Reserves get their moment in No. 22 Houston’s 77-6 rout of Southern

Freshman quarterback Keisean Henderson and running back John Hebert had already shown coach Willie Fritz what they could do.

They just had not done it in a college game.

That changed Saturday night as No. 22 Houston walloped Southern 77-6, earning its most lopsided win since defeating SMU 95-21 in 1989.

Just before halftime, Hebert hauled in a 20-yard pass from Henderson and plowed into the end zone to give Houston a 49-0 lead.

“It was unbelievable; it was so fun. I didn’t make a great move on that first guy. When he hit me, and I was still up, I was like, ‘that was bad.’ I got to make up for that. I got to go score,” Hebert said. “Running into the end zone for the first time in your college career, I can’t describe it to you; that’s the best feeling ever.”

Fritz had seen Hebert make plays like that before. At Strake Jesuit, he ran for more than 8,000 yards across his high school career.

“We’ve seen him do that in high school; we’ve seen him do that in practice, but it hadn’t been in live situations,” Fritz said.

Henderson, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, finished 6-for-7 passing and recorded three total touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground.

Even after Henderson fumbled a snap early in the second half, he turned the mistake into a 54-yard rushing touchdown, picking up the ball and racing down the field for his first career rushing score.

“It wasn’t a great snap, but he made something out of nothing,” Fritz said. “That’s the stuff we saw him do a bunch in high school.”

It wasn’t just a few top recruits getting their moment. Nearly 100 Cougars saw the field against the Jaguars.

“I was just so happy that we were able to play so many guys. These guys work their tails off, and it’s so hard to get guys into these games since all the games are so close. So, it makes it difficult to get them in, and we’re so happy that we were able to,” Fritz said.

Sophomore running back Zane Smith led Houston in rushing in his Cougar debut, carrying the ball 10 times for 69 yards.

Freshman defensive back Paris Melvin Jr., wide receiver Jeremiah Bushnell and offensive linemen Aaron Wolford, Noah Abebe and Rhett Gray also made their Cougar debuts.

Fritz used the mutually agreed-upon eight-minute fourth quarter to get as many players into the game as possible. Fifth-year quarterback Jake Sock and freshmen Canon Toon and Ryan Smith all got snaps at quarterback as they took over for sophomore Luke Carney late in the game.

“That’s kind of what I was doing during the whole last quarter: get him in, put him in, and the coaches had to coach them up real quick because sometimes we were putting them in positions that they had never played before.”

Before being pulled midway through the second quarter, fifth-year quarterback Conner Weigman threw for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior kicker Jonathan Dimas delivered on his extra-point opportunities, going 11-for-11, the third-most makes in Cougar history.

Fifth-year safety Jordan Allen secured his first career interception, setting up Henderson, who entered the game as Houston took over at the Southern 25-yard line.

After junior running back Re’Shaun Sanford II pushed the Cougars to the 7-yard line, Henderson threw his first career touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Koby Young, who recorded his first two career touchdowns against the Jaguars.

Later in the game, as he watched his teammates take the field one after another, Young couldn’t help but feel excited as he saw them contribute to Houston’s highest-scoring game in TDECU Stadium history.

“It meant the world. Those guys who played today are on our scout team. They give us great looks and help us prepare for our game. It was amazing to see those guys get a chance and show coach (Fritz) what they can do,” he said.

Next, the Cougars head to face No. 13 Texas Tech on Friday in Lubbock.