July 25, 2008

• Watch the CBS College Sports Preview of Houston's Season

History was made on Dec. 14, 2007, when Kevin Sumlin was named the 12th head coach in Houston Cougar football history. More importantly, Sumlin become the first African-American head football coach not only at the University of Houston, but also at a Football Bowl Subdivision school in the state of Texas.

Sumlin steps into a program that is on the rise, having reached a postseason bowl game for the third straight season and fourth in the last five years. It had been 26 years since the Cougars had played in three straight bowl games. Sumlin looks to make it four straight and return the Cougars to the Conference USA Championship game which UH won in 2006.

When he stepped on campus Sumlin knew the cupboard wasn't bare, but he wanted to mold this program into his own. His experience in the Big 12, where he served as the offensive coordinator at both Oklahoma and Texas A&M, as well as his relationships with the Texas high school coaches make him the perfect fit at UH.

In a contrast over the last decade, the strength of the 2008 squad lies on the defensive side of the ball, where eight starters return from a unit that ranked No. 1 in Conference USA last season. Despite a few hiccups during the season (most notably the Oregon, Rice and Tulsa games), the Cougars held their opponents to less than 30 points on eight different occasions, including three times of 10 points or less.

Overall, Houston allowed 365.6 yards and 29.2 points per game, capping the season by holding TCU to 365 yards and just 20 points in the Texas Bowl.

DEFENSIVE LINE
The Cougars' defensive success starts and stops with senior Phillip Hunt on the defensive line. A one-man wrecking crew, Hunt was a consensus C-USA First-Teamer in 2007, racking up a league-leading 10.5 sacks as well as 18 tackles for loss despite being double- and triple-teamed at times. This season under the tutelage of former NFL great and first-year assistant coach Jim Jeffcoat, Hunt could see his play elevate even higher, which does not bode well for offensive coordinators around the league.

Despite sitting out most of spring, Ell Ash returns for his senior season and is projected inside as a tackle.

Veterans Billy Hartford and Tate Stewart man the other two starting spots. A former walk-on, Hartford works as hard as anyone on and off the field. He will be challenged for the starting defensive end spot by redshirt freshman Michael Ray, but the spot is Hartford's to lose as camp approaches.

Stewart is one of the most underrated players in Conference USA and was a 13-game starter in 2007. Not the biggest defender to play inside (6-3, 250), Stewart has a non-stop motor and the tenacity of a rabid pit-bull, which causes chaos for offensive linemen. Senior Jake Ebner-who will now be playing his fourth different position at UH- and sophomore Isaiah Thompson look to unseat Stewart in the starting spot.

Also, look for senior Cody Pree, who has battled a variety of injuries in his career, to challenge for a starting spot inside. Walk-on Jasmine Martel and redshirt freshman Demarcus Lattier shore up an already deep position.

LINEBACKERS
In the switch back to a 4-3 defense, the linebacking corps lost one of its defenders, and compound that with the departures of Trent Allen and Brendan Pahulu, and one can see this area of the UH defense is thin. Senior Cody Lubojasky is the sole returning starter, but his 39 consecutive starts bring optimism to this area of the defense. Heading into fall camp, junior Shomari Williams is penciled in as his backup.

Two juniors with different backgrounds hope to start on the outside this fall. Matt Nicholson began his career as a walk-on and was the Special Teams MVP as a true freshman in 2006. Now, he has earned a scholarship and starting spot on the strong side with the 2008 season on the horizon. Nicholson prides himself on getting to the ball and making plays. In the new UH defensive scheme, he will be asked to do a lot of this. Manning the other side is Arkansas transfer Tyrell Graham, who brings plenty of athleticism to the defense.

Junior Chris Mitchell and sophomore Britton Maxwell serve as Graham's backups, while walk-on C.J. Cavness is listed as Nicholson's. Mitchell has seen plenty of time on special teams in his two years but is looking to break into the linebacker rotation to use his talents on defense. After playing as a true freshman in 2006, Maxwell sat out last season to rehabilitate a knee injury. But is expected to be at 100 percent when the season begins.

Cavness is a grinder like Nicholson and plays with reckless abandon on special teams. Given the opportunity to play more at linebacker, Cavness could be an effective run stopper and occasional pass rusher.

SECONDARY
All four starters return in the Cougar secondary, highlighted by senior free safety Kenneth Fontenette, a Second-Team All-Conference USA selection last season. Starting last season as one of the two cornerbacks, Fontenette showed his versatility by switching to strong safety after the season opener. He returns to the free safety spot, which he manned in 2005-06.

