Houston Cougars Land Huge Commitment From Local Star Talent

The Houston Cougars will need a bounce-back performance this Friday as they take on the UCF Knights Friday night. The Coogs come off a brutal loss to a struggling West Virginia Mountaineers squad, with the Cougars losing 45-35 at home and seeing themselves be unranked after finally making it back to the national rankings.

Houston will head out on the road for another conference matchup, heading down to the Acrisure Bounce House in Orlando, Florida, to take on UCF. The Knights are also one of the teams towards the bottom of the Big 12 standings currently, with a 4-4 record and just a single win in conference play. However, as the Cougars learned the hard way a week ago, they can't count out any opponent.

While the Coogs gear up for the road at the end of the week, Houston has found itself a win on the recruiting trail with one local talent committing to the Cougars on Tuesday evening.

James Henderson III Commits to Houston

As three-star cornerback James Henderson III announced his decision to commit to the Cougars' 2026 recruiting class on his X account. Henderson visited the Cougars last weekend in their loss to West Virginia, and the one-time Rice Owls commit decided to make his pledge official to the Coogs.

The cornerback prospect decommitted from Rice early this week and decided to stay home, committing to the Cougars over Northwestern Wildcats and the Vanderbilt Commodores.

"The biggest driving force was how welcome the staff made me and my family feel, and also its Power Four football at home, that’s a great combination,” Henderson told Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman about his decision.

#AGTG HOME!!💯 #GoCougs @CoachWEFritz @wesley_fritz @_PJHall @Casey_Smithson @JayGirdner @CyFallsFB @RecruitingCFHS @JnewSports @Jalil_Johnson21 @justinallen_13 @Nightrydas7v7 @samspiegs @adamgorney @TomLoy247 @GPowersScout @TFloss32 @_XavierJohnson @UHCougarFB pic.twitter.com/o0ctqF2L9J
— James Henderson III (@JamesH3nderson) November 5, 2025

The three-star prospect is ranked as the No. 94 player at his position and the No. 155 player out of the state of Texas in the 2026 class, per 247Sports Composite rankings. As a junior at Cy Falls High School, located just 30 minutes away from the Coogs campus, Henderson totaled 34 tackles, 2 interceptions, a forced fumble, and 8 pass breakups.

Henderson's commitment to the Cougars now has Houston's 2026 recruiting class ranked as the No. 34 class in the country for the 2026 cycle, currently holding 17 commitments, according to Rivals' Industry Rankings. The Coogs also rank as the fourth-best recruiting class in the Big 12.

Houston's 2026 recruiting class is headlined by five-star quarterback Keisean Henderson, who's listed as the No. 15 overall prospect and No. 4 player at his position in the nation. Also joining the five-star quarterback are four stars in wide receiver Jayden Warren and four-star athlete Paris Melvin.