Transfer Portal: Houston Cougars Lose Sam Brown

Coogs’ House… It appears to be for real. Houston Cougars Wide Reciever Sam Brown, slotted to be the top target for Willie Fritz and Donovan Smith this fall, looks like he’s going to enter the Transfer Portal. What caused it? Where does it leave Joseph Manjack and the wide receiver room? What does Houston do from here?
Host Parker Ainsworth breaks it all down

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CG’s house it appears the Houston cers
might have lost in the transfer
portal you are locked on cougs your
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[Music]
day welcome to lock on cougars today the
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uh Monday Monday afternoon it was
reported to KPRC uh I I think it was
KPRC I haven’t seen a whole lot of
secondary reporting on it but that
Samuel Brown is going to enter the
transfer portal after Spring ball um now
reports indicate he’s going in the
portal I haven’t seen anyone I haven’t
seen a whole lot of secondary sources
bumping that up he’s not officially in
yet it doesn’t look like um but I will
say that there also not a bunch of
resourc resources out there turning it
down Sam Brown has not taken social
media to turn it down by any stretch or
anything like that uh this hurts a lot
for Houston he is arguably the best wide
receiver returning uh some people like
Joe manjack or what have you he’s
inarguably one of the best two wide
receivers to come back with any
experience right he had 1286 yards seven
touchdowns 103 catches in two seasons at
Houston and in that entire time he was
always like fairly far down the totem
pole in terms of uh who was going to get
the ball who was going to get the taret
and things like that I Bears mentioning
we probably all assumed he’s going to be
the number one wide receiver next year
and those numbers would have probably
only gone up at least the touchdown
numbers right last year he was kind of
iconically this guy that caught the
football a lot got some good yardage but
couldn’t get in the end zone till he got
it I think three times on the year last
year um now I want to preface this by
saying part of the reason that this
isn’t headlining anything is hey I guess
it’s not formalized yet it’s not in the
paperwork’s not turned in ETC as of this
recording um and also for what it’s
worth um at the end of the day I I hate
to break it to folks he’s probably not
going to be the last Houston couger with
experience to enter the portal in this
window there’s a spring window now after
springfall and before summer workouts
where we going to see guys from a bunch
of different programs uh you know that g
gave new coaching staff to try or what
have you in the spring practices enter
the portal to find Opportunities better
for themselves I’m typically not a guy
that’s like upset with kids for finding
that opportunity in the transfer portal
that is best for themselves um you know
you only get a limited amount of time to
play college football you ought to have
some saying where you go etc etc um that
being said I don’t have like Intel on
specifically which players are looking
whatever just logistically speaking
Houston went through a major culture and
coaching change in December they just
had a series of spring practices the
guys on the team now have a good look at
what it’s going to look
like and Sam Brown’s just the first big
name to say he’s jumping in it in this
window obviously we lost Matthew golden
last year’s number one receiver in the
first
window um I say all that to say that
there will probably be others
unfortunately I don’t want anyone to I
kind of like the kids we’ve got that’s
just the way it feels like college
football these days right as far as Sam
Brown’s case I think a lot of people
jumped to nil money chasing the bag da d
d that’s a very easy hot button thing to
Jun to I don’t want to necessarily say
it’s 0% that either right like obviously
nothing is 100% the main only factor or
anything like that right um I will say I
was assuming after watching some Barb
film over the course of the spring after
watching some games that Willie Fritz
Willie Fritz is a defensive coach but
things that he’s places he’s coached
over the years and then after watching
the spring game felt validated and
saying this team is going to run the
ball a lot more next year um this team’s
gonna run the ball very well I would
argue next year um even a lot of their
passing in the spring game on Saturday
was off of RPO reads where the run is
clearly the first read right then you
factor in you know we’re hoping to see
Donovan Smith back to that power Runner
he was at Texas Tech makes him a true
dual threat guy the Young Chris his
backup is a clear dual threat guy shoot
Caleb mcml is probably the third string
guy it looks like and he had some wheels
on him too um you see a lot of running
game happening with Houston Cougars I
guess what I’m trying to say right and
