3 Houston Cougars Who Have Raised Their Stock During First Week of Camp
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Houston Cougars football began fall camp this week as the start of the season is now under one month away. While the Cougars will officially kick off on Sept. 5 against Oregon State at TDECU Stadium, there will be almost a month of practices in fall camp that will be critical to determine the exact make out of the team.
The expectations are high for Houston to be real contenders in the Big 12, and there's no reason why the Cougars can't given the kind of talent on the roster. Houston has some key transfer portal players that could shine alongside a good amount of returning players on both sides of the ball.
This is just the starting point of fall camp, but there was some visible growth from a couple of players from last season while some transfers made an early impression. Here are three Houston players that raised their stock this week.
Jaquise Martin, WR
The sophomore wide receiver took on a more involved role in the first few days of practice, constantly running routes in the 7-on-7 or 11-on-11's while being fed the ball from the quarterbacks.
Martin, the three-star prospect out of Bryan, Texas, got some opportunities last season as a true freshman. While he had just five catches for 69 yards total, he earned playing time and could take another step forward as a true difference maker. It looked like that during fall camp.
Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle used Martin as an example for the kind of accelerated growth that has been shown when players are comfortable in the system. At the start of last season, he didn't expect Martin to play, but by mid-season he made some plays during games.
Javion White, DB
White is a junior transfer from Tulane and will be one of the new names to watch out for in the secondary this season. He's one of few new names in the group and played a key role in Tulane winning the 2025 American Athletic Conference championship.
White made 50 total tackles and had 6 passes defended. He also snagged three interceptions. White was already flying around during the first few days of fall camp and did well guarding on deep passes as well as coming up to make a play. While senior Kentrell Webb and cornerback Will James are well known, White must not be underrated for the kind of impact he can have as an experienced transfer.
Koby Young, WR
The Cougars have been looking for some a couple other reliable names alongside No. 1 wide receiver Amare Thomas, and it looks like the sophomore in Young could be one of them. He's already scored multiple deep touchdowns throughout the first few days, and has the potential to be a great deep threat to take the top off the defense.
Young has great speed and has been one of the most improved players from last fall. He already showed flashes of his big-play ability last season with 12 catches for 191 yards, including his longest reception of 43 yards against Texas Tech.
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Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.