Corbin’s return adds to offensive firepower
Decision to redshirt after 4 games of 2019 proves beneficial to WR
Keith Corbin prepared himself for probably needing a few drives to feel back at home on the football field.
There was the obvious fatigue that comes from adjusting to the game speed of a season opener, which was delayed almost a month later than anyone could have imagined.
Then he was briefly overcome by an unexpected feeling.
“I was nervous for a little bit,” Corbin, the University of Houston’s senior wide receiver, said about his return to the lineup after using a redshirt season. “After a while I got used to it.”
Quarterback Clayton Tune went to Corbin almost immediately, finding him for a short gain near midfield on the third play of the Cougars’ 49-31 comefrom-behind victory over Tulane.
Corbin finished as the team’s second-leading receiver with four catches for 46 yards.
But on this night, it wasn’t about the stat page. It was about adding another piece — akin to an offseason free-agent signing — to what early returns suggest could be an explosive offense in year two under coach Dana Holgorsen.
Corbin might best be known as “the other guy” among notable UH players to announce in late September 2019 he would redshirt the final eight games of the season. While quarterback D’Eriq King grabbed the headlines and later decided to enter the transfer portal, Corbin’s decision was equally important as the Cougars eyed this season to take a big step in the building of the program.
At the time of his redshirt decision, Corbin was a three-year starter coming off a breakout 2018 season that included 40 receptions for 691 yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns as the No. 2 receiver behind Marquez Stevenson.
“This program, where it
was going to be, I wanted to be better in the long run, so I thought coming back was the best decision,” Corbin said. “I feel it still is.”
How did it feel watching UH struggle through a 4-8 season?
“It ate me a lot,” Corbin said. “Every game I was sitting on the sideline thinking I need to be out there fighting with my
brothers.”
Corbin spent the past year working on improving himself as a receiver. He did everything from route running to eliminating drops that plagued him early in his career. During spring practice, Corbin said he felt “faster and stronger” and that redshirting “made me a better person, a better player.”
While he wasn’t on the field during game days, Corbin still had an impact as a member of UH’s scout team and lent time working with some of the younger receivers. That was on display just before halftime in the opener, when a group of receivers ran over to congratulate redshirt freshman Ke’Andre Street, whose first career catch was a 23-yard touchdown.
Corbin wants to pay it forward in his final collegiate season, offering the same veteran advice that was given to him as a true freshman in 2016 from Steven Dunbar, Linell Bonner and Chance Allen.
“Having (the younger receivers) behind us, looking up to us, I feel we play a role like big bros to little bros,” Corbin said. “The older I got, I just felt like I had to teach the young guys the game. I want to continue to be a leader to them.”
Wide receivers coach Tyron Carrier said the year off allowed Corbin to take a step back, observe and learn after playing in so many different offensive systems his first three seasons.
“It was a little tough at the beginning for him learning a new way,” Carrier said. “I think I was his third or fourth receiver coach. Teaching a new way of playing receiver for him was a little tough. It was a hit on all of them.”
The receiver room has become crowded, with the Cougars going from three or four dependable targets a year ago to as many as nine in the rotation who can make key contributions, Carrier said. Along with Street, junior college transfer Nathaniel Dell made his debut in the opener, joining a group that includes Stevenson, Tre’von Bradley, Jeremy Singleton, Bryson Smith and Cole McGowan on the two-deep chart.
Tune completed passes to eight different receivers against Tulane.
“I’m excited to get them the ball as much as I can,” Tune said.