if you’re a wide receiver if you’ve got
you know a season or two left in college
football I don’t know that if you’re
trying to show off what you can do for
the pros you want to be in a system
where you may be catching five or six
balls or five or six targets at that
rate a game I kind of understand it from
that standpoint I wish it weren’t
happening I Sammy I wish if you could
hear me out I could talk you into all
the pros and cons of of staying I think
there’s a lot more Pros I will say
though that as a wide receiver this
offense is not as friendly as the one
folks signed up for then were signing up
to play for Dana hogerson now I
understand that logistically and the way
it actually played out hogerson didn’t
run that air raid system in the same
kind of you know throwing the ball 50 60
times per game or whatever anything like
that um in recent memory especially not
well Sam Brown was here right but I
think he signed up for hogerson you knew
he was a guy that could get Guys open
remember how many different times we hit
the mesh concept cross against
University of Texas right like Houston
finds ways to schem Guys open at the
wide receiver position Dana was always
able to get receivers into Houston on
that on that recruit pitch right the
guard’s kind of changing uh the culture
is changing this team’s going to be a
little bit grimier dirtier and that
includes running the ball more um now
that doesn’t mean there aren’t going to
be any wide receivers frankly guys in
the wide receiver spots can make great
plays at this RPO stuff because the
defense has to be concerned with the Run
that’s why I actually think that had Sam
talked anyway I I I think from a playing
perspective being the number one
receiver is actually a really good thing
because you’re gonna get treated less I
don’t know with less double team and
stuff than other number one receivers
right because of the you know attention
the Run game gets but I digress Sam
Brown it appears is heading into the
transfer
portal um again we confirm it when it’s
confirmed but right now it really does
look like that is where things are
headed in the final segment I want to
start spitballing ideas I’ve got about
Replacements including if they even do
it but first as Houston’s putting
together their roster you’re probably
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locked on college
today all right now I found a pair of
receivers already in the portal in the
spring window that I think think are
actually fairly decent fits at Houston
even though they’re dramatically
different um and that’s frankly to say
that like we’re kind of in the early
process of this you know late spring
transfer window you’re going to see more
guys enter in the coming days from a
bunch of different schools there are you
know a little over a hundred uh division
one 1A football programs uh FBS football
programs no call onea anymore um and out
of those programs
I’m betting you see a couple thousand
kids looking to fill spots there kids
moving up from FCS a D2 kid a Joo kid
you’re going to see kids trying to
change from G5 to P5 or vice versa
you’re going to see thousands of names
in the transfer Portal had imagine over
the course of the next couple weeks uh
Sam Brown being the first from Houston
in this window but again it’s going to
be a lot of people in there currently
with current name
the first guy I noticed kind named Eli
stores kid from deny DFW um up 45
against the other side of Dallas and uh
he’s got two years left he initially was
recruited to Texas A&M as a tight end
got red shirted didn’t play much then
transferred to New Mexico state and
played quarterback at least on their
roster but then statistically he had 35
catches for 300 66 yards and two
touchdowns so he eventually does switch
back to being a pass catcher he’s leaned
down some to 64 215 he’s a frankly
good-look athlete at that he just
entered the portal last week he’s
looking I’d imagine if he’s going to
concede that he’s a pass catcher this is
me you know hypothesizing to get back to
the power five he was at A&M as a tight
end I think that makes a lot of sense
and honestly I think Houston’s a great
place for him to come do that as a tight
end they experienced blocking
experienced pass catching Houston and
the IM manabi system the Kevin Barb
system and we know that Fritz wants to
do even though he’s a defensive guy
we’ll typically have like that 11 and 12
personnels he’ll have one tight end at
least if not one an h-back or two tight
ends on the field we saw a lot of that
with both Matt Burns and Malik Carr in
the spring game why not come be a part
of that rotation there’s always going to
be someone on the field at that position
and we know he can catch the ball so I
think that he makes a lot of sense there
again just ENT the portal last week
doesn’t have a whole lot of film
admittedly um and and I think that
that’s kind of could work in Houston’s
