Houston has picked up the commitment of Arlington (TX) Seguin offensive tackle Ugonna Nnanna.

Nnanna is the 6th commitment for the class of 2020.

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Joel Williams knows his six finalists and he knows when he'll announce his decision. The four-star DB breaks down the latest pulse in his recruitment, including when he'd like to settle on one school + some key X-factors

➡️ https://rvls.co/30GUENT

I noticed that others in the football realm are picking our Coogs to have a break out season soon. The thinking is that both OU and UCF will keep the Cougars out of the NY6 game this season. But, folks, the pieces are in place for an outstanding year. If we can somehow win the games we need to win it could be this year and not 2020 when that happens. But regardless the experts are sensing that we have something brewing down on Cullen Blvd and I think they are right. We shall see.

My official season's prediction is 10-2 with at least a divisional championship.

We still have some readers on here. Anyone care to offer your thoughts on our win total this year?

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Houston has picked up the commitment of Magnolia (TX) OT Derek Bowman who picked Houston over other offers from Air Force, Arizona, ECU, Memphis and Minnesota to name a few.

We all know about the UCF story of back to back undefeated regular seasons. And they are the first name that comes up with the potential this year to reach the top ten list. The article says they will belong until such time as they prove that they don't. The Knights have two players in the QB competition except their regular QB, Mr Undefeated, otherwise known as McKinzie Milton, is still on the mend and out for 2019. Yet, here is UCF picked as a possible top 10 team. UH will have something to say about that on November 2nd.

Speaking of UH, the Coogs just happen to be the second team picked with the potential to find themselves ranked in the top 10 this season. Sure, we have to get by at least one of OU and Washington State. We also have to probably win out after that. But if that should happen, finding ourselves in the top ten rankings will not be that big of a stretch. At least that is what the article in Sports Illustrated says.......and I agree. We are going to have a scintillating offense with a defense that is going to surprise a lot of people including me, I hope. Can't wait.

Next up to complete the trifecta is Utah State. All these mountain Aggies have to do to find themselves in the top 10 is to get by Wake Forest and LSU on the road on their way to an undefeated season.

https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/06/20/group-five-rankings-ucf-houston-utah-state

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We said he was one to watch heading into the weekend, now that futurecast pick has come to fruition as Reginald Johnson commits to Houston during his official visit.

The Houston Cougars are hosting several visitors this weekend including a couple of big name targets that are being nationally recruited.

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Wren is a guy the staff has been trying to get on campus for several weeks now for an official visit. He's a state champion in track and has been clocked in the 10.4 range for the 100m. Houston's track program could actually give them a boost with Wren who says he wants to run track at the next level as well. He's on the visit with his dad and stepmom.

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Another Louisiana prospect in for a visit is Johnson who made the trep with his mom and two brothers. The Baton Rouge (LA) Southern Lab standout has been heavily targeted by Louisiana Tech and recently Virginia has turned up the heat and are hoping to get him in for a visit as well. There's a lot of confidence heading into the weekend on the Houston side of things here, so you could be on Boom watch for this one.

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Holden is a Rivals.com four-star prospect at wide receiver. He's currently committed to Alabama but made the trip over from California with his mom and sister.

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Another Baton Rouge prospect Joel Williams who we've previously discussed on the Den made the trip over from Baton Rouge with both parents and his brother. As previously stated he's a recent decommit from Florida and picked up an offer from Alabama, who has emerged as the favorite recently.

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana four-star DB Joel Williams is on an official visit to Houston this weekend, just days after decommitting from Florida. He was recently offered by Alabama a few days prior to his decommitment from Florida and word was that he was heavily considering the tide. It's certainly a win for the Houston staff to get Williams on campus, but there's definitely some work to do.

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The good news I was referring to yesterday has been announced as Dylan Robinson has committed to Houston.

Don't wanna steal the kids thunder but I'm expecting some positive news for UH on the recruiting trail tomorrow.

Stay tuned.

