Sam Houston Football Preview 2025: Can Phil Longo Rebuild the Bearkats?
Sam Houston is used to winning football games.Under former head coach KC Keeler - who left to take over the Temple gig - the Bearkats went to the FCS Playoffs six times from 2014 to 2022, and won the national title in that strange 2020ish season.Two years ago, the 3-9 Bearkats lost five games by a touchdown or less, battled hard in losses to BYU and Air Force, and couldn't buy a break. The 10-3 team of last season was more like what everyone was expecting, and now …It's going to be interesting.
New head coach Phil Longo was part of the Sam Houston coaching staff under Keeler from 2014 to 2016, and then he became the hot offensive coordinator on the circuit. At Ole Miss, and then at North Carolina, and over the last few years at Wisconsin, his offenses have been … okay. Now he's back in Huntsville.The transfer portal took away major parts of last year's squad, few teams have to replace more production, and Longo's head coaching resumé is a 7-14 run for two years at La Salle.But the guy knows offense. No defense in America loses more production, so …
Sam Houston Bearkats Preview 2025: Offense
X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- If Phil Longo is going to run the offense the way he wants, he needs the passers to control the attack. He has a good one in place in Hunter Watson, a good-sized senior who ran for 647 yards and nine scores to go with 1,811 yards and 12 touchdown passes.He has to cut down on his picks, throwing eight last year, but he's a playmaker. Longo also has Mabrey Mettauer, a former Wisconsin prospect who'll be in the mix for the gig.
- Top receiver Simeon Evans left for North Texas, and Noah Smith is done, but Qua'Vez Humphreys is a big play target averaging over 19 yards per catch. The transfer portal, and a few good parts of the rotation - Michael Phoenix II caught 15 passes - will fill in around Humphreys.- The offensive front wasn't anything special, but for the most part, it held its own. It has two All-Conference USA-level talents in guards James Dawn and Rhett Larson. The tackles are new, and 315-pound JUCO transfer Zo'maryon Bryan should take over at center.- Top back Jay Ducker left for Temple, DJ McKinney left for New Mexico, and now the top backs should emerge from the portal. Elijah Green (Indiana) and Xander Cheek (UHMB) are quick backs with plenty of tread on the tires.
Sam Houston Bearkats Preview 2025: Defense
- The Bearkat defense led Conference USA in scoring defense and was second in total D. And now it has to replace just about everyone, especially on the line. Let's just call this a work in progress.Keelan Cox is a pass rusher who saw time at Alabama, 280-pound AJ Sargent (JUCO) is perfectly fit for the nose, and the rest of the two deep will fit in around them.
- The secondary is also loaded up with prospects from the transfer portal. Cornerback Emon Allen is back after seeing a little time at one corner, and Wisconsin transfer Jace Arnold will take over on the other side. Despite losing the stars, the safeties should be okay with a little time, with Trey Harris (Cornell) likely the best of the bunch.- The linebacking corps is way thin. The starting foursome desperately need Antavious Fish (Akron) to fill the stat sheet - he made 179 stops over the last three seasons. CJ Johnson has to be one of the team's leading tacklers in the middle, with star tacklers Trey Fields (North Texas) and Trey Gaither done.
Sam Houston Bearkats Key to the Season
Be far better in the red zone.It's a new offense with new parts. Now there has to be a new improvement inside the 20.Last year's team only scored 74% of the time in the red zone, and came away with touchdowns on 51% of the trips. It didn't matter all that much - the Bearkats didn't lose any one-score games - but this year they can't be as loose.
Sam Houston Bearkats Key Player
Alex Sargent, DT Sr.Go ahead and pick any offensive starter and he might be the key to the season, but the defense needs an anchor to work around. The line might not be totally starting over, but it's close. The 6-0, 280-pound Sargent to come in from Tarleton and hold up on the nose.
Sam Houston Bearkats Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss
Top Transfer In: Elijah Green, RB Sr.The Bearkats loaded up on transfer portal running backs, and Green should be the best if everything works out right. He was a growing star at North Carolina three seasons ago, and last year he scored five touchdowns for Indiana. With just 185 carries in five years, he's fresh.Top Transfer Out: Isaiah Cash, S Sr.Flip a coin between Cash and leading tackler Caleb Weaver (Duke) for the biggest loss. Cash was a great tackler for the Bearkats, and the veteran safety was also a baller with ten broken up passes. Now he'll be a key part of the Virginia Tech defense.
Sam Houston Bearkats Key Game
at WKU, August 23You want to talk about a tone-setter? It's the first game of a new era of Sam Houston football, it's in Week 0, it's on the road, and it's the Conference USA opener. It'll take something special to come up with a big season, but win this, and everything else in conference play is easy.- 2025 Sam Houston Schedule Breakdown
Sam Houston Bearkats Top 10 Players
1. James Dawn, OG Jr.2. Hunter Watson, QB Sr.3. Antavious Fish, LB Sr.4. Elijah Green, RB Sr.5. Trey Harris, S Sr.6. Keelan Cox, DE Sr.7. Qua'Vez Humphreys, WR Sr.8. Rhett Larson, OG Jr.9. Mabrey Mettauer, QB RFr.10. CJ Johnson, LB Sr.
