HOUSTON, Texas - For the second consecutive year University of Houston head coach Dana Dimel can be proud of his staff's recruiting efforts, as the Cougars will again have the top recruiting class in Conference USA with the signing today of 21 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent. These 21 additions join the four mid-year signees-tight ends Jon Clark and Matt Mattox, defensive lineman Kade Lane and cornerback Delenell Reid-as the 2002 season kicks off on August 31 versus Rice.
Dimel is quite pleased with the results of the Cougar coaching staff's countless hours of hard, determined work.
"From early reports we are leading Conference USA in recruiting," said Dimel. "We should have the number-one class again, and of course, I am extremely pleased about this. We've been able to do this two years in a row now, and coming off the season we just had (0-11 for the first time in UH history), this is quite an achievement."
Emphasizing his commitment to the city of Houston and the state of Texas, Dimel's recruiting haul this season includes 18 players from the Lone Star State, including a remarkable 12 from the Greater Houston area. Among his Bayou City signees are the North Shore tandem of Willie Gaston and Chad McCullar, Galveston Ball athlete Roshawn Pope, Humble running back Jackie Battle and Worthing standout Shang Moore, one of the top prep quarterbacks in the area.
"We're recruiting the state of Texas like it hasn't been done in years," commented Dimel. "It is very important for us to recruit not only this state, but this city where there are a ton of great football players.
"This has been our strategy from the moment we came on board (December of 1999). We have started to build a pipeline to several of these high schools. Once we get these top-level recruits, they start to recruit other top players in the area to UH."
Dimel concentrated on finding both experienced depth and help on defense-both attributes that were lacking from last year's squad. All indications point that he did just that, as evidence of eight junior-college additions and 13 defensive standouts, including a remarkable eight on the defensive line.
Three of the defensive line additions are junior-college standouts Farouk Adelekan from College of DuPage (Ill.), Tyler Junior College's Patrick Howard and Ryan Huffman from Butler County (Kan.) Community College. The remaining defensive standouts include Greater Houston players Matthew Bentley (Alvin High School), L.C. Kirkpatrick (Aldine HS), Gerard Richard (Cy-Fair HS) and Joshua Szepieniec (Sterling HS), as well as Albert Martinez of Falfurrias High School, the Class 3A State Defensive Player of the Year.
"One of the hardest positions to recruit is defensive line," added Dimel. "Every program struggles to find some top-notch defensive linemen. We got on a roll (with commitments) and did not want to turn away good players.
'We expect the three junior-college players to come in and contribute right away, and there are a few of the freshman who could see some playing time for us. Some might matriculate to the other side of the ball and play some offensive line for us.
"We needed some immediate impact players, and I feel quite confident we achieved this goal. For this program to be successful for a long time, we need a large number of young players to come in and be the foundation of the program, as well as some junior college players to step and provide that immediate help."
Dimel and his coaches will get their first look at the four mid-year signees in the Cougar system when spring practice starts next month. UH is tentatively scheduled to begin the annual spring football practice on Wednesday, March 20. The Red-White game would draw spring practice to a close on Saturday, April 13.
Shang Moore
6-2, 190, Houston, Texas (E.E. Worthing HS)
Named First Team, All-District as a senior.
Was a two-time, second-team selection as a sophomore and junior.
Ranked #92 in Texas by David Garvin.
Ranked one of the Top 10 Area Quarterbacks by the Houston Chronicle.
Ranked #48 QB in nations by Rivals.com.
Completed 119 of 251 passes for 1,990 yards and 19 TDs with only 5 INTs.
Also rushed for 319 yards and six TDs on 70 carries.
Threw for 1,500 yards as a junior and 1,396 yards as a sophomore.
A member of the Worthing track team, running both relays and the 200 meters.
Will graduate in the Top 10% of his class with a 4.1 gpa.
Also recruited by Kansas, Tulsa and Colorado State.
Running Backs
Jackie Battle
6-2, 220, Humble, Texas (Humble HS)
Named Player of the Week three times.
Was selected the Team MVP.
Twice picked First Team, All-District running back.
Helped lead team into the UIL playoffs third round with a 10-3 record.
Named to Insiders.com Super Team All-State.
Ranked #38 RB in nation by Rivals.com.
Ran for 1,524 yards on 8.4 yards per carry, as well as 182 yards receiving and scoring 20 TDs.
Runs the sprints in track.
Also recruited by Arizona, Syracuse and Texas A&M.
Wide Receivers
Leonard Gibson
6-2, 180, Corsicana, Texas (Corsicana HS)
Named First Team, All-Golden Circle.
Was also First Team, All-District for two years as a kickoff and punt returner.
Also grabbed Second Team accolades as a wide receiver.
A member of the A-B Honor Roll.
Helped lead team into the third round of the state playoffs with a 8-3 record.
Also recruited by Texas Tech and Wyoming.
Also plays basketball and runs track.
Chad McCullar
5-10, 160, Houston, Texas (North Shore HS)
A member of the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Waco Tribune-Herald, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and Fort Worth Star-TelegramState Top 100 lists.
Named First Team All-District.
Second Team, All-Greater Houston.
Was an All-Greater Houston Touchdown Club nominee.
Selected Second Team, All-Super Team.
Ranked #85 in Texas by David Garvin.
Dave Campbell's Texas Football Lone Star All-Star Team WR finalist.
Named to the Insiders.com Super Team All-State.
Honorable mention, All-State as a KR by Texas Sports Writers Association.
Ranked as one of the Top 10 area WRs by the Houston Chronicle.
Ranked #63 WR in nation by Rivals.com.
Had 29 catches for 667 yards (23.0 ypc.) and 11 touchdowns.
Roshawn Pope
5-10, 180, Galveston, Texas (Ball HS)
Two-time, all-district quarterback.
Was twice the winner of the District 24-5A Offensive Player of the Year.
Rushed and passed for over 1,000 yards the past two seasons.
Helped lead team to 7-3 finish as a senior.
Tight Ends
Jon Clark
6-5, 210, Centerville, Utah (Viewmont HS/Ricks JC)
First Team, NJCAA All-American tight end.
Was also All-JC Gridwire First Team, All-American.
Named Offensive Outstanding Player of the Year.
Two-time member of the First Team, All Western States Football League.
Also picked up first team honors as a punter.
Helped lead team to a number-five final ranking with a 10-1 record.
Recipient of President's Academic Scholarship.
Led his team with 55 catches for 815 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore.
A member of the All-Region team as well.
Twice named All-State in high school.
Was an all-state soccer goalkeeper as well.
Younger brother of former Cougar kicker, Mike, and San Francisco 49er tight end, Greg.
Chose UH over Arizona State, Stanford, Texas Tech, Utah and Idaho.
Matt Mattox
6-5, 250, Holton, Kansas (Holton HS/Butler County CC)
Second Team, NJCAA All-American (behind Jon Clark.)
Voted 11th best player in region regardless of position.
First Team, All-Jayhawk Conference and All-Region.
Had three catches for 29 yards.
Helped lead high school to state runner-up position with 12-1 record.
High school teammate of current Cougar Matt Schirmer.
First Team All-Class 4A on offense.
Second Team, All-State All Classes on offense.
Was a first-team, Big 7 League member on both offense and defense.
Offensive Linemen
Jeremy Davis
6-4, 280, Port Neches, Texas (Groves HS)
All-district offensive lineman as a senior.
Selected All-State this past year.
Picked to the Port Arthur News Super Team.
Ranked one of the Top 10 OL in the area by the Houston Chronicle.
Also grabbed Super Gold squad honors from the Beaumont Enterprise.
Was an all-district selection as a defensive lineman while a junior.
