Sam Houston Football Preview 2026: Can Phil Longo Make the Offense Work?

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Sam Houston Football Preview 2026: Can Phil Longo Make the Offense Work?

Pete Fiutak · College Football News

Thu, May 28, 2026 ·

8 min read

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Such is the life of a new program at the FBS level.

Sam Houston was a superpower in the FCS, and took its lumps when it first stepped up in weight class, going 3-9 in a ragged 2023.

But former head coach KC Keeler was able to build things back up, the team went 10-3 in 2024, and things appeared to be back to normal.

Can Sam Houston Look and Play Like a Winning Program Again?

Keeler left for Temple , the talent got picked off in the portal, and head man Phil Longo had to start from scratch.

Longo is a longtime assistant at several stops, was a former head coach at La Salle in the mid-2000s, and finally got his shot at the FBS level.

- Conference USA Win Total Predictions

Nov 8, 2025; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Sam Houston Bearkats running back Alton McCaskill (22) is tacked after a run during the first quarter against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium.

© Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

It wasn't a lot of fun, and there's more work to do, but again, this is a program that's used to success. Sam Houston is supposed to win football games, and this season has to be a big step towards doing that again.

Sam Houston Quick Hits

Head Coach:Phil Longo (2nd year at Sam Houston, 2-10; 4th year overall, 9-24)
Best Case / Worst Case:Third losing season in four FBS years/Another season with fewer than four wins
Key Player: Josiah Chenault , C Jr.
2025 Record:2-10
Biggest Question:Will the offensive skill parts start to shine through?

Sam Houston Key 2025 Stats

First Quarter Scoring: Opponents 109, Sam Houston 37
Onside Kicks: Sam Houston 2-of-2, Opponents 1-of-1
Total Offense: Opponents 5,806, Sam Houston 3,813

Offense

Longo got to this point by coaching offenses. At Ole Miss, North Carolina , and Wisconsin , he was a longtime offensive coordinator whose attacks are supposed to be diverse, quick, and balanced.

Last year's Sam Houston offense was none of those things.

He and offensive coordinator Zack Patterson have more to work with this year, and the results should start to come.

What's Working

The receiving corps got a massive upgrade.There weren't a ton of big-time playmakers in the attack, but leading receiver Grady O'Neill and deep threat Chris Reed are back.

Now there's more pop with Christian Zachary (NC State) and Kyan Berry-Johnson (Wisconsin) bringing the upside, and Alijah Cason (Holy Cross) being added to the mix.

The running backs aren't bad.There isn't any depth, but Alton McCaskill is too good not to be the focus of the attack at some point, and leading rusher Landon "Coco" Brown, returns after running for 487 yards and five scores.

The offense wasn't all bad.There were moments against the mediocre Conference USA teams when the passing game clicked, and the ground game averaged over four yards per carry and had a few terrific outings, but ...

What Needs Work

This thing couldn't move the chains at all.Sam Houston was the worst team in America at coming up with third down conversions, and it wasn't even close.

Only three teams converted fewer than 30% of their attempts. Kent State converted 27.56% of the time. The Bearkats? The offense converted just 22.5% of its third down tries.

The passing game couldn't get much of anything down the field.It was among the least efficient in America, partly because the offensive line didn't give the quarterbacks much time to work. The offense only connected on more than 55% of its passes six times.

The quarterback situation.Landyn Locke only hit 50% of his throws with four touchdown passes and four picks. DJ Bailey got in a few throws, but didn't do anything. For the moment, that's it. There's no one - at the moment - coming in through the portal.

Player to Watch

Alton McCaskill, RB, Sr.
At some point, this needs to click.

He started out as a 16-touchdown back at Houston, never got rolling at Colorado, didn't get the ball at Arizona State, and last year, he ran for 370 yards and caught 19 passes for Sam Houston. Give him room to move and see what he can do.

Defense

Let's just say it was a tough year of rebuilding for the Sam Houston defense.

It was dead last in the nation by a relative ton. It allowed 483.5 yards per game. Charlotte gave up 472, Georgia Southern 458.5.

Bad against the run, bad against the pass, bad at coming up with third down stops, and bad at allowing points, giving up 31 or more in every game but three.

But there's hope.

Defensive coordinator Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay has more pieces to play around with, there's a good group coming in from the portal, and ... there's nowhere to go but up.

What's Working

The staff is trying to address the problem.First and foremost, there has to be a pass rush. The Bearkats only cranked up 21 sacks, and eight came against Delaware .

