Rebuilding Sam Houston Faces Tough Journey in Phil Longo's First Year
A deep dive into Sam Houston's 2025 schedule and whether new head coach Phil Longo and his Bearkats can survive a unique season without a true home stadium.
Texas' first season was in 1893 under Albert Lefevra, but it wasn't until 1963 under legendary head coach Darrell K. Royal when the Longhorns won their first national championship perfecting the wishbone offense and capturing two more in 1969 and 1970 with Longhorn greats such as James Street, Freddie Steinmark, Jim Bertlesen and Steve Worster. The 30-year title drought finally ended in 2005 on the back of Vince Young in the Rose Bowl under Mack Brown, in what some consider the greatest individual performance in college football history. The Longhorns returned to the pinnacle of college football and the standard was set to where it is today under head coach Steve Sarkisian.
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OFFENSE | |||
Pos | Starter | Backup | Reserve |
WR-X | Isaiah Bond | Johntay Cook II | |
WR-Z | Matthew Golden | Ryan Niblett | |
WR-SL | Silas Bolden | DeAndre Moore | |
LT | Kelvin Banks | Trevor Goosby | |
LG | Hayden Conner | Neto Umeozulu | |
C | Jake Majors | Conner Robertson | |
RG | DJ Campbell | Cole Hutson | |
RT | Cameron WIlliams | Jaydon Chatman | |
TE | Amari Niblack | Gunnar Helm | |
QB | Quinn Ewers | Arch Manning | |
RB | Jaydon Blue | Tre Wisner | Jerrick Gibson |
DEFENSE | |||
Pos | Starter | Backup | Reserve |
DE | Barryn Sorrell | Justice Finkley | |
NT | Bill Norton | Tiaoalii Savea | Aaron Bryant |
DT | Alfred Collins | Vernon Broughton | Jermayne Lole |
DE | Trey Moore | Ethan Burke | |
MLB | Anthony Hill | Liona Lefau | |
WLB | David Gbenda | Morice Blackwell | |
CB | Malik Muhammad | Gavin Holmes | |
S | Derek Williams | Michael Taaffe | |
S | Andrew Mukuba | ||
CB | Terrance Brooks | ||
NB | Jahdae Barron |
Jaylon Guilbeau |
|
SPECIAL TEAMS | |||
Pos | Starter | Backup | Reserve |
P | Ian Ratliff | ||
K | Bert Auburn | Will Stone | |
PR | Matthew Golden | Johntay Cook | |
KR | Jaydon Blue | Matthew Golden |
# | Name | Position | Classification | Hometown |
0 | Anthony Hill Jr. | Outside Linebacker | FR | Denton, Texas |
0 | Ja'Tavion Sanders | Tight End | JR | Denton, Texas |
1 | Justice Finkley | Defensive End | SO | Trussville, Alabama |
1 | Xavier Worthy | Wide Receiver | JR | Fresno, California |
2 | Johntay Cook II | Wide Receiver | FR | DeSoto, Texas |
3 | Quinn Ewers | Quarterback | RS SO | Southlake, Texas |
Name | Title |
Steve Sarkisian | Head Coach |
Jeff Banks | Assistant Head Coach / Special Teams Coordinator / Tight Ends |
Tashard Choice | Runnings Backs |
Kenny Baker | Defensive Line |
Kyle Flood | Offensive Coordinator / Offensive Line |
Blake Gideon | Safeties |
Chris Jackson | Passing Game Coordinator / Wide Receivers |
Terry Joseph | Defensive Passing Game Coordinator / Secondary |
Johnny Nansen | Co-DC/Inside Linebackers |
Pete Kwiatkowski | Defensive Coordinator / Outside Linebackers |
AJ Milwee | Co-Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks |
Torre Becton | Director of Football Performance |
Jared Blank | Chief of Staff |
Jordan Mitchell | Recruiting Coordinator |
Name | Position | Classification | Previous School |
Jermayne Lole | Defensive Tackle | SR | Louisville |
Jay'Vion Cole | Cornerback | JR | San Jose State |
Bill Norton | Defensive Tackle | SR | Arizona |
Tiaoalii Savea | Defensive Tackle | SR | Arizona |
Amari Niblack | Tight End | JR | Alabama |
Silas Bolden | Wide Receiver | SR | Oregon State |
Isaiah Bond | Wide Receiver | JR | Alabama |
Trey Moore | Defensive End | SR | UTSA |
Andrew Mukuba | Safety | SR | Clemson |
Matthew Golden | Wide Receiver | JR | Houston |
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