Houston Cougars 2020 position previews: Secondary
By: Jimmy Schofield
photo via uhcougars.com
With the college football world in flux, I thought it would be nice to talk about some actual football on the field as we hurry, readily or not, towards the start of a potential 2020 college football season. Over the next few weeks, Coogfans.com will break down each position starting with the secondary.
Last season your Houston Cougars had a record of 4-8 under first year head coach Dana Holgorsen (who was 61-41 at West Virginia over the previous eight seasons). Last season, the Coogs defense was horrendous, allowing 34 points-per-game (113th nationally). Second year coordinator Joe Cauthen must get his front seven to do a better job against the run as they allowed 179 yards-per-game rushing (85th), and 5.2 yards-per-carry (117th). The pass defense did not fare much better, allowing 288.4 yards-per-game (124th) and overall, with 467.4 yards-per-game (118th) and 6.8 yards-per-play (127th).
Those stats were an improvement however over 2018 in which the Cougars finished near the bottom nationally in nearly every major defensive statistic among the 129 FBS football programs. They finished 118th in points allowed (37.2 PPG), 115th in rushing defense (221.1 ypg) and 127th in total defense (496.8 ypg). They also were 90th in yards allowed per play (5.95).
The key to the season, for every team, will be depth. What happens if a few players must sit out for a few weeks due to Covid-19? While there was no outbreak last season, the lack of depth, particularly in the defensive backfield, had a lot to do with the defenseâs overall struggles. In the first half of their games last season, Cauthenâs defense allowed 78.5 yards rushing and 136.5 passing but LED each contest by an average score of 17.8 to 15.9. In being outscored by five points (13 to 18 for a final margin of 30.7 to 34), the defense allowed 100.5 yards rushing and 151.9 through the air.
Over 20 players redshirted last season, affecting that depth. Mack Brown of North Carolina recently said he will pay less attention this season to an actual depth chart but just have 25 to 28 players ready to contribute heavily this season on both sides of the ball. Last season the University of Georgia had 57 players play at least 10 games. Depth, particularly this season, matters.
Enter 2020, where the position that has been the most affected by the influx of transfers (depth) has been the secondary. After signing six cornerbacks via the Juco or FBS program route the past two years, along with adding an additional six at the safety/nickel spots, the backend should produce much better results this season for Doug Belk (safeties) and Zac Etheridge âs (corners) units.
Of last yearâs cornerbacks that saw a lot of playing time, only Damarion Williams (5-foot-11, 170 pounds, Sr.) should start as both Marcus Jones (5-8, 175, RJr.) and Kelvin Clemmons (6-1, 195, RJr.) are eligible after sitting out last year as transfers from Troy and Minnesota, respectively. Williams was the âlockdown cornerâ last season as he led the secondary with seven passes defended and two interceptions (including one âpick-6â). The former Highland Community College product is also a great tackler in space as 54 of his 73 tackles last season were of the solo variety. While Williams started all 12 games last season at one corner spot, the other was occupied by four teammates, none of which are expected to start (unless injury) because of the presence of both Jones and Clemmons.
What Jones lacks in height he more than makes up for in play-making ability as he was named the Sunbelt Conference freshman of the year in 2017 after a season in which he amassed 49 total tackles (34 solo), six pass breakups and two interceptions. He followed that up in 2018 with 34 total tackles (24 solo), nine pass breakups and two more interceptions. In the âplaymakingâ role, he also played on offense, amassing 33 yards on 7 combined rushes. The Enterprise, Alabama native was also a special teams ace, averaging more than 28 yards on 52 career returns including FOUR touchdowns while also averaging 8 yards on 20 career punt returns. Jones played his best in big games, clinching a win at LSU during the 2017 season with an interception and 8 tackles.
Clemmons also had to sit last season after transferring from Minnesota in the spring. The previous two seasons, at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas (where he was ranked as the ninth best Juco corner via 247sports), the former 3-star prospect out of Tampa, had 43 total tackles (31 solo) to go along with a solid 16 pass breakups. Though he has not shown it on the FBS level yet, Clemmons has the confidence in tight man-coverage that Etheridge is looking for, as most north Florida kids do.
