Houston defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong looking into the distance after speaking to the team during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, October 4, 2025 in Houston, Texas, | Gillian Wisniewski/The Cougar
When Houston football defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong first arrived on campus last winter, he had a courtside view of college basketball’s top defensive program.
He saw shot-clock violations, rejections and smothering defense nightly from Houston men’s basketball, and it was enough to win over Armstrong, who wants the same mentality out of his unit.
“I love coach (Kelvin) Sampson, everything that he’s about. Not just what he said, but what he is about,” Armstrong said during fall camp.
Sampson, who prides himself on teaching unrelenting effort, intensity and grit, gave the blueprint and foundation for what Armstrong and any defensive-minded coach should follow.
But knowing the blueprint is only one part of the puzzle—the other is getting an entire defense to buy into it.
Despite finishing 4-8 for the second consecutive year, Houston boasted one of the top defenses in the Big 12 Conference in 2024, surrendering only 22.9 points per game, which ranked fourth in the conference and 40th nationally.
Still, as often is the case in the transfer portal era, the challenge wasn’t just maintaining that level of production, but doing it with a bevy of new faces.
Houston introduced numerous transfers and newcomers to its defense overall through the winter and spring portal windows, leaving Armstrong with a retooled cast to preach his philosophy to.
What made his job easier, according to him, was the culture coach Willie Fritz had already established.
“I was the new guy that came in January, they’ve all been first class, they work their butt off. Coach Fritz has a culture of hard work and discipline,” Armstrong said. “That makes my job easy from that standpoint.”
Even with the groundwork in place, Armstrong has already left an imprint on Houston’s defense in 2025.
Despite the apathetic 35-11 loss to Texas Tech in week six, where Houston allowed a season-high 35 points and 552 total yards of offense, Armstrong’s defense is only allowing 17.6 points per game through the first five contests of the season.
Through its first two games against Stephen F. Austin and Rice, Houston had only allowed nine points, the fewest points allowed through the first two games of a season since 1989.
During fall camp, Armstrong was asked what kind of defense fans could expect this season.
He just said he hoped it’d be one to stop the other team.
Two of the frontliners who have helped make that a common part of Armstrong’s unit are senior defensive lineman Carlos Allen Jr. and junior defensive lineman Khalil Laufau.
Both are among the top tacklers in the Big 12 this season, with Allen Jr. leading the conference.
“Khalil and Carlos have done a fantastic job, coach Giles and coach Osborne have done a great job with them,” Armstrong said. “They’re very active, we ask them to do a lot from a technique, fundamental standpoint, so I’m excited to see their improvement moving forward.”
With only two conference matchups completed so far, and seven remaining on its schedule, more than half the season, Armstrong’s defense still has ample tests ahead against some of the Big 12’s top offenses.
They’re coming off facing the most prolific one, in No. 9 Texas Tech, which showed Houston still has plenty to learn and improve on to compete with some of the Big 12’s conference title contenders.
Just as Sampson does with his program, wins and losses never linger past the day of the game in which they occur, a philosophy echoed by Fritz and adopted by Armstrong and his unit.
“We’re trying to improve every day, we’re not worried about the past, or the future. We’re worried about each moment,” Armstrong said. “We’re trying to win moment at a time.”
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