Speed and athleticism were key priorities when UH head football coach Kevin Sumlin started recruiting high school players a month ago.
Sumlin addressed a lot of the weaknesses on defense by recruiting players who aren’t just football players but who are athletes as well.
"We got three good defensive lineman that can come in here with size and speed. I think just looking at it (we’ve got) 245- to 250-pound guys up to 300 pounds and our linebackers," Sumlin said. "I’m really happy with the linebacker class as far as the ability to run. When you go from there I think that should be the focus for our recruitment. Whenever you can increase your team speed, you’re going to increase your ability to win."
The most coveted recruit brought in is local star Jarvis Smith from Chavez High School. At 6 foot 2 inches and 215 pounds, the linebacker will bring size, and he is the only four-star recruit (according to Scout.com) Houston signed this year.
"Jarvis Smith is a really good player. He’s an excellent player," Sumlin said. "I will say this, he’ll come in here tall, rangy, fast – taller than the other two guys (Aldine’s Anthony Lewis and Arlington Bowie’s Marcus McGraw). They all have one thing in common in that they’re extremely aggressive and we’re pleased with all three of those guys.
Sumlin’s ties to Houston and Texas helped him land 17 Texas players out of the 19 total recruits the Cougars managed to bring in.
The Cougars signed mostly two-star recruits, bringing in a total of 14. Houston also had three three-star recruits, one four-star recruit and a one-star recruit.
"It’s one of the reasons that the University of Houston should be a premier place to play and a premier job, because all these guys are within driving distance, and that means that their parents, friends, coaches and everybody can see them play," Sumlin said. "As we recruit around here, I think that’s going to have a snowball effect."
Houston added three defensive linemen – Doran Guillory (Beaumont Kelly High School), David Hunter (Waller High School) and Mohammed Usman (Arlington Bowie High School) – to sure up the line in the future.
"We addressed our needs," Sumlin said in a press release. "We wanted to shore up some things because we are moving from a 3-4 to a 4-3. Obviously, on defense we had to address some needs in the defensive line, and for the most part, we did that."
Defensive backs Gino Collins (St. Pius X High School), Jackie Hinton Jr. (Channelview High School), Kris Johnston (Texas City High School) and Nick Saenz (Pearland High School) will help relieve some of the trouble Houston went through last season in the secondary.
Houston received good production last season at the quarterback position with redshirt freshman Case Keenum and sophomore Blake Joseph, so the Cougars didn’t recruit for that position.
For the other skill positions on offense, Houston brought in running backs Bryce Beall (Tatum HS) and Chris Wilson (Austin HS), and wide receivers Isaiah Sweeney (Hightower HS) and Ronnie Williams (Sterling HS).
The Cougars also added kicker Jordan Mannisto (Westlake HS) from Westlake Village, Calif.
Sumlin said he wanted to add some offensive tackle types of linemen to his squad, and Jacolby Ashworth (Lufkin HS), Blake Sargent (Friendswood HS), Ari Tatum (Dacula HS in Georgia) and Ken Van Heule (Hurst Lawrence Dale Bell HS) will anchor the line.
"Offensive linemen are the hardest things to recruit," Sumlin said. "Some people say they’re not. We like to recruit tackle- type of guys, and we did that."
