Tuesday was a crazy day for UH and UH-related football news, from the portal to coaches not following Willie to Houston to offers to a Cougar grad getting a new job. There’s never a dull moment for Houston fans.
the daily #135 | 12/13/2023 | Archives
On Tuesday:
– Matthew Golden officially entered the portal. Getting in the portal isn’t as quick as saying, “I’m in the portal.” There’s a process, including a mandatory NCAA education module, before the school enters you into the portal.
Don’t be shocked if Golden ends up at Texas with their boatload of NIL money and to play alongside his HS teammate, Jaydon Blue.
– Two defensive linemen – Chidozie Nwankwo and Jamaree Caldwell – also entered the portal Tuesday afternoon. The three portal entries all retweeted a 2021 John Daspit testimonial, believed to be part of their UH/LinkingCoogs NIL packages, hours before they (officially) announced their departures.
Nwankwo and Caldwell are close to former DL coach Brian Early, and his not being retained by the new staff likely played a role in their departure. Caldwell had 6.5 sacks in 2023 and blocked a kick in each of the last two years.
– Long snapper Gavin Gately tweeted his goodbyes, thanking UH, family, and friends for their support. Gately graduates from UH this month.
– Dalton Carnes, who entered the portal in early December, announced an offer from UNT. I believe it’s his first FBS offer.
– At Tulane, interim head coach Slade Nagle decided not to follow Willie Fritz to Houston as the new OC, as had been reported previously. Nagle will coach the Green Wave in the Military Bowl two weeks from today.
There had been rumors that Nagle was recruiting Tulane players to go into the portal to sign with UH, but new TU head coach Jon Sumrall seemed to put that to rest.
“I do want to thank Slade Nagle,” Sumrall said Tuesday at his introductory press conference. “I am grateful for what he’s doing…I think he’s trying to do it the right way.”
Nagle was not in Houston last weekend recruiting for UH, but former TU/new UH defensive coordinator Shiel Wood was. Wood had also planned to coach in the Military Bowl while working for UH, but Wood’s bio is gone from the Tulane website.
– Reports surfaced that Josh Christian-Young has joined the UH staff as defensive backs coach after four years at Tulane. Josh played for Willie Fritz at Central Missouri and then coached under him at CMU, Georgia Southern, and Tulane. He also spent five years at Army.
– With all the reported movement, and with former Tulane staffers working at UH, only Willie Fritz’s name appears on the UH website coaches list (as of Wednesday morning).
– Reports indicate that former Houston QB Billy Cosh will be the next head coach at Stony Brook. Cosh is notable to UH fans as the backup who entered the game in place of John O’Korn on August 29, 2014, to lead UH to their only TD in the first game at TDECU. O’Korn threw four INTs that day.
Cosh built a solid resume in FCS at VMI and Richmond before moving to Western Michigan this year as OC. His wife Kelsey played soccer at UH.
– Fritz and Co. continued to send offers to high school and transfer portal players. A notable portal player is Jaden Bray from Oklahoma State. Bray caught a TD in the Fiesta Bowl in 2021 but missed 2022 with a thumb injury. He caught 30 passes this season, including a 23-yard TD against UH in November.
UH offered four-star DB Jayden Lewis from powerhouse Anniston High in Anniston, Alabama. Lewis has offers from numerous SEC schools, including Arkansas, Ole Miss, OU, Miss State, and Tennessee.
– According to a report from Brett McMurphy, the Big 12 is moving Big 12 Media Days from Arlington’s AT&T Stadium to Las Vegas in 2024 and 2025. At least eight UH outlets covered media days in Dallas, which was great, but how many will be able to go to Vegas?
The reason may be scheduling, although the Big 12 should have locked down those dates when they signed an agreement to play Big 12 Championship games in Arlington. In July, Yormark promised new Big 12 branding at media days in 2024 – he may want the spectacle of Vegas to unveil his brand update.