Kansas guard Quentin Grimes as emerged as a big name in the NCAA transfer portal as he eyes a return close to home.

Quentin Grimes Returning Home?

All eyes gravitated toward Kendal Septs when he committed to #Houston, but that didn't stop the SEC from calling. The colossal OL remains in high demand. Septs updates the state of his commitment, which schools are still pushing + official visit plans

➡️ https://rvls.co/2JvRCrr

Smith has had a big spring and he is planning to make a decision over the summer.

link: SMITH UPDATE

USA Today has obtained the tax returns of the Big 10. One word comes to mind.....Wow! The NCAA is talking about letting the players profit off their images, names, and likenesses. If that actually comes about the Big 10 is flush with revenue........760 million dollars to be exact. That amount is a record for any conference and it underscores another reason why OU/UT will more than likely jump ship to the Big 10 if an invitation is offered to them.

When the big bucks (we don't know how big yet or even if) start flowing out to the players the more money you have to spend the better positioned a school will be to recruit them to their campus. Each school in the Big 10 received 54 million dollars each. The conference received a 100 million dollars more than even the SEC. Think of the prestige that will give a coaching staff in the homes of potential recruits. UT is all about that as we all know.

UT/OU is not going to want to remain in the Big 12 that only reported 374 million dollars in revenue. That means that the Big 10 recorded more than Twice as much revenue as the Big 12. Double Wow!! The picture is becoming more clear as to the why it would be crazy for those two schools to remain in the Big 12.

I saw that Aramark is gonzo. Many Coog fans are probably glad to see them go if some of the posts I have read over the years are any indication of the prevailing sentiment. Rumors are that the food was not always up to par. Wait that may not be a rumor. Anyway, who is the replacement concession vendor? Anyone know?

According to latest tax returns the Big 12 is only making a little less than half of what the SEC makes. Add the #1 Big 10 in the mix and it is easy to see why those two schools will bail on its Big 12 brothers. The Big 12's total revenue came in at 373.9 million compared to the 660 million the SEC raked in during their FY2018. ESPN would have to come up with a ton of bucks to get OU/UT to stay put.

The Big 10 makes way more than that and will renew its deal in 2023. I could see them offering OU/UT a slice of the pie to come on board and leave the Big 12. Interesting to see how this one all plays out.

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcspor...in-2018-still-nearly-half-of-secs-total-take/

One is just a rumor from Christopher Lambert, aka the Dude of WV. He is saying that ESPN is telling the Big 12 that they need to all come together and consolidate their Tier 3 rights. Next, they need to extend their GOR deal if they want to secure a new TV deal or an extension from ESPN. IDK, you never know when one of his things might turn out to have legs but I would not hold my breath on this one. The Dude does not have the best track record on these predictions.

Flugaur, who has been a tad more reliable, asks: "why would OU and UT sign an extended deal in 2020-2022 when they could probably hear from the Big 10 in 2023 when that league does its new deal. In 2023 or before UT/OU will know what the market will pay. So it does not make sense for them to take themselves out of that process by doing a new deal with ESPN before then. ESPN would have to come with a huge number for them to stay in the Big 12.

The Big 12 situation could affect AAC schools including UH should the Big 10 make OU/UT an offer. Stay tuned.

The other piece of Big 12 news is UT backing out of its 2 for 1 deal with USF. The P5 schools tell the AAC schools to strengthen our schedules if we want to be taken seriously. But instead of getting to play UT 3 times, UT will now host the Bulls in a one off game on Sept 5, 2020. For its troubles USF will take home a hefty $1.9 million. I guess ole Tom/UT is just a little scared to play them Bulls in Florida. Better get the 1.9 up front, Bulls.

UCLA defensive back and graduate transfer Colin Samuel has committed to the Cougars coaching staff and is transferring to Houston a source told CougarsDen.com on Thursday. Samuel is a former four-star defensive back out of the class of 2015. He saw action in five games last season for the Bruins.

