Head coach Phil Longo and quarterback Landyn Locke say culture, community support and a return to Bowers Stadium are shaping a new chapter for the Bearkats
Relationships drive the vision for Sam Houston football
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Sam Houston head football coach Phil Longo says the foundation of the Bearkats’ program is about more than schemes, roster moves or stadium upgrades. For Longo, it starts with relationships.
That theme came through again and again as Longo and quarterback Landyn Locke reflected on the direction of the program, the lessons of last season and the anticipation building around a return to Bowers Stadium.
“Relationships has always been the cornerstone of everything,” Longo said.
As Sam Houston continues building at the FBS level, Longo said the goal is not simply to chase quick results. He said the Bearkats are trying to build the program the right way, with players who fit both on the field and off it.
There is obvious excitement surrounding the team, especially with stadium improvements and another offseason to shape the roster. But Longo made clear that his view of success begins with character.
“There’s not a room you’ll walk into where on the wall you don’t see the words character and production,” Longo said. “And it’s in that order.”
A quarterback who followed trust to Huntsville
For Locke, the path to Sam Houston was rooted in familiarity and trust.
The Rockwall product said his connection to Longo stretches back through family ties. Longo had recruited Locke’s brother while coaching at North Carolina, later coached him at Wisconsin, and then recruited Landyn as well.
“How I kind of ended up at Sam Houston was just my connections through coach Longo,” Locke said. “Some things happened and I ended up here and couldn’t be happier.”
That background made the move to Huntsville feel less like a leap into the unknown and more like a decision based on people he believed in.
Locke said the most important part of choosing a college was not flashy uniforms, giant stadiums or hype. It was finding the right relationships and the right place to grow.
“All those big stadiums, the cool uniforms, the number of uniforms, and all that stuff, that’s all really cool,” Locke said. “But I think really what it comes down for me is just the relationships.”
He said being close to home also became more important than he once expected. Sam Houston gave him the chance to stay connected to family while continuing to develop as a player.
“The relationships is the biggest aspect in my opinion,” Locke said. “But also just being close to home matters more to me than I thought it would.”
A season shaped by unusual challenges
Longo did not shy away from describing the difficulty of last season.
He said the Bearkats were playing catch-up from the moment the staff arrived, and the circumstances of the season only added to the challenge. Sam Houston played away from its true home field, dealt with major travel demands and worked to merge a large group of new players into the program on a compressed timeline.
“We just play 12 away games, right?” Longo said.
He noted that many of the new players arrived in June, were immediately thrown into summer work and had to learn an entire system while also adjusting to a new town, new teammates and a new staff.
“These are new guys in June that are thrown into the fire in the summer,” Longo said. “And before you know it, we’re playing ball.”
Locke said the temporary setup last season came with real challenges, even while the team stayed focused on moving forward.
“This last year playing at that stadium, it was great, don’t get me wrong, but we all know we wanted to play at our home stadium,” Locke said.
He said players are eager to get back to playing in Huntsville, on the field where they practice and in front of the atmosphere they believe can help define the program.
“We as players couldn’t be more excited to go out there on a Saturday and play where you practice,” Locke said. “We’re stoked and we’re so excited to get after it in Huntsville.”
Bowers Stadium stands as a symbol of progress
One of the clearest signs of that next step is the continued work at Bowers Stadium.
Longo said he sees the progress every day from his office and described the changes as both visible and energizing. He believes the stadium will help transform football Saturdays in Huntsville into something larger than just the game itself.
“I think football here is going to be, the main deal is the game,” Longo said. “But I think the game in and around what’s going on on the field is going to become more of an event here at Sam Houston than it has in the past.”
That matters for a program trying to deepen ties with the university, alumni and the wider community.
Longo said a true home-field environment is something he missed deeply last year, from the energy in the stands to the traditions that surround Bearkat football.
“We never saw our own field,” he said. “I hope I never have to go through a year where we don’t have our own stadium and play home games.”
Community matters to the Bearkats
Both Longo and Locke pointed to Huntsville itself as one of the program’s strengths.
Longo said part of leading a program well means being “entrenched” in the place where you coach. For him, that means more than operating inside the football building. It means being part of the university and part of the town.
“I subscribe to the school of being entrenched in the place where you are,” Longo said.
He said he and his wife, Tanya, plan to remain deeply involved in the community and that reconnecting with Huntsville has been meaningful during his return.
For Locke, the appeal of Huntsville has shown up in simple, everyday interactions.
