- LOCATION: Huntsville, Texas (population 45,941)
- 2022 RECORD: 5-4, 3-2 in WAC (FCS)
- 2023 PREDICTION: 9th in C-USA
- HEAD COACH: K.C. Keeler, 10th season (85-27 at Sam Houston, 259-100-1 overall)
- STADIUM: Elliot T. Bowers Stadium (opened 1986, capacity 12,593)
2022 Results
- L, 0-31 @ Texas A&M
- L, 3-10 vs Northern Arizona
- W, 27-17 vs Texas A&M-Commerce
- W, 17-16 vs Stephen F. Austin
- W, 25-17 @ Eastern Kentucky
- W, 18-13 @ Utah Tech
- W, 40-21 @ Tarleton State
- L, 28-45 vs Abilene Christian
- L, 7-17 vs Southern Utah
2023 Schedule
- Sept. 2 @ BYU
- Sept. 9 vs Air Force (NRG Stadium, Houston)
- Sept. 23 @ Houston
- Sept. 28 vs Jacksonville State
- Oct. 5 @ Liberty
- Oct. 11 @ New Mexico State
- Oct. 18 vs Florida International
- Oct. 25 vs UTEP
- Nov. 4 vs Kennesaw State
- Nov. 11 @ Louisiana Tech
- Nov. 18 @ Western Kentucky
- Nov. 25 vs Middle Tennessee
Bold indicates conference game (CUSA in 2023, the WAC in 2022)
2023 Recruiting Class – High School
- Jamarie Wiggins, S (John B. Connally HS – Waco, Texas)
- Lonnie Adkism, WR (Miller HS – Corpus Christi, Texas)
- Chantson Prox, CB (Canton HS – Texas)
- Coco Brown, RB (Denton HS – Texas)
- Kolt Dieterich, OL (Riesel HS – Texas)
- Will Hutchens, OL (Lindale HS – Texas)
- Easton Fulton, OL (Rosebud-Lott HS – Texas)
- D’Marea Weaver, WR (Nacogdoches HS – Texas)
- Kaden Kelly, S (Ryan HS – Denton, Texas)
- Forest Gatlin, LB (Mesquite HS – Texas)
- Jayden Gaines, DT (Westside HS – Houston, Texas)
- Dax Horany, S (Argyle HS – Texas)
- Zach Session, OL (Morton Ranch HS – Katy, Texas)
- Bryce Gilchrist, TE (Heritage HS – Frisco, Texas)
- Eli Wallace, LB (Duncanville HS – Texas)
- D.J. McKinney, RB (Union HS – Tulsa, Oklahoma)
2023 Recruiting Class – Transfer Portal
- Rhett Larson, OL (SMU/College Station, Texas)
- John Gentry, RB (Utah State/Houston, Texas)
- Jaden Phillips, DE (New Mexico/Clovis, New Mexico)
- Xavier Ward, QB (Washington State/Corona, California)
- Akeem Smith, DT (Georgia State/Virginia Beach, Virginia)
- Grant Gunnell, QB (North Texas/Houston, Texas)*
- Seth Mason, DE (Louisiana-Monroe/Allen, Texas)
- Issiah Nixon, LB (Texas State/Missouri City, Texas)
- Jabari Johnson, S (Louisiana-Monroe/Monroe, Louisiana)
*also played at Arizona & Memphis
2023 Recruiting Class – Junior College Transfers
- Dekerric Hobbs, CB (Kilgore College – TX/Conroe, Texas)
- Qua-Vez Humphreys, WR (Butler CC – KS/Junction City, Kansas)
- Quintavius Workman, WR (East LA College – CA/Cary, North Carolina)*
- Da’Marcus Crosby, S (Kilgore College – TX/Humble, Texas)
- Graceson Jackson-Smith, OL (Tyler JC – TX/Monroe, Louisiana)
- William McCollum, OL (Copiah-Lincoln CC – MS/Jackson, Mississippi)
- Nate White, DE (Copiah-Lincoln CC – MS/Miami, Florida)**
- Malik Phillips, WR (New Mexico Military Institute – Clovis, New Mexico)
*also redshirted at UTEP
**also played at Florida International
ASSISTANT COACHES
- Brad Cornelsen, offensive coordinator
- Clayton Carlin, associate head coach/co-defensive coordinator/safeties
- Joe Morris, co-defensive coordinator/defensive ends
- Jared Hensley, linebackers
- Matt Merkens, tight ends
- Thomas Rocco, cornerbacks
- John Johnson, running backs
- Ike Eguae, defensive line
- Chris Buckner, wide receivers
- Brian Natkin, offensive line
THREE KEY PLAYERS
- LB Kavian Gaither (Jr.)