Another senior, Ernest Miller, shifts to strong safety after starting 11 games last season in the "Drop" linebacker spot. Another play-maker with the ability to play the run and cover the pass, Miller finished with a team-best 11 pass breakups last season and was third on the team in tackles with 63. His move back to his natural position of strong safety could put Miller in position to lead the team in tackles.

Senior Quinte Williams and junior Brandon Brinkley ended the '07 campaign as the Cougars' starting pair at cornerback. Williams spent two seasons as a top reserve before being thrust into the starting role late in 2007. His coverage skills have improved significantly since playing as a true freshman three years ago, while his run play has become more steady. A solid year is needed from Williams if the Cougars hope to regain the West Division title in 2008.

Brinkley has a penchant for big plays. As a freshman in 2006, he recovered a fumble against Oklahoma State that sealed the UH win, and then last season he broke up a UTEP pass on fourth down late in the game to halt the Miners' final drive of the game. If Brinkley can continue to make these big plays on multiple occasions throughout the season, the Cougars should reach the post-season for the fourth straight year.

The secondary depth is wet behind the ears. Outside of junior Carson Blackmon, the rest of the backups are either redshirt freshmen or walk-ons. Senior safety Stephen James. James originally signed and played with Oklahoma State but transferred back to his hometown of Houston in 2006. After sitting out the Cougars' championship season, James was slated to start in the Cougar secondary coming out of spring. But, an off-season knee injury curtailed his debut.

The Class of 2007 was chock full of defensive backs, including one, Loyce Means, who played as a true freshman and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman squad. A.J. Edwards, Roisean Haynes and B.K. Johnson are slated as backup cornerbacks, while Ricardo Bates and Ryan Tennison head out of spring as safety backups to Fontenette and Miller. All five should see plenty of action on special teams.

How do you improve upon an offense that was ranked No. 4 in total offense in 2007? Hire away the offensive coordinator from the nation's No. 2 total offense and No. 1 passing attack... Dana Holgorsen. Last season the Cougars averaged 501.92 yards per game; however, Texas Tech averaged 529.62 ypg, including an eye-popping 470.3 yards per game through the air. More impressively, the Red Raider offense averaged 40.92 points per game, almost a touchdown more per game than what the Cougars (34.54) generated a year ago.

In order to have this new offense clicking on all cylinders, Houston must replace the tandem of running back Anthony Alridge and wide receiver Donnie Avery, who accounted for 53.3 percent of the offensive production in 2007. As a matter of fact, Alridge and Avery became the first duo in NCAA history to post a 200-yard rushing and 300-yard receiving effort in the same game, when UH knocked off Rice 56-48 on Oct. 13.

Houston returns four starters on the offensive line, as well as senior tight end Mark Hafner and sophomore quarterback Case Keenum, the consensus C-USA Freshman of the Year. And, even though it has lost two dazzling playmakers in Alridge and Avery, UH knows its cupboard is not bare.

QUARTERBACK
Keenum was spectacular in his collegiate debut, running and passing the Cougars to their third straight bowl game. Keenum accounted for 23 touchdowns in 2007, and set a UH single-season record by completing 68.5 percent (187-of-273) of his passes. His style of play was perfect for the previous offense, but he needs to be more of a quick-read, pocket-passer in the amped-up passing attack in '08.

That's where junior Blake Joseph comes in. A strong-armed pocket-passer, Joseph looked lethal in the Cougars' offense in the spring, giving Sumlin two options at signal-caller this fall. As a part-time starter in 2007, Joseph threw for 1,324 yards and nine touchdowns while completing almost 65 percent of his passes.

RECEIVERS
With all this passing, who is going to step up and replace Avery...and Jeron Harvey and Perry McDaniel? Hafner is the team's leading returning receiver, catching 40 passes for 445 yards and three touchdowns last year. In the new offense he could see his receptions almost double from the tight end slot.

Houston is counting on a slew of talented youngsters to step up in 2008. Coming out of spring, Hafner, junior Chris Gilbert, sophomore Chaz Rodriguez and redshirt freshman Patrick Edwards were listed as the starters at the four wide-out spots. The backups are junior Tim Monroe, sophomores L.J. Castile, Anthony Reasno and Wesley Scourten and redshirt freshman Tyron Carrier, E.J. Smith and Demetrius Woods.

