Before heading outdoors for the start of Fall practice, Dana Holgorsen met with the media for 10 minutes, answering questions about his team’s summer and the 25 practices ahead. Among the topics he discussed:
– Enough money has been raised to begin the Football Operations Building. As he was speaking, UH released the news of another pledge – $1 million from Regent Jack Moore and his wife Debbie.
– Dana had his first meeting with the newly-hired architects last week. “I’m giving them some thoughts and they’re starting to put some things down on paper.”
– Asked about spots that will have the most competition in the fall, he pointed to right tackle, split end, and the backup corners.
– Regarding the backup QB battle: “I don’t think either one of them can get to where Ike is right now,” referring to Lucas Coley and Holman Edwards passing Ike Ogbogu. He said the three years of reps gives Ike a distinct advantage.
– He awarded scholarships to Ike and kicker Bubba Baxa “a couple weeks ago.”
– Speaking of summer: “it was the best summer I’ve been involved with.” He explained that he forced coaches to take vacation for three weeks in the middle of the summer to give players and coaches a break from each other. “Eight weeks of summer was very productive. Very happy with where we’re at.”
– He said his team has “way more weapons than last year.” That’s an understatement: he pointed to USC transfer WR Joseph Manjack as having the best summer, true freshman WR Matthew Golden having the best spring, and transfer Sam Brown and freshmen C.J. Guidry and CJ Nelson as all “looking good.”
– Regarding Matthew Golden: Dana said he was “real slow” in the first part of spring ball but after the team came back from spring break, “something just started clicking for him.” He called him a “different, special kind of young man.”
– On the offensive line, he pointed to the continuity of 2021 after two years of different starting lineups in virtually every game. Dana said the battle at RT will be between Rueben Unije and “a couple of transfers we’re going to rep there as well,” meaning Lance Robinson from MTSU and Tyler Johnson from Texas.
– “We gotta figure out who the top five (offensive linemen) are then build continuity. But also, get to where you’ve got the sixth guy ready to go, the backup center ready to go, a swing tackle ready to go so you’ve got your top eight.”
– Holgorsen said there are just three guys out due to injury: Alton McCaskill, Josh Atkins, and Garfield Lawrence. Asked again if Alton could come back this season, he said, “that’s completely out of my control. I mean, you don’t know. Go ask a doctor.”
– There are 113 players in camp and the team is older and more mature than its been since he’s been at UH. At a cookout last weekend, he counted between 22 and 25 guys that are “anywhere from 23, to 24, to 25 (years old).”