# Sam Houston Bearkats

Conference USA · Elliott T. Bowers Stadium, Huntsville, TX
Head coach: Phil Longo · year 2 · 2-10 career over 2 seasons, all at SHSU
Offense: Air Raid · Defense: 4-2-5

## 2026 outlook

- 2025 record: 2-10 (1-7 in conference)
- National title odds: +125000 (#54 on the futures board)
- Season win total: 3.5 (over priced +128)
- Returning starter games: 29%
- Schedule difficulty: 94th-hardest of 138 FBS teams

## Returning production by unit

| Unit | Returning games | Games back | Depth back |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Skill offense | 74% | 43/58 | 9/18 |
| Offensive line | 0% | 0/58 | 3/11 |
| Defensive front | 40% | 31/78 | 11/20 |
| Secondary | 0% | 0/57 | 8/17 |

## Roster movement

- Key returning: Landyn Locke (QB), Tyler Bailey (DB), Dravon Wilson (DB), Coco Brown (RB), Dean Ford (LB)
- Key departures (with destination): Emon Allen (DB), Christopher Eaton Jr. (DE), Hunter Watson (QB), CJ Brown (DB), Alonzo Edwards Jr. (DB)
- Key arrivals (with previous school): Max Whisner (TE) – AKR, Josiah Chenault (OL) – KENN, Denell Nix Jr. (OL) – APP, Stacy Bey (LB) – ARIZ, Carter Kadow (OL) – RUTG

## Depth chart

### Offense

- WR-X: Tim Burns Jr., Alijah Cason, Christian Zachary, Kamari Maxwell
- WR-Z: Chris Reed, Kyan Berry-Johnson, Kaleb Mitchell
- WR-SL: Grady O'Neill, Aviyon Smith-Mack, Darrick Bledsoe III, Ty Sexton
- LT: Denell Nix Jr., Joe Warren
- LG: Brock Stukes, Logan Cahill
- C: Josiah Chenault, Cam Todd
- RG: Elijah Collins, Zo'Maryon Bryan
- RT: Carter Kadow, Isaac Sohn
- TE: Max Whisner, Matt Smith, Brock Kuhl, London Deyon
- QB: Landyn Locke, DJ Bailey, Mason Holtzclaw, Brett Holloway
- RB: Coco Brown, Alton McCaskill, Jerrian Parker Jr., Kaden Winkfield

### Defense

- LDE: Josh Alexander-Felton, Brody Henderson, Bryen Spaulding
- NT: Darien Jackson, She'Fon Boyd, Justin Terrell
- DT: Dylan Frazier, Jarra Anderson, Dimitry Nicolas, Uzziah Warmate
- RDE: Chauncey Chidi, Jayden Fry, Zion Taylor
- WLB: Brian Bates Jr., Stacy Bey, Tokyo Gordon
- MLB: Dean Ford, Mike King Jr., Ca'lub Holloway, Elijah Groves
- LCB: Ishmel Atkins, Joey Hunter
- SS: Tyler Bailey, Jalyn Stanford
- FS: Jaylon Jones, Dravon Wilson
- RCB: Caesar Magee, Octavius Henderson
- NB: Jace Arnold

### Special Teams

- PT: Cal Joseph
- PK: Sam Carpenter, Tate Ryan
- KO: Sam Carpenter, Nico Ottomanelli
- LS: Carson Whitington, Cameron McCulloch, Victor Gamboa
- H: Nico Ottomanelli, Tim Burns Jr.
- PR: Tim Burns Jr.
- KR: Tim Burns Jr., Grady O'Neill

## 2026 schedule

| Week | Opponent | Site | TV | Spread |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Troy | Away | ESPN+ | SHSU +16.5 |
| 2 | Tulsa | Home | ESPN+ | – |
| 3 | Nicholls State Colonels (FCS) | Home | ESPN+ | – |
| 4 | Texas Tech | Away | – | – |
| 6 | Liberty | Away | ESPNU | – |
| 7 | Western Kentucky | Home | ESPN2 | – |
| 8 | New Mexico State | Home | – | – |
| 9 | Missouri State | Away | ESPN2 | – |
| 10 | Jacksonville State | Away | CBS Sports Network | – |
| 11 | Kennesaw State | Home | ESPN Networks | – |
| 12 | Middle Tennessee | Home | ESPN Networks | – |
| 13 | Florida International | Away | ESPN Networks | – |

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Source: SharpData OS – https://www.sharpdataos.com/cfb/teams/sam-houston
Depth chart updated 2026-08-11. Odds shown are point-in-time snapshots.