Houston Has Two of Its New Offensive Line Additions in Latest Texas Position Ranking
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The Houston Cougars have returned to the practice field as they kick off spring practice on Monday, and head coach Willie Fritz gets the first look at this squad after winter conditioning as the Coogs look to keep building heading into the 2026 season.
Fritz and his coaching staff will undoubtedly be looking out for the Cougars newcomers to blend in with the returners as the Coogs bring in several possible key contributors out of the transfer portal and a talented class of 2026 recruiting class.
And two of those newcomers who come via the transfer portal are gaining some preseason praise in position rankings ahead of the 2026 college football season.
Two New Cougars Rank Inside the Top 10 at their Position
On Monday, Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Mike Craven released a ranking of the top 10 offensive linemen in the state of Texas heading into the 2026 season, and the Cougars have a pair of players on the list, making Houston one of just three teams with two of its players on the list.
Making the top 10 for the Cougars are two of their transfers in Tulane transfer Shadre Hurst, who makes the top 5 of Dave Campbell's Texas Football list, ranked at No. 4 in the state of Texas, just behind Texas' Trevor Goosby, SMU's PJ Williams, and Texas Tech's Howard Simpson.
The other Cougar on the list is Toledo transfer Anthony Boswell, who comes in listed as the No. 9 offensive lineman in the Lone Star State, ranked just ahead of SMU's Joshua Bates, who rounds out the list at No. 10.
Who are the Top 10 offensive linemen in Texas ahead of the 2026 college football season? 🤔
— Dave Campbell's — TexasFootball.com (@dctf) March 9, 2026
Full breakdown from @CravenMike: https://t.co/sZN1NLRYx2 pic.twitter.com/7LRZOkDo0w
What has Willie Fritz said about the Duo?
The top addition to the Cougars' offensive line was Hurst, who anchored Tulane's run to a College Football Playoff appearance and an AAC conference championship in 2025. Back in early February, Fritz raved about the addition of Hurst to his program.
"Shadre is a two-time All-American at Tulane; he played for me there," Fritz said. "We're very fortunate to get him; he's got 37 career starts. He's allowed one sack in 1,224 pass-pro snaps in his career; that's pretty good. We're very excited to get him, he's one of the strongest guys I've ever coached...and he's got a tremendous work ethic, and he's a kind of guy you want to have in your program."
Fritz also praised Boswell for his performance a season ago with Toledo.
"Was a first team All-MAC at Toledo, freshman All-American there as well," Fritz said. "Played right at 900 snaps, had an unbelievable PFF grade, one of the national leaders as far as centers are concerned, you can't have enough guys who can snap the football."