A wildcard among the cornerbacks could be Colin Samuel (6-2, 200, G-Sr.). As a graduate transfer last season from UCLA, Samuel was eligible to play last year but did not due to complications from an ACL tear during the 2018 season. In 20 career games over three seasons, Samuel had 14 total tackles with five passes defended and an interception. The Long Beach, California native produced 11 of those tackles in 2017, playing in 13 games. The former 4-star recruit played two games during his redshirt freshman season of 2016 before playing only five in 2018 due to the ACL tear.
Two other JC products that will add depth and could possibly see playing time are Jayce Rogers (5-8, 165, Jr.) and Art Green (6-2, 190, Jr.). Rogers started 21 games the past two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College after leaving West Virginia during the 2017 season due to grades. Over those two seasons in Senatobia, Miss. Rogers âballed out,â combining for 67 total tackles (45 solo), 16 pass breakups and two interceptions. Like Jones, heâs also a standout performer on special teams, averaging 27 yards on 14 total kick returns. Along with having a reputation as a hard hitter, the Valdosta (Ga.) native also has added motivation, as in a son to play for.
Green just committed in late May out of Hutchinson CC as the fifth ranked Juco corner for the 2020 class. He has nice size, speed and makes plays on the ball as he had a combined 8 interceptions in 18 total games played. With his ability to highpoint balls he will also play well in man-coverage, allowing defensive coordinator Joe Cauthen to come with different blitzes via the front-7.
Others looking to step up at corner will be D.J. Small (5-10, 185, RJr.), Javian Smith (6-3, 193, RSr.), Shaun Lewis (6-0, 190, RJr.) and perhaps Gervarrius Owens (6-0, 200, Jr.), who started five games last season due to injuries (along with starting five at his more comfortable free safety spot which weâll get more into later). Small has participated in 19 games over the previous three seasons, starting two games. The Dickinson product amassed 15 total tackles (12 solo) with two passes defended. While Smith has the size wanted for corner at 6-3, he has not been able to establish himself yet due mainly to injury, not playing at all in 2017 or last season due to an assortment of injuries. In two full seasons (2016 and 2018), the Richmond-Bush product had just seven combined tackles, five solo. Lewis is a walk-on who earned playing time and started three games last season. The Houston-Westfield product has 28 tackles (17 solo), eight passes defended and an interception over the past two seasons after redshirting in 2017.
Though heâs not listed on the official roster, Theron Stroops (6-1, 175) rounds up the corner position and will probably redshirt as a true freshman if he ever makes it on campus. A 3-star product out of Lancaster, Stroops is a speedster that ran track which is what got Baylorâs interests. But after committing to the Bears in May of 2019, he decommitted and signed with the Coogs.
Safeties/nickel
Deontay Anderson (6-2, 217, RSr.) has been the mainstay in the secondary the past two seasons, starting all 25 games in which, he participated at strong or boundary safety. The former Manvel standout and Ole Miss Rebel has the versatility to play in the box or against the pass as he is combined for 120 tackles (82 solo) with 15 passes defended. One problem that needs to be âcoached up,â like that with much of the secondary over the past few seasons, is he gets out of position easily due to bad eye placement (meaning heâs not playing his assignment but relying on superb athletic ability to make plays which often times leaves teammates in the secondary out to dry).
The free safety spot last season was manned by Owens (five starts), Garrison Vaughn (6-2, 198, RSo.), five starts and Gleson Sprewell (6-2, 195, RJr.) with two starts. Sprewell started eight games in 2018 (played in 13 total) and had 81 total tackles (51 solo) with nine passes defended and an interception returned for a âpick-6.â The former Mesa CC product had 23 tackles, 16 solo, with an interception in just four games last season before succumbing to injury. Sprewell is as aggressive on the football field as his uncle, Latrell, was on the basketball court in the 1990s. âSpreeâ had 75 tackles at Mesa in 2017, adding six pass breakups, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Known as a hard hitter, Sprewell, like Anderson, canât allow himself to be fooled by various motions in offensive backfields (IE âeye candyâ) to confuse him on his assignment, whether it be a slot receiver over the middle on a crosser or seam route or an outside receiver on a post. Vaughn finished the year with 35 total tackles (24 solo) with five passes defensed in 11 total games. The Belton product is another track guy who finished with 279 career tackles and 13 interceptions on the prep level.
