HOUSTON—New Houston coach Kevin Sumlin is delaying his first major decision of the season.
The former Oklahoma assistant was hired last December to replace Art Briles, who became the coach at Baylor. Sumlin inherited two quarterbacks who played last season—junior Blake Joseph and sophomore Case Keenum—and it’s about time to pick one to be the regular starter.
Sumlin said he’ll make his choice no later than Aug. 20, 10 days before the Cougars open the 2008 season against Southern. Until then, the two will have ample opportunities to impress Sumlin at practice.
“If it continues the way it is, we’ll stretch it out as long as we can,” Sumlin said. “Ultimately, you’ve got to get one guy extremely prepared.”
Joseph started five games in 2007, throwing for 1,324 yards and nine touchdowns with a 64.5 completion percentage. Keenum started the other seven, throwing for 2,259 yards and 14 touchdowns and a 68.5 completion percentage.
But the statistics from last season are largely irrelevant. Sumlin hired former Texas Tech offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen to install the Red Raiders’ offense and replace Briles’ system.
Holgorsen said Joseph seemed to grasp the new system better in spring workouts, but said both quarterbacks have the skills to run it efficiently.
“(Joseph) is a physical guy, the bigger, stronger, faster kind of guy,” Holgorsen said. “Case is just a guy that kind of keeps things alive. His arm isn’t incredibly strong, but he knows where to go with the ball, which is what we’re trying to do on offense.”
The Cougars never had problems scoring during Briles’ five seasons, averaging 30 points per game. Holgorsen said his offense relies less on deception and misdirection, as Briles’ offense did, and depends more on creating favorable matchups.
“We’re not going to try to trick anybody,” Holgorsen said. “We’re going to try to execute, get guys good at their technique and what their assignment is, and advance the ball based on playing good football.”
While Houston has traditionally featured high-scoring offenses, the defense gradually became a strength under Briles. After giving up at least 50 points four times in 2003, the Cougars led Conference USA in total defense last season (365.6 yards per game).
The unit has eight starters back for 2008, but Sumlin brought in John Skladany to switch from a 3-4 alignment to a 4-3. Last season, Skladany was the defensive coordinator at Central Florida and the Knights ranked third in the league in total defense, giving up 366.4 yards per game.
Anchoring the defense is senior defensive end Phillip Hunt, who led the league with 10.5 sacks in 2007. Hunt said the new defense will free him up to create even more havoc.
“It should allow us to get a better pass rush and more sacks,” he said. “It’s going to be more of a scheme thing, than one player having to work so hard to make a play.”
Besides a new staff and alignments, Sumlin has implemented the stern discipline he learned working for five years under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma.
The Cougars admit they got away with lax fundamentals at times under Briles. Sumlin demands more each day and punishes players who don’t meet the standards with wind sprints and other tormenting drills.
“It’s been a little tough,” said senior safety Ernest Miller. “I like this type of coaching, though, where they’re hard on you and they expect you to do the right thing all the time. If you don’t, they aren’t afraid to let you know what you did.”