The Bearkats’ defense kept them in most games during a disappointing 2022 campaign, and Gaither was a key part of that. He had 79 tackles, including 12 for loss, last season.
- QB Xavier Ward (Soph.)
He didn’t suit up while redshirting at Washington State last fall, but Ward is a well-regarded Southern California product who was once a three-star recruit and could seize the open QB job.
- RB Zach Hrbacek (Soph.)
Hrbacek made a great first impression as a redshirt freshman on a mediocre offense. The native of Troy, Texas rushed for 495 yards and three touchdowns in nine games for the Bearkats.
THREE KEY LOSSES
- WR Cody Chrest
Chrest caught 36 passes for 548 yards and two touchdowns last season before completing his eligibility.
- DE Toby Ndukwe
The grad transfer from SMU was second on the Bearkats with 10 tackles for loss last season.
- CB B.J. Foster
Foster missed two games, but still made an impact after transferring from Texas, making 29 tackles, three tackles for loss and an interception while earning first team all-WAC honors.
THREE KEY ADDITIONS
- RB John Gentry (Soph.)
Gentry only rushed for 268 yards and two scores in his career at Utah State, but the Houston native had a great high school resumé and the Sam Houston backfield needs more depth in 2023, so Gentry should see the field sooner rather than later.
- WR Quintavius Workman (Soph.)
The suitably-named Workman has an outstanding athletic frame at 6’6”, 215 pounds and averaged over 16 yards per catch at East Los Angeles College last year. Workman grew up in North Carolina, went to high school in Texas and originally signed with UTEP before going the JUCO route.
- QB Grant Gunnell (Sr.)
Gunnell was a late addition from the portal after spring practice, and there’s hope that he might finally fulfill his potential at Sam Houston. A 6’6”, 225-pound pocket passer, Gunnell started off his career strong in 2019-2020 at Arizona, combining for 1,864 yards, 15 touchdowns and only three interceptions, but since then, has thrown only nine passes during brief stints at Memphis (where he didn’t play following a leg injury) and North Texas. If he can finally put it all together as a super-senior, Gunnell could be the guy that can lead the Bearkats’ new offense.
2023 Preview – Offense
The Bearkats are entering their first season in the FBS with an offense under new leadership.
Head coach K.C. Keeler dismissed offensive coordinator John Perry after a rough start to the season. Only one season after winning an FCS national championship, the Sam Houston offense averaged a paltry 18.3 points per game in 2022, ranking 103rd in the FCS.
Tight ends coach Matt Merkens was promoted from within to be the interim coordinator; the Bearkats finished a disappointing 5-4 in their final FCS season. Merkens remains on staff, but Keeler looked to outside help to change direction on offense.
New coordinator Brad Cornelsen oversaw units at both Memphis (2015) and Virginia Tech (2016-21) and will have some interesting pieces to work with, both in terms of returning players and newcomers.
Quarterback play was a massive issue in 2022. Incumbent Keegan Shoemaker, now a junior, completed only 46.5 percent of his passes for 1,122 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions last season. North Texas grad transfer Grant Gunnell and Washington State transfer Xavier Ward are both intriguing, strong-armed options who might challenge for the starting job.