A converted quarterback, Castile is one of the better athletes on the squad, and he knows he must work harder to become an elite wide receiver in Conference USA. Gilbert is a shifty slot receiver who is big on yards after the catch, while Rodriguez arrived as a walk-on two years ago and has the size, speed and strength to be a clutch receiver this fall.

Carrier and Edwards have the most potential because both have speed to burn. With the loss of Avery and his deep-threat abilities, UH will look to Carrier and Edwards to fill the void.

Monroe is the most physical of the receivers, having spent last season as a safety, while Scourten could spell Hafner at tight end. Smith, Reasno and Woods could work into the rotation if they can turn some heads this fall.

RUNNING BACKS
The loss of Alridge could be the toughest for the Cougars to overcome. Not only did Alridge rush for 1,597 yards and 14 touchdowns, but he also added 428 yards and five touchdowns receiving and 233 yards on kickoff returns. Sophomore Terrance Ganaway has the inside track in replacing Alridge, based on this 550 yards rushing as a true freshman last year. Ganaway lacks Alridge's breakaway speed (4.25 in the 40-yard dash is tough to replace), but he is a grinder and pounds inside for the tough yards.

Sophomore Andre Kohn has the speed to get to the corner and is a great receiver out of the backfield. He rushed for 146 yards last season and scored the Cougars' only touchdown in the Texas Bowl on a 67-yard pass. Redshirt freshman Justin Johnson as well as true freshmen Bryce Beall and Chris Wilson also could battle for playing time this fall.

OFFENSIVE LINE
With four returning starters the UH line should be the strength of this year's offense. Despite missing all of 2007 and most of 2006, senior tackle SirVincent Rogers returns as one of the top linemen in Conference USA and is fully recovered from his knee injury. He moves into the right tackle spot with incumbent senior Sebastian Vollmer manning the left side.

Both Rogers and Vollmer have the strength and stamina to be outstanding tackles. Rogers is extremely athletic for an offensive lineman, while Vollmer has long arms and the versatility needed for protecting the quarterback.

Senior guard Michael Bloesch and junior center Carl Barnett return to fill their starting spots from 2007, while redshirt freshman Chris Thompson looks to have the inside edge at left guard. Bloesch and Barnett are solid run blockers who improved their pass-blocking skills with each snap. Both should be better this season.

Thompson battled past senior Isaiah Agson to nail down the final starting spot. One of the prized recruits from the Class of 2007, Thompson has the intangibles that coaches crave in an offensive lineman: grit, intensity and a little bit of nastiness.

The backups are a mixture of veterans and newcomers. Junior Josh Bell is slated as Vollmer's backup at left tackle, while junior Matt Hart should be Rogers' understudy on the right side. Moving inside, Agson and sophomores Jaryd Anderson and Jordan Shoemaker could see action at both guard spots, with Shoemaker serving as Barnett's backup at center.

SPECIAL TEAMS
The Cougar special teams look to improver with an increased emphasis from Sumlin. There are some key holes to fill on this side of ball and some good position battles could emerge from the start of training camp in early August.

PUNTERS
After struggling early in the season, junior punter Chase Turner thrived down the stretch and finished second in Conference USA with his 42.7 average. More impressively, Turner averaged 44.1 yards a kick over the last 10 games, only once dropping under 40.0. A former soccer goalie, Turner has a strong, booming leg, and his placements improved with each kick.

KICKERS
The Cougars lost their No. 1 kicker (T.J. Lawrence) to graduation, and the kicking position will see competition in fall camp. Junior Ben Bell is back after sitting out 2007 as a redshirt, and the former All-Conference USA kicker looks to reclaim his old job. Bell is in a battle with walk-on Jonathan Gibson, and true freshman Jordan Mannisto should arrive in August and make it a three-way battle for kicking chores.

SNAPPERS
The one constant over the past three years has been long snapper Norbie Juist, who returns as a senior to provide snaps for punts, extra points and field goals. A Second-Team All-Conference USA pick in 2007, Juist has improved with each snap and looks to conclude his career with another trip to a bowl game.

RETURNERS
With the departure of Alridge, Avery and McDaniel, there is a glut in the return game. Heading out of the spring, Edwards, Carrier and Rodriguez were listed as both kickoff and punt returners. Don't be surprised to see true freshmen Jackie Hinton and Isaiah Sweeney get a shot during the preseason camp. Hinton is one of the better athletes arriving this fall, while Sweeney is a speed-burner who is the reigning Texas 5A state champion in the 100 meters.