Sam Houston football head coach Phil Longo aims to reconstruct the Bearkats’ offense with this year’s high school signing class.
With the Bearkats coming off a 2-10 season, Longo’s expectations for this signing class provide a path of assurance for Sam Houston fans who are hoping for a high-performance 2026 season.
Longo stressed that the recruitment process in the Bearkats’ prior offseason was more difficult than this year, as he was able to build connections with the signees before the start of the season. Longo was hired in December 2025 following the departure of former coach K.C. Keeler to Temple, giving the Bearkats a late start on the recruiting front.
“The issue last year is we had no time to do any research,” Longo said during a press conference on Feb. 4.
In the signing day press conference, Longo emphasized the recruitment of quarterbacks Mason Holtzclaw and Brett Holloway, as well as offensive linemen T’re Williams and Myles Joseph. Longo highlighted the high upside for the two offensive linemen, pointing to their versatility and physicality.
“We have the starting foundation with these two guys that we want,” Longo said. “We feel like we can build them and we’re excited about the two of them and I think they are going to add a lot of athleticism and physicality to the offensive line here in the future.”
Longo signed 15 from the high school football ranks, with 11 of these players coming from Texas high schools. In the press conference, Longo named Texas as one of the top three states to recruit high school football players.
Below is a full listing of Sam Houston’s 2026 high school signees:
Marcus Bourda Jr. • S • 6-1 • 175 • Humble, Texas / Humble HS
MJ Dowdy • RB • 5-10 • 205 • Winder, Ga. / Barrow HS
Brett Holloway • QB • 5-11 • 190 • Melissa, Texas / Melissa HS
Mason Holtzclaw • QB • 6-4 • 205 • Carrollton, Ga. / Carrollton HS
Myles Joseph • OL • 6-5 • 315 • Vinton, La. / Lake Charles College Prep
CJ June • S • 5-10 • 185 • Prince George’s County, Md. / Westfield HS (IN)
Ryan Mallory • LB • 6-1 • 200 • Richmond, Texas / Randle HS
Robert McFarland • S • 5-10 • 200 • Houston, Texas / Lamar HS
Jack Merryman • TE • 6-4 • 215 • Montgomery, Texas / Montgomery HS
Ty Sexton • WR • 5-10 • 180 • Katy, Texas / Bridgeland HS
Jabaric Sullivan • DB • 6-0 • 180 • The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands HS
Uzziah Warmate • DT • 6-0 • 260 • Denton, Texas / Ryan HS
Errol West Jr. • DT • 6-0 • 240 • Little Rock, Ark. / Denton Ryan HS (TX)
Longo and the Kats also acquired 33 players from the transfer portal. Below is a full listing of the Bearkat’s 33 incoming transfers:
Josh Alexander-Felton • R-SO • DE • 6-3 • 270 • Orlando, Fla. / Edgewater HS / NC State
Jarra Anderson • DL • JR • 6-2 • 270 • Katy, Texas / Paetow HS / Arizona / Memphis
Ishmel Atkins • DB • R-SR • 6-3 • 195 • Greensboro, N.C. / North Guilford HS / Elon
Brian Bates Jr. • LB • R-JR • 6-1 • 230 • Centreville, Va. / DeMatha Catholic HS / Delaware State / Charlotte
Kyan Berry-Johnson • WR • SO • 5-11 • 185 • Chicago, Ill. / Bolingbrook HS / Wisconsin
Stacy Bey • DB • SO • 6-1 • 205 • Fontana, Calif. / Rancho Cucamonga HS / Arizona
Sam Carpenter • K • R-JR • 5-11 • 180 • Foxborough, Mass. / Foxborough HS / Pitt
Alijah Cason • WR • JR • 5-9 • 170 • Midlothian, Texas / First Baptist Academy / Holy Cross
Josiah Chenault • OL • R-JR • 6-3 • 305 • Sanford, Fla. / Seminole HS / Kennesaw State / Howard
Elijah Collins • OL • JR • 6-5 • 305 • Fort Myers, Fla. / East Lee County HS / Western Carolina / West Virginia Wesleyan
Justin Cottrell • DB • R-JR • 6-0 • 170 • West Columbia, Texas / West Columbia HS / Tyler JC
Will Davis • DB • GR • 6-2 • 235 • South Boston, Va. / Halifax County HS / West Virginia / Virginia Union
Jayden Fry • DE • FR • 6-2 • 245 • Raleigh, N.C. / Rolesville HS / Boston College
Elijah Groves • LB • FR • 6-5 • 210 • Cross Plains, Tenn. / East Robertson HS / NC State
Joey Hunter • DB • GR • 6-0 • 195 • Atlanta, Ga. / Sandy Creek HS / Memphis / Akron / South Carolina
Jaylon Jones • DB • JR • 6-1 • 175 • Fresno, Calif. / Central East HS / Fresno City College
Cal Joseph • P • SO • 6-0 • 175 • Melbourne, Australia / Whitefriars College / Wake Forest
Carter Kadow • OL • JR • 6-7 • 310 • Middleton, Wisc. / Middleton HS / Rutgers
Mike King • LB • R-SO • 6-0 • 205 • Racine, Wisc. / Case HS / Concordia St. Paul
Brock Kuhl • TE • R-FR • 6-4 • 230 • Lorena, Texas / Lorena HS / Florida Atlantic
Caesar Magee • DB • GR • 6-2 • 190 • New Orleans, La. / St. Augustine HS / Northwestern State
Kamari Maxwell • WR • SO • 6-0 • 185 • Savannah, Ga. / New Hempstead HS / Austin Peay
Nathan McClelland • OL • JR • 6-4 • 295 • Richland, Wash. / Richland HS / College of Idaho
Kaleb Mitchell • WR • R-FR • 6-6 • 190 • DeSoto, Texas / First Baptist Academy / Utah State
Dimitry Nicolas• DL • R-SO • 6-3 • 295 • Miami, Fla. / Norland HS / Maryland
Denell Nix Jr. • OL • SO • 6-5 • 290 • Toledo, Ohio / Whitmer HS / Appalachian State
Matt Smith • TE • GR • 6-4 • 235 • Needham, Mass. / Needham HS / Rhode Island / UMass / Duke
Brock Stukes • OL • R-JR • 6-3 • 320 • Chesapeake, Va. / Smith HS / NC State / NC A&T
Zion Taylor • DL • R-SO • 6-1 • 230 • Missouri City, Texas / Shadow Creek HS / Houston
Justin Terrell • DL • R-SO • 6-3 • 315 • Rome, Ga. • Rome HS / NC State
Joe Warren • OL • JR • 6-3 • 305 • Greenwood, Miss. / Greenwood HS / Copiah-Lincoln CC
Max Whisner • TE • R-SR • 6-5 • 250 • Kansas City, Mo. / Lee’s Summit HS/ Akron / Missouri
Christian Zachary • WR • R-SO • 6-3 • 180 • St. Matthew’s, S.C. / Calhoun County HS / NC State