“I would just go back to the community,” Locke said. “It seems like everywhere I go, it’s never a bad experience.”
He said whether he runs into people at H-E-B or at a local restaurant, the atmosphere has been supportive and welcoming.
“It’s always good interactions,” Locke said. “We have such a great community here.”
Leadership is built in the offseason
As the Bearkats move through the offseason, Locke said one of the biggest challenges in modern college football is building chemistry quickly with incoming players.
He said that process starts long before spring practices officially begin. January and February workouts, player-led throwing sessions and difficult winter conditioning all become proving grounds for leadership and trust.
“That’s where a lot of the trust is built,” Locke said.
He said the condensed nature of today’s college football calendar means teams have to accelerate relationship-building, especially with so many new faces entering the program each year.
“The biggest challenge is just all the new guys that come in and having to build that relationship and that chemistry as fast as you need to heading into spring ball,” Locke said.
Still, he believes the Bearkats have brought in the right kind of players.
“I think we’ve done a great job of bringing in a great group of guys, good character guys, and a lot of guys that can produce with us on the field,” Locke said.
He added that he expects what happens this spring to surprise some people.
“I think it’s going to shock a lot of people,” Locke said.
Longo wants lasting success, not a quick fix
Longo emphasized that the Bearkats are not trying to rush the process, even in a results-driven sport.
He acknowledged that words like patience are not always popular with fans, recruits or families, but said sustainable success requires careful construction.
“We want to build it the right way so that when we get where we want to be, we can sustain success,” Longo said.
He said that building at the FBS level is different from building at the FCS level and requires a different scale of planning, support and long-term thinking.
Longo also praised the alignment he sees across the university and athletic department, pointing to the role of Sam Houston leadership in helping move the program forward.
“It’s encouraging for a football coach that everybody is rowing in the right direction, the same direction, and we’re all thinking the same way,” Longo said.
Alumni support remains a major piece of the program
Longo said the program’s greatest asset is not only its current roster but also its former players.
He said Sam Houston football has approximately 1,500 alumni, and the staff has worked to reconnect with them in a more deliberate way. That outreach, he said, has already led to more involvement and more support than ever before.
“There’s more people involved with our program right now than I think ever before,” Longo said.
He said those relationships matter because past players helped put Sam Houston football in position to reach this era, and he wants them re-engaged with the current team.
That vision extends to events such as the program’s annual auction, which Longo said he hopes becomes more than a fundraiser. He wants it to become a rallying point for the entire Bearkat football family.
“We want to make it a rallying point or rallying date to get the Bearkat football family back here,” Longo said.
A camp aimed at both development and recruiting
Longo also highlighted the Kat Attack camp series set for June 18-21, describing it as both a service to players and a valuable evaluation opportunity for the program.
He said the camps are designed to help high school athletes improve their skills while also giving Sam Houston a live look at prospects.
“There’s nothing better than seeing somebody live,” Longo said.
Longo said high school recruiting remains a priority for the Bearkats, especially in Texas, even as the transfer portal continues to reshape roster construction across college football.
“We feel strongly that high school recruiting, particularly in the state of Texas, is going to remain a priority here,” Longo said.
He added that the camps also allow current players to step into teaching roles and gain a better appreciation for the game and for coaching.
A simple message to fans
Asked what he would say to fans ahead of the season, Locke kept it direct.
“I would just say come out and support,” he said. “It’s going to be a fun year.”
Longo echoed that invitation and said the program wants alumni, families and supporters to feel welcome around the team.
“Anybody in the Sam Houston Bearcat circle is welcome at any workout, at any practice, at any time,” Longo said. “We say it’s a family. It’s not just rhetoric. It’s how we do everything every day.”
For Sam Houston, that may be the clearest message of all heading into the next chapter. The Bearkats are trying to build a winner, but they are also trying to build something people in Huntsville can recognize as their own. And under Longo, the program believes both goals can rise together.
Football auction set for Aug. 1 in Huntsville
Sam Houston will host its 2026 football auction Aug. 1 at the Walker County Fairgrounds in Huntsville, bringing together alumni, fans and community supporters for an evening focused on strengthening the Bearkat program. The annual event typically includes a steak dinner along with silent and live auctions featuring sports memorabilia, travel packages and other Bearkat experiences. Organizers say the auction also gives supporters an opportunity to connect with coaches and players while helping provide resources that benefit student-athletes and the overall football program as Sam Houston continues building momentum at the FBS level.
