Houston Christian’s class generates Southland buzz
Braxton Harris took over as head football coach at Houston Christian on Dec. 13. In less than two months, he and his staff have put together what some recruiting services are calling the top 2023 class in the Southland Conference.
Offensive lineman A.J. Salley (6-5, 260) of Miamisburg, Ohio, is the highest-rated recruit in program history. He signed Wednesday along with offensive lineman Trent Savage (6-4, 270) of Kingwood Park, tight end Evan Stein (6-4, 215) of Frisco Lone Star, offensive lineman Rodney Leaks (6-5, 290) of Chatsworth, Calif., and linebacker Khalil Peart (6-3, 218) of Inglewood, Calif.
In the early signing period in December, the Huskies signed six players, all from Texas and three from the Houston area. They are Stafford defensive end Andrew Huff, Galena Park defensive lineman Tim Marshall and Manvel kicker Chase Cross.
Add in three transfers, and the Huskies’ class numbers 14. There are still six or seven scholarships available.
“We’re excited about the talent level that this class is able to give us and inject into our program,” said Harris, who spent the past three years at Campbell, where this past season he was associate head coach, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. “Bring them to Houston. Houston is an easy sale. Those kids out of state know Houston.”
HCU is an FCS program that is only 10 years old. The Huskies are coming off a 2-9 season in 2022.
“Our best days are ahead of us, and that’s what kids are jumping on and excited about that opportunity,” Harris said.
Over the past two weeks, Harris has named Jason Bachtel offensive coordinator and Eric Daniels defensive coordinator. The Huskies also have tabbed new assistants in Aaron Winchester (running backs), Jonathan Petty (cornerbacks, passing game coordinator), Stoney Patton (wide receivers) and Ross Hornor (offensive line, recruiting coordinator).
Rice
Under coach Mike Bloomgren, the Owls signed 24 players during the early period, highlighted by transfer quarterback J.T. Daniels, who has passed for nearly 7,000 career yards and 44 touchdowns covering stops at Georgia (including six starts for the 2021 national champion), USC, and, most recently, West Virginia. Daniels is one of 10 players who enrolled in January and will participate in spring football.
December signees Ty Morris and Joseph Mutombo represent two of the top four rated high school prospects in Bloomgren’s six recruiting classes.
A 6-2, 195-pound linebacker from Dekaney, Morris was credited with 149 tackles (22 for loss) as a senior and over his career amassed 300 tackles (31 for loss). He joins his brother, Elroyal, on the team. Mutombo, a 6-5, 215 defensive lineman, finished his career at Fort Worth Keller Central with 20 sacks and more than 200 tackles.
On Wednesday, three more players joined the Owls — offensive lineman Lavel Dumont, kicker Reese Keeney and long snapper Wyatt Freeman.
Momentum is building at Rice. In mid-December, the Owls played Southern Miss in the LendingTree Bowl, their first postseason appearance since 2014. In 2023, the Owls will be playing their first season as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
“From a metric standpoint, it’s the highestranked class in Rice history,” Bloomgren said. “Our recruiting staff has done a great job identifying and now signing this class. This is a reflection of the great things that are happening in our program that helped us attract these talented young men. Our football team got stronger because of these recruits.”
Texas Southern
Texas Southern broke ground on a 6,600square-foot athletic strength and conditioning facility on Jan. 13. This past season, the Tigers went 4-4 in the SWAC, with breakthrough wins at Southern (24-0) and Alcorn State (28-27).
After years of losing, coach Clarence McKinney has the Tigers headed upward.
“The recruits are taking notice that this is not the old TSU, and they want to be part of something special,” McKinney said. “We’ve signed guys that have elevated our level of play to get us in position to compete for a SWAC championship.”
On Wednesday, the Tigers brought in size with Alief Taylor offensive lineman Ebuka Okafor (6-6, 325). Other additions on the day include Jackson State transfer wide receiver Quaydarius Davis. McKinney feels he got a steal in landing the one-time Texas commitment. Kingwood Park offensive lineman Erick Zapate also signed with the Tigers.
Taking the sting out of losing defensive back Isaiah Hamilton to Houston, the Tigers brought in UTSA cornerback Xavier Player.
Summer Creek wide receiver Roriyon Richardson and Shadow Creek running back Jacob Washington were part of the early signing period, as were a pair of quarterbacks. Kamron Evans of Shreveport, La., passed for 2,500 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2022. Former Mayde Creek star Jace Wilson transfers from Furman.
Sam Houston
In December, Bearkats coach K.C. Keeler announced the signing of 25 student-athletes, having put most of the class together. Some of those players are expected to play key roles in the school’s move to Conference USA for the 2023 season.
After playing its previous two seasons in the WAC, Sam Houston becomes an official member of C-USA in July. In last year’s nine-game season in transitioning from FCS to FBS, the Bearkats finished 5-4.
Among the 11 transfers are former North Shore running back John Gentry (Utah State) and quarterback Xavier Ward, who did not play while at Washington State.
“We didn’t have the momentum of winning a national championship or winning 21 straight games in a single calendar year,” said Keeler, referring to Sam Houston’s achievements of 2021. “But we did have three (open) weeks, and our staff took advantage and were able to hit a lot of areas recruiting.”
Prairie View A&M
Cypress Woods offensive lineman Jahiem O’Hara (6-6, 255) and Cypress Springs linebacker Jayven Jackson (6-0, 210) were among the nine signees in the early period.
Prairie View is coming off a 6-5 season, Bubba McDowell’s first as head coach.