HOUSTON - When the Red Raiders and Cougars rumble into NRG Stadium on Saturday night for a primetime season kickoff in the Good Sam Texas Kickoff there will be plenty of H-Town talent on display.
Let's start with Texas Tech from the Big 12 Conference.
The Red Raiders, led by Matt Wells naturally features a lot of Texas talent. But from the Houston area it will be homecoming for the likes of Eisenhower alums Adrian Frye, who is a senior defensive back, and Tyrique Matthews, who plays linebacker.
In just a few days @TexasTechFB takes the field at NRG Stadium!
@GoodSam #TexasKickoff | #WreckEm
— Good Sam Texas Kickoff (@TexasKickoff) September 1, 2021
Another defensive back coming home is Eric Monroe, who actually started his career at LSU before transferring to Texas Tech. Monroe in high school starred at North Shore and was a part of the 2015 State Championship squad.
Here are more Red Raiders that are from Houston.
No. 36 Trey Wolff - Klein HS (Place Kicker)
No. 43 Jake Justice - Lutheran South Academy (Defensive Line)
No. 48 Grant Nickel - Grand Oaks (Place Kicker)
No. 51 Robert Wooten - Stafford (Defensive Line)
No. 54 Bryce Ramirez - George Ranch (Linebacker)
No. 69 Caleb Rodkey - Ridge Point (Offensive Line)
No. 74 Larry Moore - FB Marshall (Offensive Line)
No. 80 Mason Tharp - Klein (Tight End)
No. 97 Tony Bradford Jr. - North Shore (Defensive Line)
No. 99 Gilbert Ibeneme - Pearland (Defensive Line)
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ONE WEEK until @UHCougarFB takes the field at NRG Stadium.
#GoCoogs pic.twitter.com/WMCZF945oE
— Good Sam Texas Kickoff (@TexasKickoff) August 28, 2021
Now, let's get to the hometown Houston Cougars.
Dana Holgorsen enters year three of leading the Cougars and last season was truly a wash with all of the canceled games that Houston had to deal with.
On the recruiting front, Holgorsen and staff have made a conscious effort to recruit the Houston area and make that solid connection with the Houston-area coaches. It has worked as he's gotten some the area's best talent to stay home.
Here is the list of Cougars to watch on Saturday who will be repping their city.
No. 0 Derek Parish - Pearland (Defensive Line/Fullback)
No. 2 Deontay Anderson - Manvel (Linebacker)
No. 3 Donavan Mutin - Klein Collins (Linebacker)
No. 4 Ta'Zhawn Henry - Lamar (Running Back)
No. 8 Chandler Smith - Oak Ridge (Running Back)
No. 9 Jovanni Stewart - Katy (Linebacker)
No. 10 Sofian Massoud - Cy Lakes (Quarterback)
No. 10 Chidozie Nwankwo - Foster (Defensive Line)
No. 14 Mannie Nunnery - Shadow Creek (Linebacker)
No. 15 Mark Wilson - Clear Lake (Safety)
No. 18 Maddox Kopp - St. Thomas (Quarterback)
No. 19 C.J Guidry - Shadow Creek (Wide Receiver)
No. 19 Alex Hogan - Lamar (Cornerback)
No. 20 Antonio Brooks - Fort Bend Marshall (Safety)
No. 20 Kesean Carter - The Woodlands (Wide Receiver)
No. 22 Alton McCaskill - Oak Ridge (Running Back)
No. 25 DJ Small - Dickinson (Cornerback)
No. 26 Ja'Kori Morgan - Clear Lake (Inside Receiver)
No. 27 Amaud Willis-Dalton - Cypress Ranch (Linebacker)
No. 30 Alexander Duke - Bellaire (Defensive Line)
No. 34 Dylan Dixon - St. Thomas (Cornerback)
No. 35 Jalen Emery - Shadow Creek (Cornerback)
No. 36 Mike Welch - Dickinson (Safety)
No. 39 Shaun Lewis - Westfield (Cornerback)
No. 40 Jordan Carmouche - Manvel (Linebacker)
No. 41 Bubba Baxa - Pasadena Memorial (Kicker)
No. 41 T.J. Marshall - Shadow Creek (Linebacker)
No. 48 Caleb Mendez - Pearland (Kicker)
No. 50 Hakeem Ajijolaiya - Tompkins (Defensive Line)
No. 51 Kyle Ramsey - Ridge Point (Kicker)
No. 52 Ken Savanah - Stafford (Linebacker)
No. 53 Derek Bowman - Magnolia (Offensive Line)
No. 54 Blake Okoye - Klein Collins (Linebacker)
No. 61 Benil Johnson - St. Pius X (Offensive Line)
No. 62 Gabe Cossey - Klein (Offensive Line)
No. 64 Dennis Bardwell - Huffman (Offensive Line)
No. 66 Billy Thursland - Heights (Offensive Line)
No. 70 Jordan Boatman - College Park (Offensive Line)
No. 71 Max Banes - St. Thomas (Offensive Line)
No. 73 Cam'Ron Johnson - Shadow Creek (Offensive Line)
No. 76 Patrick Paul - Jersey Village (Offensive Line)
No. 77 Keenan Murphy - Crosby (Offensive Line)
No. 79 Chayse Todd - Crosby (Offensive Line)
No. 81 Darius Edmonds - Atascocita (Inside Receiver)
No. 82 Dylan Robinson - Atascocita (Wide Receiver)
No. 83 Peyton Sawyer - Clear Springs (Wide Receiver)
No. 84 Cole McGowan - Magnolia (Wide Receiver)
No. 89 Parker Eichenberger - Katy (Tight End)
No. 96 Nelson Ceaser - Ridge Point (Defensive Line)
Photo by Bradley Collier
