Jack Freeman wants his QB to be more vocal and the numbers for UH – on both sides of the ball – are as bad as you might expect.
the daily #52 | 9/21/2023 | Archives
Be Vocal. In Tuesday’s media session with players, starting center Jack Freeman was candid when asked about his quarterback, Donovan Smith.
“I think that Donovan needs to be more vocal,” Freeman said. “That’s my only thing that I try to get to him (to do).
“QB1 is a big position for a team. Whether you have that C on your chest or not, it’s a huge position, and you’ve got to be vocal.”
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football writer Mike Craven brought up the point in our interview with him the other day. Smith has never really been asked to be the #1 guy; his starts have typically come from replacing an injured QB or as a mid-game / mid-season replacement.
He may be still trying to figure out how to be the man, and how to be a vocal leader, but he needs to figure it out soon.
Big Plays. The UH defense has given up 63 plays of 10+ yards in three games this season. That’s second to last in the country (FIU, 69). But of the bottom five in this category, UH is the only one that’s played just three games. Each of the others has played four.
| 10+ Yard Plays Allowed | Games | Average Per Game | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 129. SDSU | 56 | 4 | 14 |
| 130. San Jose St | 59 | 4 | 14.75 |
| 131. NMSU | 60 | 4 | 15 |
| 132. Houston | 63 | 3 | 21 |
| 133. FIU | 69 | 4 | 17.25 |
The #1 team in the country in that stat is Sam Houston State. They’ve given up just 17 such plays in just two games. They are top-10 nationally in average per game.
But Sam’s 17 total is interesting for another reason: UH has given up more than 17 plays of 10+ yards in each of the first three games (TCU had 25 such plays, UTSA and Rice had 19). Rice had 15 in the first half before shutting down their offense.
Lagniappe: In the last 13 seasons, encompassing over 1600 data points, UH’s 2011 offense has the third-most 10+ yard plays in a season (292). Only LSU’s 2019 national championship team (303) and Alabama’s 2018 national championship team (293) had more, but UH averaged more per game than both.
124 & More. The Cougars are #124 in first down defense. #124 in passing yards allowed. #124 in red zone offense. And #124 in total defense.
Houston is #123 in sacks allowed and #114 in tackles for loss allowed. UH’s scoring defense is ranked #109.
10 years. Today, in 2013, Dana Holgorsen’s WVU offense was shut out in a 37-0 loss to Maryland.
It was the only time in his career as an OC or head coach (192 games) that he’d been held without an offensive touchdown.
Until TCU in 2023.
