Cougars’ missteps last season create better team

During his five years as a college athlete, Kevin Forsch has seen the program fluctuate between highs and lows.

The redshirt senior offensive lineman protected former quarterback Case Keenum as he piloted UH to 13 wins in 2011, but he was also on the roster when UH failed to qualify for a bowl in 2010 and 2012.

For UH, the margin between arguably the greatest season in University history and five wins has been razor thin the past four years — a fact that is not lost on Forsch.

“You saw last year there were a lot of games (where) one or two different plays … could have changed the outcome of the game,” Forsch said. “It was something I think a lot of people learned from, so we took that year and learned as best we can from that.”

With a young team — the Cougars’ leading passer, rusher and receiver are underclassmen —  last season’s seven losses have fueled a more competitive squad. Many of the players who have helped the Cougars earn a 4-0 record this season were in high school when Keenum tossed nine touchdowns against Rice in 2011.

Last year, the Cougars won only five games. Sophomore running back Ryan Jackson said the team used last year’s bad experience to inspire them to create a new normal.

“It pushes us a little bit more to not have that feeling again — just to prove people wrong and showing them that we can do something special,” said Jackson, the Cougars’ leading rusher.

The push to turn UH’s young squad into a winning team began during spring practices, said offensive coordinator Doug Meacham.

“I think they kind of re-dedicated themselves this spring and understood the importance of everybody pulling the wagon and going in the right direction,” Meacham said. “The guys are all buying in and there are some leaders developing that are still pretty young.”

The bad taste of the losses has helped develop a talented young crop of players on both sides of the ball, turning them into consistent producers on the field — which could make the team a conference title contender for the next few years.

Sophomore receiver Deontay Greenberry eclipsed the century mark for the third consecutive game against UTSA with nine catches and 149 yards. Freshman quarterback John O’Korn had his best game by almost any measure. He threw for 312 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

On defense, sophomore safeties Trevon Stewart and Adrian McDonald have become sure tacklers who have a knack for making key plays. Freshman defensive end Tyus Bowser has become a threat to sack the quarterback each time he rushes from the edge.

However, one of the biggest threats to the Cougars’ present success is the outside noise. A 4-0 start has garnered them more positive media coverage, pats on the back from fans, a better post-game Twitter experience and even a standing ovation in chemistry professor Simon Bott’s class.

Head coach Tony Levine acknowledged that complacency could set in after the factors that fueled a turnaround are removed from the equation.

“We’ve talked to our kids about what they were going to hear starting yesterday, going to class and seeing their friends,” Levine said. “That falls on us as coaches, that they need to be focused and there is no let-down.”

But Jackson said the Cougars aren’t focused on positive tweets from fans and coverage from the media.

“(Levine) brings up a lot of the time that when we were losing about a year ago, we didn’t have too many pats on the back,” Jackson said. “The same people that are telling us that we’re doing good are the same ones that last year were telling us we weren’t really anything … You can’t listen to what everybody tells you because at the end of the day, that’ll slow you down.”

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