Count me as one of those who were disappointed with the 7 million per school payout when the new AAC/ESPN tv deal was announced. (Aresco had promised that the new deal would be in the range of a P5 contract.) But hold the phone, Aresco is now saying that annual payouts for each school should be at the 10 million dollar level. That is more like it and about what I thought would be the "floor" number on the new deal. Of course I am not going to hold my breath waiting to see what UH really gets but this figure at least gets me over the "what the heck is going on" feeling with the new tv contract.

https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-s...0190506-5dep7moehrdkhkdjoj22yvsnqm-story.html

One thing that has become apparent under the Holgorsen regime is that Houston isn't going to limit themselves only to the surrounding areas of Texas/Louisiana/Oklahoma. Evident by a pair of Houston's recent offers this week as the Cougars dipped into Illinois to offer a pair of 2021 prospects, which is not something we've generally seen a lot of in recent years.

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Keeler is a 6-foot-5, 240-pound defensive end. The Houston offer gives him two total as it stands. His other offer is from FAU. We reached out to Keeler following the offer and should have more on his recruitment soon.

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Mooyoung is listed as a 5-foot-10, 170-pound cornerback out of Chicago (IL), but according to Mooyoung he's now up to 6-foot, 185-pounds. Houston is also the second offer for the Chicago area standout who also holds an offer from Southern Miss.

We are working to get more from Mooyoung on his recent offer.

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Magnolia (TX) offensive lineman Derek Bowman has seen a recent spike in attention on the recruiting trail. Houston was one of his earlier offers back in January, but since then Bowman has totaled 11 offers on the recruiting trail as interest in the 2020 offensive lineman continues to increase.

He now holds offers from Air Force, ECU, Houston, Liberty, Louisiana-Monroe, Minnesota, New Mexico State, North Texas, Southern Miss, Tulane and Tulsa.

Cougars Den talked with Bowman recently to see how the recruiting process was going and where things stood currently.

On the Recruiting Process

"The recruiting process has been going well," Bowman told CougarsDen.com. "A lot of schools are telling me that they will be coming to see me soon."

On Who is Recruiting Him the Most

"I would say that Tulsa, Minnesota and Houston are recruiting me the most at the moment."

On Houston

Bowman recently took a trip to Houston which only helped the Cougars case in their pursuit of the Magnolia (TX) standout.

"I had a great time at UH," He said. Definitely excited to get back down there to get the full tour. I went and watched one of their spring practices in the indoor facility, then we watched the scrimmage in the stadium."

Where Things Stand

Bowman has also taken trips to Tulsa and Minnesota already and while he's not entirely ready to name any favorites you have to consider Houston, Tulsa and Minnesota as the strongest suitors currently given the mutual interest that has been shown with visits.

He's unsure of any futures visits yet, but says he wants to find a school that has a great culture built in that can help make him a better man, student and football player. He's hoping to have a decision sometime this summer but also went on to say that's not set in stone. If something feels right, he's not afraid to pull the trigger.

Ed Oliver second on the list:

https://n.rivals.com/news/nfl-draft-the-top-10-five-stars-drafted-in-2019

There seem to be some debates about whether Williams or Oliver should be drafted first on Thursday night. Mike Farrell gives his opinion:

https://n.rivals.com/news/ask-farrell-who-s-the-better-pick-ed-oliver-or-quinnen-williams-

Don't know right now since there are some variables that will come into play. But here is what we do know. Last year the 9th player selected in the 2018 NFL draft was Mike McClinchey an offensive tackle from Notre Dame. He was the first OT selected and the second OL. So how much did big Mike sign for you ask?

Mike signed a fully guaranteed 4yr 18.34 million dollar contract with a 11.41 million dollar signing bonus. That ought to make our guy, Big Ed, a multi-millionaire. Woobah! Way to go Big Ed. Now go show those Bills fans what your non-stop motor is all about. Good luck. We will be watching for you to outshine those DL taken ahead of you.

Mike Farrell and I are grading the picks in the first round of the NFL Draft live:

https://n.rivals.com/news/nfl-draft-first-round-grades