Houston Cougars Flip Hometown Offensive Lineman From AAC Powerhouse
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On the eve of National Signing Day, Willie Fritz and the Houston Cougars received some massive news that they had snagged another commitment, this time from Coach Fritz's former school.
Three-star offensive lineman Noah Abebe out of Friendswood High School, just southeast of Houston, announced that he would be flipping his commitment from the Tulane Green Wave to stay home with the Cougars.
Abebe had originally committed to the Green Wave back on June 14th.
Coogs Flip Three-Star Commit From Fritz's Old Job
The Cougars had to battle it out with the Oklahoma Sooners to flip the lineman from the Green Wave, but it seems that Abebe's game day visit to Houston when the Cougars hosted the TCU Horned Frogs did the trick, though Houston came up short in the contest, 17-14.
Abebe also received offers from the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, the Texas State Bobcats, the Rice Owls, and the UTSA Roadrunners.
With the switch up, the offensive lineman becomes the 19th commit in the Cougars' class of 2026, as well as the 10th Houston native to join the school in the class, which also includes Keisean Henderson, Paris Melvin Jr., Jaivion Martin, Kah'ni Watts, John Hebert, Isaiah Broughton, Tyler Covar, Mudassir Abdullah, and James Henderson III.
In addition to football, Abebe also plays basketball and takes part in track and field.
His time in high school also saw him take reps as a tight end and wide receiver before rejoining the offensive line, showing the senior's speed, agility, and versatility.
During his work as a skill player, he caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in 10 games during his sophomore season in 2023.
According to his page on 247Sports, the 6'3, 275-pounder is the 111th-ranked interior offensive lineman and the 210th-ranked player in the state of Texas in the class of 2026.
His flip from Tulane lands him with a well-known former head coach of the Green Wave in Willie Fritz, who coached the school from 2016 to 2023, landing a conference championship in 2022 and two consecutive AAC Coach of the Year awards in 2022 and 2023.
Over his eight-year tenure with the team, Fritz led the team to a 54-47 overall record, and captained a massive turnaround from the teams 2-10 2021 season, turning it into a 12-2 2022 campaign that saw the Green Wave ranked as high as No. 9 in the AP rankings.
As National Signing Day sits just under 24 hours away, the Cougars still have plenty of opportunities to turn their team into a national championship caliber-squad after their 9-3 2025 season.
