You could feel it coming.
A wildcat formation here. A couple of pass attempts there. Then the winds of change really started to blow in the second half of Houston‘s loss to UCF, which dropped the Cougars to 2-3 (0-1 AAC) on the season.
And now it’s happened. There’s a new starting quarterback at Houston.
Head coach Tony Levine announced Sunday that Greg Ward Jr. would take over the offense, putting much-heralded sophomore John O’Korn on the bench. Levine told the Houston Chronicle that “this decision is more of a reflection how Greg performed in his last game.”
Right.
Ward went just 10-of-17 for 116 yards and no touchdowns against one of the worst (statistically) pass defenses in the country. Those aren’t the type of numbers that usually force a coach’s hand, or the numbers that should give fans hope Houston will break out of this funk.
Don’t get me wrong, O’Korn has struggled mightily so far this season. He is the dictionary definition of a sophomore slump. O’Korn has completed only 51 percent of his passes and is averaging 188 yards per game. He has more interceptions (8) than touchdowns (6).
That’s a far cry from the freshman success that vaulted O’Korn into the spotlight. He won conference freshman of the year honors and most people (including me, gulp) had him pegged to have another spectacular season as the Cougars seemed poised to build on the momentum gained so far during the Levine era.
But let’s not buy this one half of good play from Ward business Levine is selling. The coach was answering questions about a quarterback change way back in Week 1 after the loss to UTSA. After that game I posed the question right here: “There isn’t a QB Controversy in Houston, but should there be?” Back then it was Billy Cosh taking snaps from O’Korn.
After the UTSA game Levine said, “We are going to stick with John O’Korn,” and followed it up the next day with, “I think he’s shown everyone that he’s got the ability, the talent and the right to be confident.”
Now he has the right to hold a clipboard.
To me this reeks of a coach throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. There have been almost as many changes so far this season than Bruce Jenner plastic surgeries. The Cougars tried to establish the running game. Then there was the special teams and defensive debacles against BYU that led to personnel and scheme shifts. Then the offense couldn’t get in the end zone against UCF.
You know things aren’t going well when the top headline on your website is the fact the kicker is the conference’s special teams player of the week.
And by making THIS change, you are playing musical chairs in other spots on the depth chart. Ward was the Cougars’ No. 1 wide receiver and punt returner, and now other guys will have to step into those roles.
All of this comes as Houston gets ready to go on the road to play, arguably, the hottest team in the AAC, the Memphis Tigers.
So for now the Cougars have a new quarterback, something that seemed inevitable since the moment O’Korn struggled. It will be interesting to see how long Levine will be patient with Ward if the losses continue to pile up.
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