The Houston Cougars, led by new head coach Tony Levine, signed 23 high school athletes to national letters of intent on Wednesday morning, as well as one junior college transfer, and an already-enrolled transfer from LSU.
Without a doubt, the surprise of the morning was the commitment from Deontay Greenberry, a wide receiver from Fresno, California. Greenberry had been verbally committed to Notre Dame for some time, and as late as Wednesday morning, reports were that he would stay with the Irish. But Greenberry chose the Cougars, making him the first five-star recruit in school history.
Greenberry and Blinn transfer Xavier Maxwell figure to be able to step in immediately and play at the receiver position, with Houston's top four receivers all graduating. Andrew Rodriguez of Allen and Larry McDuffey of North Shore also signed with UH at that position.
Another big last-minute get was Jontrey Tillman, a running back with track star speed from Baldwin, Louisiana. Tillman had been solidly committed to Stanford, before being told recently that he would not be admitted to the school, despite a 4.0 GPA. Tillman was forced to reopen his recruitment, and ultimately picked Houston. Tillman could help provide depth right away behind Charles Sims, with the graduation of Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes.
Trevon Randle has already enrolled at Houston, but will get lumped in with the 2012 recruiting class. Randle was a four-star linebacker recruit for LSU a year ago, but after redshirting a year, decided to transfer to Houston. Randle will sit out the 2012 season, and be classified as a redshirt sophomore in 2013.
While recruiting size on the lines can be an issue for smaller programs, it didn't seem to be a problem for the Cougars. UH's three signees on the offensive line - Mac Long (6'4", 282 lbs), Blake Herman (6'7", 290 lbs) and Jacob Abels (6'5", 290 lbs) - all have excellent size. On paper, Long, a 4-star recruit according to ESPN.com, is one of the stars of the class. The Cougars also added four defensive linemen, three of them topping 250 lbs, and the fourth, Cameron Malveaux, has the potential to be an impact player if he fills out his 6'6" frame.
The total positional breakdown for the class is one quarterback, three running backs, four receivers, three offensive linemen, four defensive linemen, five linebackers, two defensive backs and three athletes.