The portal went with Power Four guys who need a chance to shine, landing Jayden Fry ( Boston College ) and Zion Taylor (Houston).

The interior bulked up with 315-pound Justin Terrell (NC State) and 295-pound Dimitry Nicolas ( Maryland ) as part of the rotation.

Even with all of the problems, there were a few nice players who are still around.Safety Tyler Bailey was third on the team with 49 stops, and linebackers Dean Ford and Ca'lub Holloway made plenty of plays. The back seven should be better with more bulk up front to help.

The pass rush wasn't great, but there was pressure in the backfield.Ford and tackle Dylan Frazier were among the better Bearkats at coming up with tackles for loss, and again, this is where the portal should help.

What Needs Work

Stop the run.There were moments when the run defense wasn't awful, but it allowed 5.4 yards per carry, gave up over 300 yards three times - 426 yards to Louisiana Tech - and got hit for multiple touchdowns in every game but one.

It didn't help that decent quarterbacks took target practice.The run defense was the bigger issue, but the midrange pass defense didn't do enough to help the cause, allowing four teams to hit 80% or more of their throws.

No team in America was worse in opponent completion percentage - Sam Houston had the only defense that allowed over 70%.

Third downs.It goes hand-in-hand with the lack of a pass rush and allowing too many completed short-range throws.

The defense allowed teams to convert more than 44% of their third down tries, with five teams hitting 55% or better.

Player to Watch

Dylan Frazier, DT Sr.The 6-4, 265-pound veteran is a bit of a tweener - more of a 3-4 end than true run-stuffing tackle. But he's quick, active, and a good part of the puzzle coming off a 41-tackle season with two sacks.

Keys to the Season

Get the offense to work.

Phil Longo really does know offenses - the attacks at North Carolina were great - but Wisconsin was 99th in the nation in total O when he was the coordinator in 2024, and 70th in 2023.

The talent needs to be there, but it would be nice to outscheme a few teams here and there.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Landyn Locke, QB Soph.Or DJ Bailey. Again, there aren't a ton of quarterbacking options, so one of the young passers has to make this thing move. There has to be a night-and-day improvement at the position for a turnaround season.

Biggest Concern

The offensive line has to take over.
It won't be totally rebuilt through the portal, but it's where the improvement has to come.

It starts with center Josiah Chenault, a wonderful signing from Kennesaw State - he's one part of the puzzle, and Denell Nix from App State at one tackle spot will help.

Biggest Game

at Liberty, October 8
Coming off an almost certain loss at Texas Tech, and a week off to get ready for the Conference USA season, Sam Houston has to flex a little muscle right away and show that this really is a new year.

With Western Kentucky and New Mexico State at home - especially now that the team is back in Huntsville this season after the renovations to Bowers - there's a chance to go on a decent run.

Transfer Portal

It was an interesting call by Phil Longo and his staff on how they did this.

There weren't a lot of major losses - there simply wasn't a ton of talent from last year's Bearkat team to go after - so the portal was more about adding on.

The offensive line haul was full of sure-thing Group of Six talents, but just about everywhere else, the goal seemed to be to upgrade the tools with players off of Power Four rosters.

Best Signing

Josiah Chenault, C (Kennesaw State)
Again, most of the top transfers were on fliers from Power Four programs, but the key to the entire team should be the anchor of the revamped offensive line.

Chenault is a 6-3, 305-pound quarterback up front who earned First-Team All-Conference USA honors at Kennesaw State last season.

Biggest Loss

Kolt Dieterich, OT ( Washington )
The Sam Houston line wasn't great last season, but the 6-5, 310-pound Dieterich has the size and tools to be an instant starter at the Power Four level. He'll jump in right away on Washington's line.

Other Names to Know

Jayden Fry, EDGE (Boston College)
Brian Bates, LB (Delaware State)
Alijah Cason, WR (Holy Cross)

CFN Season Prediction

The team will be better. It might not necessarily be reflected in the record, but it'll be far more competitive - that's at least a start.

Last year, Sam Houston lost nine games by two touchdowns or more. This year's team will stay in more battles and have chances late.

CFN Prediction: 3-9

It's going to take a slew of Conference USA upsets to get to a bowl game, but it would be a huge help if the Bearkats could pull off something big early at Troy or against Tulsa.

They should make amends for last season's blowout loss to New Mexico State with a home win in October, and beating Middle Tennessee is a must.

It might not seem like a better season on a national scale, but it will be.

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