favor right almost a diamond the rough
kind of thing Great Frame great size
great hands so we’ll see what Eli stward
does again Texas area kid DFW area kid
state of Texas I think it makes a lot of
sense kind of the opposite size of the
side of the speed Spectrum side of the
size Spectrum opposite side of the wide
receiver spectrum is Will Nixon um will
Nixon is 5’11 he’s got if you told me
he’s 5’10 I believe you he’s very stocky
build big biceps and shoulders um he’s
got a year left he initially went to
Nebraska from Waco Midway High School uh
and then transferred ultimately to
Washington last year had a lot of Team
success obviously in high school he was
a running back um and he’s done a little
bit of both in college 54 rushes 13
catch is for 445 yards last year at
Washington he entered the portal on
March 29th so he’s in the same window
although he missed Washington Spring
practices and games uh to join in I
wonder if he fits in kind of the same
kind of he’s multi-positional but can
play some receiver kind of way um he’s
more a different receiver than Sam Brown
was but he can play more of that
traditional slot size he’s got some
stockiness to him you can imagine see
him out there blocking on the perim
I also think um being a running back or
having that in his back pocket plays a
key role here because of how much
Houston’s going to run the ball I don’t
want it to be anyone but someone’s gonna
break a shoelace at some point in your
sub right and having guys in your roster
that have at least done that before
feels important um you know obviously
these two guys are very very
dramatically different sized and I could
see Houston going either direction
but another theory I’ve got and this is
where I’ll leave you is I don’t know
that Houston
necessarily goes either direction um
with Boogie Johnson Joseph manjack M
Harrison pilot Jonah Wilson the wide
receiver room still got a lot of talent
uh and frankly all four of the guys I
just said I just mentioned could be
starters in a four out system and I
don’t think Houston’s going to run a lot
of four out um and so what I imagine you
could argue and I think it’s worth
looking at is where else can you find
Value in the transfer portal right I
think you’ve solidified Donovan as your
starter um at quarterback but outside of
that can you find another just high
value guy another uh you know high-end
G5 guy that’s had a great spring and
it’s looking to into the P5 are can you
find an FCS guy uh that you know you
dinged up his shoulder and the fall but
had a great spring and it’s ready to go
now and and it ready to show off some
spring tape to show it can you find that
you know High Caliber you know top five
or 10 team in the country guy that
thought this is going to be their spring
to play linebacker or that this is going
to be their spring to play corner or
their spring to play tackle hint hint
nudge nudge at some big time blue blood
program and then suddenly spring didn’t
go quite like they thought it might the
spring game uh they didn’t get the Reps
they thought they would they’re like hey
I need someone where I can play and
Houston’s like hey over here we got you
we got a great City a great school and
we’re building a great program I think
honestly while Sam Brown is not someone
I’m excited to lose by any stretch he’s
really good I really was looking forward
to seeing him be the number one receiver
next year I almost wonder if using that
scholarship that spot on someone else at
high value at a different position in
the transfer portal might not actually
make Houston any worse and anything it
might make them better next fall um I
know that that it’s hard to think of
losing your best player at least you’re
like biggest name brand player you’re
you know a guy that’s a potential pro at
wide receiver um losing all of that as
far as the skill position position goes
especially you think like how is that
going to make us better but they got
starting tackle out of this deal they’re
better if they got another rotational
corner at least they’re better if they
got a true fullback HB they’re better
there are several ways in which this
goes and when which Houston ends up
being better if you got a way you think
it happens tell me in the comments down
below I want to thank mirin again for
coming on today again pre-order the book
dream The Life and Legacy of Keim aajan
link is in the show notes um I want to
thank all of our sponsors or our
fanduels or LinkedIn Monopoly go is a
fun one that’s a really fun one to be a
part of thank you for waiting around a
little bit later in the morning for the
show today I had to make sure we had all
the links stuff put together the right
timing of all that but again go get the
pre-order the book right now we’ll be
talking with Mir again about it in the
fall when it comes out uh lockon cougs
is a proud M lockon podcast it’s your
team our Houston Cougars with or without
Sam Brown but with Mar fader each and
every day go CS