Sam Houston Bearkats 2024 Fun Stats
- Scoring: 1st Quarter 57, 2nd Quarter 110- Fumbles: Opponents 22 (lost 11), Sam Houston 16 (lost 6)- 4th Down Conversions: Sam Houston 14-of-20 (70%), Opponents 12-of-31 (39%)
Sam Houston Bearkats 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen
There's a certain level of expectation at Sam Houston, but the team doesn't have the level of talent - the defense has to replace just about everyone. On the plus side, it's still Conference USA, and there are plenty of winnable games to make a good push.The Bearkats beat Liberty last year, but it's still a major plus not to have to deal with it. Even without facing the Flames, there might not be any sure-thing layup wins, but other than a trip to Texas, there aren't too many games that aren't out of reach.
Sam Houston has to own the one score games - it went 6-0 in games last year decided by a touchdown or less. It won't do that this time around, but it'll still be good enough to push for a bowl.Set The Sam Houston Bearkats Win Total At … 5.5Likely Wins: No projected sure thing wins50/50 Games: Delaware, FIU, at Hawaii, Jacksonville State, at Louisiana Tech, at Middle Tennessee, at New Mexico State, UNLV, UTEP, at WKU,Likely Losses: at Oregon State, at Texas
© 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
This hidden detail in the Milwaukee Brewers logo was worthy of a ‘Jeopardy!' clue
Two hidden letters embedded inside a Major League Baseball team's logo were clues on Jeopard y! And if you didn't know their secret meaning before, don't worry—because some of their own players and fans didn't either. The clue in the 'Logo-A-Go-Go' category for $200 was: 'Some players have been on this MLB team for quite some time before noticing that its ball-and-glove logo forms the letters M and B.' Contestant Ted Nyman gave the correct response: 'Who are the Milwaukee Brewers?' — Richard (@ifiwasrichard) June 9, 2025 The Brewers announced a rebrand in 2019 for the club's 50th anniversary. The team brought back an old logo first used in 1978 that cleverly placed a lowercase B underneath a letter M to form a baseball mitt out of the team nickname's initials—and they're hidden in plain sight. It's a concept by Tom Meindel, a former art history student at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire who submitted the design to a team logo contest. The contest was open to the public, and out of nearly 2,000 submissions, Meindel's logo won. (He received $2,000 for his work.) That the Brewers revived his classic ball-in-glove logo for their 50th anniversary is a testament to the logo's simplicity and proof that nostalgia sells in sports. You can't unsee the hidden M and B in the Brewers logo once you see them. But like the Jeopardy! clue said, it's not always obvious at first glance, including to the team's own fans and players. 'I had actually been in the organization for probably five years before I figured it out,' right fielder Ryan Braun admitted in 2019. And in an open poll that year on what was then called Twitter, the Brewers team account asked: 'How old were you when you realized the glove is also an 'm' and a 'b'?' And the responses were 39.1% for 'Always known,' 31.4% for 'Far too late in life,' and 29.5% for 'Wait. What?!'


Washington Post
4 hours ago
- Washington Post
Chourio, Bauers hit home runs to lead Brewers past Braves 4-1
MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers hit home runs, Quinn Priester struck out seven in six strong innings and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Tuesday night. Chourio put the Brewers on the board with a 409-foot, two-run homer in the third off Grant Holmes (3-5). The Braves got a run in the fifth on Ronald Acuña Jr.'s single, his third consecutive hit of the game.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA》字母哥不走了? 喊話希望和公鹿隊重返總冠軍賽
密爾瓦基公鹿隊「字母哥」安塔托昆波(Giannis Antetokounmpo)無疑是2025年NBA休季期間動向最受矚目的球星之一,他曾表示如果球隊沒能打造爭冠陣容,不排除轉隊發展的可能性,也讓外界紛紛揣測他即將離隊,然而近期接受巴西媒體採訪時,字母哥卻重申和公鹿隊繼續奮戰的渴望。 在訪談中,字母哥談到目前正在激戰中的總決賽,他說道:「總冠軍賽就是不一樣,我希望能很快和公鹿隊重返決賽舞台。」 🇬🇷👀 Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to return to the NBA Finals with the Milwaukee Bucks — Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) June 10, 2025 字母擱在2021年率領公鹿隊贏得隊史睽違50年的總冠軍,然而接下來幾個賽季的表現每況愈下,最近三季都在季後賽首輪就被淘汰,找來明星射手李納德(Damian Lillard)的成效也不如預期。 隨著連續幾年都沒能更上層樓,一般認為公鹿隊今年夏天可能尋求重建,也增添了字母哥離隊的可能性,近期包括尼克、馬刺等隊都傳出有意網羅字母哥的消息,然而根據ESPN記者溫霍斯特(Brian Windhorst)最新爆料指出,目前沒有任何關於字母哥的交易談判在進行中,字母哥也沒有向球團表達賣我的意願。 "Right now, there is no Giannis Antetokounmpo trade market, there is no Giannis Antetokounmpo trade discussions. He has not asked for it. The Bucks are not looking to trade him."- Brian Windhorst (🎥 @GetUpESPN / h/t @ClutchPoints ) — NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 10, 2025 現年30歲的字母哥,已經連續3個賽季都繳出場均至少30分11籃板5助攻的數據,也已經連續7年都在年度MVP票選中位居前4,絕對稱得上是現役最具影響力的球星之一,他的動向絕對足以撼動聯盟勢力版圖。 除了字母哥之外,另一個動向倍受關注的球星就是太陽隊的杜蘭特(Kevin Durant),根據溫霍斯特的說法,他認為杜蘭特幾乎已經確定會被交易,而且在未來幾週內就會有結果,目前外界猜測以馬刺為最有可能的下家。