Sam Thiergood, from Randle High School in Richmond, was one of three offensive linemen to commit to UH on the first weekend of official visits. He did not participate in spring football this year because of his success in track and field.
“They didn’t want me getting beat up and hurt, so they took me out of football and had me commit to track,” Thiergood said in an interview earlier this week. He competes in shot put and discus and placed fifth in the state in shot put, throwing just under 60 feet.
Despite not seeing him this spring, the Houston program is familiar with Thiergood. Going back to his freshman season, he says he has competed in summer camps at Houston and that UH offensive line coach Eman Naghavi is familiar with Thiergood’s last few OL coaches.
Thiergood on the field
The strength and athleticism required to excel in throwing the shot put translate well to playing offensive line. Shotput throwers have a small circle, “the pit” as Thiergood called it, to generate as much power as they can as fast as they can in a few steps, similar to the way a lineman explodes to drive a defender off the line.
Watching Thiergood on the field, you see the twitch and explosiveness, especially in the run game when he gets on the move. He explained that his favorite run concept is the counter, because it gets him on the move and pulling to find second-level defenders.
“He is explosive, and he can dominate a player either with his size or athletic ability,” PJ Wilson, Randle High School’s offensive coordinator, told me recently.
Wilson cited Thiergood’s intelligence as another reason for his success, especially in running counter plays. “He had to read what the defender would do as he was pulling and make the proper block to spring the counter run,” Wilson said.
Samuel Thiergood
Co’ 27
6’4 285
2025 Football season
Highlight reelFull hudl- https://t.co/OCPUb3iby6 pic.twitter.com/sWe8Ddp6qR
— SAMUEL “Big Poppa” THIERGOOD (@BIG71SAM) January 23, 2026
Thiergood regularly goes to speak to Wilson after drives with suggestions or questions about what the defense was showing. His information often led to adjustments and success later in the game.
I asked Thiergood about something he was looking to improve, and he mentioned his hand-eye coordination. He said that it would allow him to counter defensive linemen trying to swat his hands away and that getting comfortable using one hand rather than two would give him more control when hand-fighting in pass protection.
Why Houston?
The proximity to home was a big factor for Thiergood, as he wants to stay close to his family. And the program’s family atmosphere made him comfortable. He pointed to a specific moment when Coach Naghavi got his little sister to smile during the visit.
“She’s not the type of person to connect with just anybody… he got her to smile, and she gave him a high five”, Thiergood said. “If he’s family with my family, that means he’s family with me.”
UH’s new facilities made an impression, but ultimately it was the efforts of the staff, players (specifically his host, RJ Lee), and his fellow commits that really swayed him.
Thiergood canceled his other official visits and is all in on being a Coog. He will be an early enrollee and plans to major in business.
