Updated 3:30 pm, January 30, 2020
There was quite a bit going on with commitment news for Cougar football on Tuesday (and we’re waiting for the announcement of another player that the coaching staff really likes).
WAITING: The Coogs anticipate a public commitment from Long Beach City College’s Danthony Jones soon. Jones went to Hawaii for a visit last weekend and, after returning to the mainland, let the UH staff know he was coming.
Frankly, why doesn’t everyone take that Hawaii visit before committing elsewhere? Although the thought of a weekend with Todd Graham in paradise doesn’t sound like, well, paradise.
A UH staffer told me that Jones has a unique skill set – an edge rusher that has the versatility to be moved around to different positions. In his words, Danthony can “stand up, put (a) hand down, blitz inside & outside. Playmaker.”
Danthony visited UH in early December before going to Boise State the next weekend.
UH defensive coaches did an in-home visit with Jones on Thursday, January 30th. I’m told the visit went well and that the staff considers him solid and expects he will sign. “He will make us better!” one staff member told me.
Spotlight: Khiyon Wafer
IN: Frisco Independence WR Khiyon Wafer. First up: a couple highlight videos. I put zero stock in a highlight video – everyone looks good in highlights, right? I want to see the plays where you know the ball isn’t coming to you and to see how you perform in those plays.
That said, this is a nice one.
Wafer is running a slant out of the mesh when he encounters a blitzing LB in his face. The Y receiver (#8 coming from the other side) has the responsibility to set the depth of the mesh and here he sets it pretty shallow. Wafer is forced off of his route before he crosses the LOS and again by the Y receiver.
But the key for me is how he responds: he keeps his eyes upfield and identifies the middle linebacker. As his QB is chased from the pocket, Wafer makes the right call: instead of continuing to run shallow and parallel with the QB, he cuts behind the MIKE into open space and makes it easy for the QB to identify him.
All receivers can catch it in open space and run to the end zone but it is Wafer’s footwork and decision before the throw that stand out here. Here’s his full-season highlight video:
Note: The video for the analysis above was removed from HUDL after we wrote this article.
Wafer’s recruiting profile is muddled: He told Mark Berman last night of an Illinois offer but it did not appear on either 24/7 or Rivals before then nor does it appear in 24/7’s recruiting timeline for the WR.
Other than that, it’s all G5 offers and us. Which is why it’s strange: Wafer had 1277 yards and 21 TD last year in 5A DFW football – that’s legit. But how does a guy like that in a 60,000 student district fly so far under the radar?
24/7 rated Wafer on Tuesday of this week and have gone back and re-rated him. Rivals has not rated him.
Wafer has been recruited by Tyron Carrier.
IN: Earlier in the day, UH received a commitment from Dickinson athlete Mike Welch. Welch played QB for the Gators but will be playing safety for newly minted Associate Head Coach Doug Belk (who also recruited him). Welch’s offer list is otherwise just FCS – somewhat of a red flag – but I’m told that Belk and the rest of the staff are really high on him.
A somewhat interesting nugget about Welch: the Touchdown Club of Houston has three major award banquets for high school players: Pre-Season, Scholar-Athlete, & Player of the Year. 10 finalists are selected for each of the awards – they make up “the final table.” Only one time in TD Club history has a player made all three tables: Andrew Luck in 2007.
One time, that is, until last fall. Mike Welch is now the second player to ever do it.
OUT: Hahnville, Louisiana, DL Adonis Friloux has committed to Tulane. Some believed Friloux was still committed to the Coogs until this week but that would have been a generous application of the word “commit.” One staff member thought he’d been wavering while another says he was likely out when he decided not to sign in December.
Friloux visited Tulane over the weekend and chose the Greenies. Tulane is 30 miles from his hometown of Boutte.
MAYBE: Klein Cain kicker Aidan Martin has been committed to UH since August as a preferred walk-on (PWO). Because walk-ons do not “sign,” Martin is free to keep pursuing opportunities. A new opportunity came yesterday:
After a great talk with @Coach_MBrock I’m blessed to announce I’ve received an offer to play at Mississippi State University @HailStateFB #HailState?@KornblueKicking @CMKicking pic.twitter.com/hmgJqaRPqw
— Aidan Martin (@aidanmartin1106) January 28, 2020
Mike Leach and his special teams’ guy Matt Brock have liked Aidan for a while. He was offered at Wazzu before Leach (and Brock) moved on to Starkville.
It’s important to note that Martin hasn’t made a decision about Mississippi State. I’m told he loves UH and has “lots to think about.” There’s always a chance more opportunities could arise, too.
As alluded to in the original report, Aidan did get another opportunity. SFA offered him a full scholarship on Thursday.
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