Head coach Tony Levine said he thinks the receiving corps could be a strong position for the Cougars next season. | Nichole Taylor/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars will return all of their wide receiver starters from last season – a luxury they didn’t possess last season.
Following the 2011-12 season — a year in which his receivers accumulated 63 percent of the offense — the Cougars replaced four seniors at wide receiver with inexperienced players.
Last year, sophomore wide receivers Deontay Greenberry and Larry McDuffey contributed as freshmen. Greenberry had 47 catches for 569 yards while McDuffey had 28 catches for 382 yards. Both started several games.
Levine said senior wide receiver Shane Ros, who was primarily a special teams player before last season, is coming into his own. Ros played special team’s and wide-out for the Cougars last year. He had a total of 15 special teams tackles and caught 23 balls for four touchdowns on 337 yards receiving.
“We had him at safety when he first got here, played a little wild-cat quarterback, and right now, it’s good to see how comfortable he is going into his second year as an extensive wide receiver,” Levine said.
Ros said he is humbled to be in the position and is doing whatever he has to do in order for the team to win. He received a scholarship this season after participating as a walk-on for his first three years at UH.
Ros said his receiver group needs to focus on the other things besides catching the football if they want to progress as an offense.
“We were a young team last year, but we can’t let that be an excuse,” Ros said. “We got to focus on the blocking, not just catching the football, playing away from the ball — mainly the things we do besides catching.”
Levine said his receiving corp was young and wasn’t one of the strengths of the team last season but expects them to make a big impact this year.
“There’s no price that you can put on experience,” Levine said. “For them to play all those snaps last season, It was good for them. They’ve learned from their mistakes. Their timing and confidence level are better, so is their knowledge of the offense.”
To see more pictures during spring practice, click here.
