Houston faces mirror image in Texas State
The ties linking the two head coaches stretch as far as Austin and Columbus, Ohio. To the point that their wives are friends.
And that’s just one part of the intrigue when Houston faces Texas State at 6 p.m. Sept. 24 on ESPN3.
Houston head coach Tom Herman acknowledged the two were friends when they were on the Ohio State staff. But that friendship actually started in the late 1990s when Everett was a defensive backs coach at Texas while Herman was a graduate assistant.
“I consider him a close friend,” Herman said. “My wife and his wife are really close friends. They got to know each other quite a bit in Columbus and continue to talk to this day. We were excited when Everett got the opportunity to move back to the great state of Texas and excited to see him off to a good start.”
Since both worked for two of the finest head coaches of this era — Mack Brown and Urban Meyer — it makes sense the two would implement similar things, Herman said.
“I see his players play really hard and physical,” he said. “Even though they are a spread offense much like us, they are going to run the football first and pressure in the backfield on defense. The film is the only parameter I have to go off of, and I know they play really hard and really physical.”
The Bobcats are led by quarterback Tyler Jones, who has completed 51 of 81 passes for 501 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.
“He’s a senior, and he’s playing pretty good,” Herman said. “Similar offenses in terms of they are going to be spread, no huddle and up tempo. They are going to try to run the football to set up the play action pass.”‘
Running back Stedman Mayberry has 27 carries for 113 yards and a score, while receiver Elijah King has eight catches for 129 yards and two scores.
But the Cougars are known for their ability to play defense, Herman said, adding he is impressed with what they’ve done. In three games, the Cougars have given up no more than 120 yards on the ground.
“This is just something I’ve never been around,” he said. “This is unbelievable, if you can stop the run. … If you can stop the run you’re going to have a chance to win a lot of football games. We’ve done a pretty good job. This is a three week sample size, but all signs point to us being pretty good at that.”
The Texas State defense reminds Herman of the Oklahoma defense since they both play a three-man front. Herman noted the Bobcats like having seven players near the line of scrimmage.
Houston quarterback Greg Ward Jr. told coaches he felt great, so he practiced with the team Sept. 18 where he participated in the two-minute drill in 7-on-7.
“It’s going to be a day-by-day feel thing for him,” Herman said. “He threw the ball a bunch and threw it well. I haven’t talked to him (Sept. 19), but I know he was in this morning for treatment. On monitoring his reps, I really meant monitoring how he feels, and if he feels like it’s too much then we’ll slow it down and if he feels like he can handle it we’ll throw everything we can at him.”
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