After meeting with the local media yesterday, Dana Holgorsen appeared on 365 Sports with David and Craig Smoak.
Dana discussed things he did not cover with local media that we highlighted. On 365, Dana said:
– 100 recruits came to the spring “game” on Friday night. How that translates remains to be seen. Coaches will be fanning out over the next few weeks to visit schools and build connections.
– UH will continue to recruit the same people. I took that to mean they’ll still go after the same guys, not sign the guys they have been signing. One of Dana’s focuses has been to recruit the guys he wants hard, and if he wins, he wins. If he doesn’t win, they want to be the first call if the player goes elsewhere and then wants to transfer.
– he expects 3-6 guys drafted off the 2022 team.
– “our expectations were off the charts high” in 2022. In the fall, Dana spent a lot of time talking about “expectations that were put upon us.”
UH released a short video from last night of Dana Holgorsen taking questions in the team hotel lobby in Shreveport.
Like his bowl announcement presser and the Tulsa postgame, he remains committed to the “expectations that were put upon us” line. pic.twitter.com/dlYgIciG8X
— GoCoogs.com (@gocoogs1) December 20, 2022
"It's a disappointing season, obviously. We did not meet expectations that were put upon us." – Dana Holgorsen
— GoCoogs.com (@gocoogs1) December 5, 2022
It’s hard to see the difference between “our expectations were off the charts” and “expectations that were put upon us,” even though he’s making the distinction.
– “Well, I get tired of talking about it, to be honest with you,” referring to the hot seat when asked about his comments to Sam Khan in The Athletic last month.
– Donovan Smith is big and has got ten games of Big 12 experience. He said Smith and Lucas Coley got a ton of reps in spring and need “a ton more in June and July.”
– He said the two quarterbacks are similar but have different strengths and weaknesses.
– the new football ops building is about $200 million. That sounds like just a number was thrown out, as Chris Pezman described the building as between $90 and $140 million in January. The original cost was expected to be in the $75 million range.
– this year is a chance to “kinda change the roster.” UH will have 45 new bodies for next season, with 15 going through spring football and 30 coming in June. The 30 includes the 11 the staff will recruit once the portal opens next week.
– he is worried about spring football because of all the roster moves that will be made in April and May going forward. Dana said he’d rather give up some of the spring to get more time with his guys in June and July. That leads me to think that 2023 is not the only year to “kinda change the roster,” but it will be an ongoing situation.
– “the Big 12 was as good to us as they possibly can (be)” regarding the 2023 schedule. He then joked that he’s “shocked I’m not playing game one in Morgantown, myself.”