Houston Cougars lineman enters college football transfer portal
After a tough 4-8 season, Houston coach Willie Fritz knows he'll have to make changes to get the Cougars into the top half of the Big 12. And many of those changes will come through the transfer portal.
When Fritz was hired from Tulane last season, he brought four of his former players with him — and many more joined through the portal.
The "winter window" of the college football transfer portal officially opened on Monday, and players across the country will have until Dec. 28 to enter the portal. Players on the teams competing in the College Football Playoff bowl games that are played in late December will be allowed to enter an additional five-day transfer portal window in January after the portal closes.
Holding on to players is part of the deal, and Houston potentially lost a good one on Tuesday. Defensive tackle Anthony Holmes Jr., a redshirt sophomore, entered the transfer portal, acoording to ESPN. Holmes had 35 tackles, 11 run stops and 2 sacks this past season.
If Holmes Jr. doesn't find a landing spot in the portal, he can still return to Houston.
Houston's defensive coordinator, Shiel Wood, was hired by Texas Tech last week in the same role. It's a safe bet some of Houston's defensive players will look to follow Wood to Lubbock.
The Cougars' defense was one of the best in the Big 12 in 2024, allowing just 324 yards per game, the second-best mark in the conference.
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.