Cougars need all hands with Stevenson out
Whenever the University of Houston needed a big play the past two-plus seasons, Marquez Stevenson was usually the first option. But what happens when Stevenson isn’t around?
Life without the speedy star wide receiver was not supposed to begin until Stevenson departed for the NFL after this season. An ankle injury will sideline him for at least a week, a tough blow for the Cougars, who are coming off their worst offensive performance of the season and play at sixth-ranked Cincinnati on Saturday.
“He’s such a good player. We rely on him somuch,” coach Dana Holgorsen said Thursday during his weekly segment on “The Matt Thomas Show” on Sports Talk 790. “We’re sitting there waiting on somebody to make a play, and usually that guy is Marquez. With him not in the game, we have to look elsewhere.”
How will the Cougars fill the void?
“It’s an opportunity for other guys to step up,” Holgorsen said.
Without Stevenson, the pressure is on the rest of the receiving corps to pick up the slack. Holgorsen listed a handful of receivers who could be counted on. All are capable, the coach said, but all lack experience as a No. 1-type receiver.
The closest UH has to any receiver fitting that description is Keith Corbin, who had 10 touchdowns in 2018, and Jeremy Singleton, who emerged as a reliable option behind Stevenson last season after Corbin decided to redshirt after four games.
Officially, Bryson Smith, a quarterback-turned-receiver, replaced Stevenson at the “H” receiver spot on this week’s twodeep chart. Realistically, it will be all hands on deck, with Corbin, Singleton, Smith, Nathaniel Dell and Cole McGowan among the expected options for quarterback Clayton Tune.
UH’s receiving corps took another blow, with Tre’Von Bradley also ruled out for the Cincinnati game with an injury, Holgorsen announced Thursday night on his weekly radio show.
After Stevenson left midway through the first quarter against UCF, Tune targeted Dell, Bradley and Corbin a combined 29 times, which represented 71 percent of his 41 pass attempts in the game.
Dell, the closest of the bunch to matching Stevenson’s speed, had a career-high six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.
“He was thrust into kind of a lead role,” Holgorsen said after the UCF game.
Corbin, who has drawn praise for making catches in third-down situations, currently leads the team with 17 receptions and has themost targets (26) of any UH receiver. Bradley has been targeted 23 times, followed by Dell (22) and Stevenson (21).
While the Cougars will be without two key receivers, there is one bit of good news: Singleton will be back in the lineup after missing the last two games with an undisclosed injury.
Smith, who was recruited as a quarterback, moved to receiver full-time when Holgorsen became head coach before the 2019 season. He continues to be a work in progress.
“We’re going to be relying on him a little bit this week in Speedy’s spot,” Holgorsen said. “I’m excited to see how he handles it. … Saturday is an opportunity for him to say, ‘Look, I’m not just Speedy’s backup right now. It’s time for me to get in there and go.”
Stevenson’s absence will also be felt in the return game, where he has taken back three kickoffs for touchdowns in the last eight games dating to the final month of last season. He’s also a threat to bust open a big play every time he touches the ball; his 14 receptions of 40 or more yards rank third among FBS receivers.
“He’s one of the most dynamic players in the country,” Holgorsen said.
Stevenson is listed as day-today and will be evaluated next week in regard to his availability for the Nov. 14 game against USF.
“(Our receivers) have to understand they are the ones we are going to look to now,” Holgorsen said. “Speedy is not going to be out there this week, and those guys need to step up. I look forward to watching them having a chance to make some gamechanging plays.”