophomores L.J. Castille and Chaz Rodriguez are also slated to start.

2008 Houston Defense:

The defense is led by DE Phillip Hunt. The 6-2, 260 lb. senior, a first-team all-conference selection last season, has been named to the preliminary watch list for the 2008 Lombardi Award. Hunt led C-USA with 10.5 sacks and broke up 10 passes, most in the nation by a defensive lineman.

After Hunt, the unit becomes more suspect. The Cougars surrendered an average of 29.2 points per game last year. Senior MLB Cody Lubojasky may get instant help from incoming recruits Smith and Lewis.

Brandon Brinkley (CB), Quinte Williams (CB), Kenneth Fontenette (FS), and Ernest Miller (SS) return from a secondary that allowed 225. 2 yards per game and 28 TD’s through the air last year. The Cougars hope a year of experience will reduce those numbers somewhat.

2008 Houston Special Teams

There is a huge void at kickoff returner, where Avery averaged 28.3 yards last year. P Chase Turner returns after averaging 42.7 yards per punt and downing six inside the 20. Left-footed PK Jonathan Gibson will get a shot to replace T.J. Lawrence. The coaches hope he'll be more accurate than Lawrence, who missed 9 of 22 field-goal tries.

2008 Houston Analysis

There is no doubt that Houston will boast a potent offense in 2008. Both Keenum and Joseph have taken quickly to the spread offense.

In the Red-White Game at the end of spring practice, the pair combined to throw for 626 yards without an interception. Joseph, the strong-armed junior, hit 37 of 41 throws for 421 yards and five touchdowns. Keenum, the more mobile sophomore, completed 28 of 35 for 205 yards and two scores.

While the defense should be improved from a year of experience and an influx of talented freshman, it will still be incumbent on the offense to outgun most opponents. The unit should be up to the task.

The Houston program has had some success in recent seasons, winning 18 games over the past two seasons and the C-USA title in 2006. The Cougars should contend with Tulsa for the Western Division crown and a spot in the conference championship game this year.

But Houston has failed to win a bowl game since 1980, struggling through a current eight-game bowl losing streak that is the second longest in the country. The Cougars haven't finished the season ranked since finishing 10th in 1990 under John Jenkins. This is the trend which Sumlin has focused on reversing.

The recent ascendance of non-BCS schools like Boise State and Hawaii has given the Cougars a blueprint for future success. And considering Houston's local recruiting advantage, the future looks bright for the Cougars.

"We're in the fourth-largest city in the country. There are a lot of great players in this town and this state. And they are well-coached," Sumlin said. "I think that if we just do a great job evaluating and keep a few guys around, we'll be fine."