Running back Zach Hrbacek returns after leading the Bearkats in rushing and averaging a healthy 5.8 yards per carry. Utah State transfer John Gentry and converted QB Jordan Yates add some depth, and Coco Brown was a three-star freshman recruit.
Wide receiver is a mixed bag. No one posted eye-popping numbers last season, and while Sam Houston returns four of their top five pass-catchers, none had more than 16 catches last year. Qua-Vez Humphreys, Quintavius Workman and Malik Phillips are all handy JUCO transfers who should add more explosiveness to the group. The best returnees are probably senior Noah Smith and former Texas Longhorn Al’vonte Woodard.
The Bearkats’ offensive line could be a source of concern. There’s only two seniors on the depth chart (Khalil Miller and Noah Barboza) and the unit lost second team all-conference pick Jordan Boatman. Keeler chose to beef up the line by adding SMU transfer Rhett Larson (290 pounds) as well as JUCO transfers Graceson Jackson-Smith (300) and Will McCollum (325) in the recruiting class. Keeler also hired offensive line coach Brian Natkin, who has prior CUSA experience as a UTEP alum and former assistant.
2023 Preview – Defense
Sam Houston was top 20 in the FCS in both scoring defense and against the run, and though they’ll be facing stiffer competition in 2023, they’re hoping for a repeat performance under veteran co-coordinators Joe Morris and Clayton Carlin.
It all starts at linebacker, where Kavian Gaither and Jaylen Phillips return after combining for 115 tackles last season. Gaither, a junior from Waco, was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the FCS’s best defensive player, and could be an all-conference contender now that the Bearkats are in C-USA.
On the defensive line, the Bearkats lost veterans Ellison Hubbard, Toby Ndukwe and Tyler Moore, but will hope to reload with New Mexico transfer DE Jaden Phillips (played in 19 career games at UNM) and Georgia State transfer DT Akeem “Meatball” Smith (35 career games), both of whom have significant experience.
In the secondary, Sam Houston has former TCU player Da’Veawn Armstead (nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception) and sophomore David Fisher (18 tackles, two interceptions, two pass breakups), both of whom are keepers, but depth is a concern here as well. JUCO teammates D’Marcus Crosby and Dakerric Hobbs are reuniting in Huntsville and could be good fits immediately.
Morris & Carlin have some exciting athletes and proven production at their disposal, but they’ll need to buckle up and weather the storm as they prepare to face plenty of high-powered offenses this fall.
2023 Preview – Special Teams
Sophomore punter Jadon Cardell and junior kicker Seth Morgan are both back as returning starters. Cardell averaged only 39 yards per punt, but he did pin opponents inside the 20-yard line 14 times and kicked only one touchback. Morgan was a second team all-WAC choice after going 15-for-21 on field goals and a perfect 14-for-14 on PATs.
Summary
Keeler is a respected coach, being the only man in history to win an FCS national championship at two different schools (Delaware in 2003 and Sam Houston in 2020). So he’s a logical choice to lead the Bearkats into the FBS entering his 10th season in Huntsville.
Although the offense was a huge disappointment in 2022, there’s renewed optimism that the Bearkats can bounce back in 2023, but their opening schedule is brutal; they face new Big 12 opponents BYU and Houston on the road, plus a neutral-site game against Air Force, in the first three weeks.
If the offense can stay healthy and score more, Sam Houston should be able to compete in most games, but it’s unlikely that they can challenge Conference USA’s best teams. The Bearkats will be ineligible for the postseason or the CUSA Championship Game for the next two seasons due to the NCAA transition rules, so therefore, 2023 will be more about building a strong foundation for future FBS success.
On September 28th, Sam Houston will host fellow FBS/CUSA newcomer Jacksonville State, which will be as good a barometer as any as to how the Bearkats will fare as they adjust to a higher level of competition.
Letters from Las Cruces 