New Coach Tom Herman Hauls in 21 New Houston Cougars on National Signing Day

New Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman announced his first signing class at UH on Wednesday, national signing day, with 21 new student-athletes joining the Cougar program.

Of the 21 total players, 16 hail from the state of Texas, three from Louisiana and one each from Mississippi and Wisconsin. The class is comprised of one senior, two juniors and 18 freshmen.

“We’re thrilled for this class as a whole. We have a wide array of players coming in from guys who were already committed and loved the University of Houston, guys who had been recruited to our program and we were able to seal the deal with and guys who had been committed to other schools but saw what Houston had to offer them,” said Herman via press release.

“I’m just thrilled they allowed me to build a relationship with them in the short period of time we were provided to establish a new era of Houston Football.”

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

Herman and company signed 12 offensive players, eight on defense and one, Kameron Eloph, listed as an athlete who could end up on either side of the ball.

“We addressed our major needs. We had glaring needs at offensive line and linebacker and had zero scholarship tight ends,” said Herman. “Filling those positions was essential and we feel we have accomplished that today. We’ve already started on our 2016 class and the excitement of today’s signing class certainly helps us.”

Players signed on Wednesday have won a total of seven state championships with 13 freshmen earning all-district honors and five landing spots on the Houston Chronicle Top 100.

Four of the new players have already joined the football program as transfers.

Chane Allen, a wide receiver, transferring from Oregon, will be a junior and is set to apply for a NCAA waiver to play next season.

Adam Schulz, transferring from Utah, will hope to compete for the starting quarterback spot his senior year or at least provide a solid back-up option behind returning starter Greg Ward. 

Junior college transfer Rusty Clark will provide immediate depth a the tight end position, a spot not utilized under the previous regime. 

Early high school enrollee Devin Smith, a wide receiver from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will get the jump on his fellow freshmen in the race for securing playing time at pass-catcher.

Of the players set to make their first appearances on campus in the traditional way, running back Tyreik Gray from Houston is the likely jewel of the class. Gray was one of the better running backs in the nation last year in high school and will hope to help bolster the Cougar's running back depth. 

Here is the 2015 class.

Name	Postion	Height	Weight	City	School
Chance Allen	WR	6'2"	200	Missouri City, Texas	Oregon
Rusty Clark	TE	6'5"	255	Saucier, Miss.	Pearl River CC
Ryan Deshotel	TE	6'4"	241	Pearland, Texas	Pearland HS
Emeke Egbule	LB	6'3"	125	Galena Park, Texas	North Shore HS
Michael Eke	DB	6'2"	200	Houston, Texas	Cypress Falls HS
Kameron Eloph	ATH	6'4"	285	Bossier City, La.	Parkway HS
Darius Gilbert	DB	6'2"	190	Springhill, La.	North Webster HS
Leroy Godfrey	LB	6'3"	225	Missouri City, Texas	Elkins HS
Tyreik Gray	RB	5'11"	185	Houston, Texas	Lamar HS
Kobe Idumwonyi	TE	6'2"	225	Cedar Hill, Texas	Cedar Hill HS
D.J. Jenkins	LB	6'2"	245	Huntsville, Texas	Huntsville HS
Joshua Jones	OL	6'6"	280	Richmond, Texas	George Bush HS
Kevrin Justice	RB	5'11"	190	Kilgore, Texas	Kilgore HS
Terry Mark	WR	6'1"	190	Lufkin, Texas	Lufkin HS
Jordan Milburn	LB	6'2"	215	Galveston, Texas	Ball HS
William Noble	OL	6'4"	280	Leander, Texas	Rouse HS
Camden Ross	LB	6'2"	241	Forth Worth, Texas	Timber Creek HS
Adam Schulz	QB	6'2"	210	Muskego, Wis.	Utah
Devin Smith	WR	6'2"	180	River Ridge, La.	John Curtis HS
Tyrell Thompson	DE	6'3"	255	Copperas Cove, Texas	Copperas Cove HS
Jarrid Williams	OL	6'5"	276	Cedar Hill, Texas	Cedar Hill HS

With signing day now complete, Herman will turn his attention to getting ready for spring. The team's first practice is scheduled for Monday, March 9. Houston will hold its annual spring game on Saturday, April 18 at TDECU Stadium.