Cougars eager to ‘turn the page’ on rough ’19
At 9:23 p.m. Saturday, the University of Houston’s worst football season in 15 years was officially pronounced dead.
It was neither surprising nor unexpected. For weeks — if not longer — the Cougars were able to prepare for a season that would end with a losing record and no bowl appearance. At 4-8, the Cougars had a six-year run of postseason trips snapped and suffered their most losses since 2004.
“Any time you have a losing season, you’re ready to turn the page,” coach Dana Holgorsen said after his first season ended with a 56-41 loss to Navy. “We knew that this was coming to an end for about three weeks. A lot of teams would’ve thrown the towel in, but our guys didn’t, and that’s program-building character.
“Our team knows where we’re at and where we’re going.”
Holgorsen enters an early offseason with a lengthy to-do list. It began Sunday with player exit meetings. The coaching staff will hit the recruiting trail Monday.
Next comes the early signing period, which runs Dec. 18-20, and the traditional signing period the first Wednesday in February.
“We’ve got work to do in December when it comes to a lot of meetings and recruiting and building for what is going to be a pretty good 2020,” Holgorsen said.
In between, the Cougars will have a better idea of the makeup of the roster. The biggest looming decision is by D’Eriq King, who graduates in a few weeks and must decide whether to return (as he said he would back in September) or transfer elsewhere. He figures to be in high demand for Power 5 schools seeking a proven quarterback with starting experience.
UH has 23 spots to fill in the 2020 signing class, with some of those players likely to come from the junior college ranks and transfer market. The roster numbers will beef up with the 35 players who redshirted this season, among them a half dozen transfers from Power 5 programs who will compete for starting jobs. One of the most intriguing additions is linebacker Eyabi Anoma, a fivestar recruit and top-ranked player in Alabama’s 2018 signing class whom Holgorsen calls “the most disruptive defensive lineman I’ve ever seen.”
UH will lose 14 seniors from this year’s roster, including three starters — nose guard Aymiel Fleming, running back Patrick Carr and wide receiver Courtney Lark — and punter Dane Roy, a Ray Guy Award finalist.
“If there’s any silver lining on what has happened this season, it’s that we’re gaining experience in a lot of areas with a lot of people that will continue to get better based on that,” Holgorsen said. “My goal is to have competition at every single position, and we’re building that right now.
“It will be a fun spring. We have about 35 guys who redshirted eligible, and we’re bringing in 25 more. That’s a lot of roster. The roster will get fixed quick. There’s going to be a lot of excitement here moving forward.”
Clayton Tune passed for 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns despite being injured, operating behind a patchwork offensive line and playing in an offense that was forced to rely heavily on the run. The top two backs statistically (Kyle Porter and redshirt Mulbah Car) will return along with the top four receivers. Speedster Marquez Stevenson, who had 52 catches for 907 yards and nine touchdowns, could opt to leave school a year early and test the NFL waters.
The offensive line will undergo some change with the loss of left tackle Josh Jones, a projected highround NFL pick, and right tackle Jarrid Williams. Center Braylon Jones is eligible to return after a shoulder injury forced him to redshirt.
“Coach Holgorsen tells us eventually it is going to turn our way, and everyone on our team believes it,” wide receiver Tre’Von Bradley said.
On defense, Payton Turner and David Anenih, who combined for nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss, will return up front, as will the top three linebackers (Donavan Mutin, Zamar Kirven and Terrance Edgeston).
Some of the biggest changes could come in the secondary. Nickel Grant Stuard had a breakout year with a team-best 97 tackles despite playing the entire season with a sports hernia. There will be competition at cornerback and safety with the addition of transfers Kelvin Clemmons (Minnesota), Hasaan Hypolite (Colorado), Marcus Jones (Troy) and Thabo Mwaniki (Oklahoma State).
Lack of depth was arguably the Cougars’ greatest problem this season as the team ran out of gas in the second half in several games.
“We didn’t give up on the season. We didn’t quit coaching, practicing, preparing or playing. Ever. Not in 12 games. I’m proud of that,” Holgorsen said. “Those seniors know that we gave everything we could. The ball didn’t bounce our way, and we didn’t have enough depth to be able to stand up in a lot of areas.”
After a difficult first year, Holgorsen remains upbeat and optimistic about the direction of the program
“This thing is going to get really good really quick,” he said. “I think everybody knows that.”