Three FBS transfers will also be major contributors somewhere in the defensive backfield after having to sit out last season or signing this past spring; Thabo Mwaniki (5-11, 185, Jr.), Hasaan Hypolite (5-11, 205, Jr.) and JoVanni Stewart (5-8, 195, GTr.). Mwaniki started his career at Oklahoma State, in which he played 20 games (six starts) in 2017 and 2018, totaling 39 tackles with a pass breakup and interception. The Denton-Guyer product is the definition of versatility at the prep level as he played in both the defensive and offensive backfields at safety, corner, wide receiver, running back and quarterback and is another verified track guy. Hypolite started his career at Colorado, appearing in just one game before redshirting. At Fresno (Tx.) Hightower, the 3-star prospect was all over the field his senior season, amassing 72 total tackles, 13 for loss, while adding four pass breakups and three forced fumbles. Mwaniki also participated in track (in the long jump). Stewart is coming back home after a prep career at Katy, helping the Tigers win 6A state championships in 2012 and 2015. During his senior season, Stewart led the defense with 101 total tackles, 10 sacks and 8 forced fumbles as they allowed just 3.9 points-per-game in 16 games. During his three seasons in Morgantown, Stewart started 16 games, mainly at strong safety and played in 41 total. 2018 was his best season as he had 54 total tackles, 38 solo, at a hybrid linebacker/nickel spot as he added 10.5 TFL and four sacks. For his career, Stewart has 67 total tackles, 50 solo, 12.5 TFL, 4 sacks and a fumble recovery.
Jordan Moore (5-11, 192, So.) will probably get the number one shot at the starting nickel spot after Grant Stuard (6-1, 210, Sr.) moved to a weakside linebacker spot to get him closer to the line of scrimmage (tackling machine that he is). After starting his career at Texas A&M (playing in four games mainly on special teams), Moore transferred last spring and was granted immediate eligibility, playing in nine games and starting one, in which he had 23 total tackles (14 solo), two passes defended and two fumble recoveries. As a 4-star out of Yoakum, Moore had 117 tackles his senior season (2017) with 11 passes defended and 7 interceptions. During his junior season he added 11 interceptions with an amazing FIVE âpick-6âs.â He also had over 4,500 yards from scrimmage and 68 touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball at running back and receiver over the course of his high school career.
Amaud Wilson-Dalton (6-1, 215, RJr.) is listed at SAM, or strongside linebacker, along with Moore, Stewart and Elijah Gooden (6-1, 230, Jr.) but the first three are probably better suited for nickel, which isnât listed on the roster as an official position, though we know most of the time Cauthenâs scheme involves four linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs which is a basic 4-2-5 nickel package. Though with one defensive end spot being a quicker, smaller linebacker, I guess you could call it a modified 3-3-5 scheme. You say tomato, I say tomatoe.
Though Wilson-Dalton has only 15 tackles (9 solo) with a pass defended and an interception in the past two seasons over 17 games, Iâm personally hoping things click for the Cypress-Ranch product this season as he had an incredible high school career with 248 total tackles, 33 for loss, 28 sacks, 13 forced fumbles six fumble recoveries and five passes defensed. He has added around 20 good pounds over his three seasons on Cullen Boulevard so if he doesnât pan out at the nickel maybe he will at one of the linebacker spots.
Mwaniki will probably vie for playing time with Sprewell, Owens and Vaughn at free safety while Mwaniki looks to be more in the Anderson mold of an in-the-box safety that could cover running backs out of the backfield as well as tight ends as they both have nice size. Moore and Stewart will probably be playing the nickel.
Stay logged into Coogfans.com as we continue to preview each position in the coming weeks in hopes of a 2020 season.