With 55 new scholarship players, Longo says team chemistry and physical camp set the tone for the 2025 opener.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Sam Houston head coach Phil Longo believes his team has built the foundation it needs as the Bearkats prepare to open the 2025 season at Western Kentucky. With more than half of the roster turning over, Longo said the focus during fall camp has been forging relationships and demanding physicality.
“We’ve got 33 new faces that just showed up here in June,” Longo said. “Of the 85 scholarship guys, 55 of them are new. A lot of this camp has been about getting to know our players and getting them to know each other.”
Longo said the camp was successful, the team remained healthy, and the staff is encouraged about the progress with just days before the opener.
A physical approach
The Bearkats leaned heavily on conditioning to ensure the new roster could compete at the Division I level. Longo credited strength coach Blair Vaughn with preparing the players to handle the demands of practice.
“It took the summer training to get everybody in a position to be able to compete athletically where we’re durable, where we’re strong enough to play physical football,” Longo said. “From an endurance standpoint, we’re able to take the rigors of practice and the rigors of the game.”
He described camp as competitive, with the defense starting strong and the offense responding. “Our defensive ends, our edges, really worked hard and competed and it made our offensive tackles better and vice versa. Same with corners and wide outs. So you’ve got iron sharpening iron. As much as that is a cliché, it’s very true in this sport.”
Transitioning to game week
Longo said the close of camp shifted the team’s attention to its first opponent.
“During camp, you are installing and executing the entire offensive system, all of your special teams, the entire package on defense,” he said. “Once we narrow this thing down to a week focus on Western Kentucky, it is all about specifically what you’re going to do for that game.”
Although the Bearkats do not yet know exactly what Western Kentucky will show in Week Zero, Longo said the emphasis is inward. “Most of what we’re doing this week is about us, what we need to do and how we need to execute. Without question, we’re going to take the field and see something we don’t expect. The key is to be composed and poised enough to be able to react to it and attack it.”
Quarterback competition
Longo confirmed that the starting quarterback had not yet been announced but praised the competition between Mabrey Mettauer, Landyn Locke and Hunter Watson.
“We’ve rotated through three quarterbacks. I like all three of them,” he said. “Sometimes you rotate through quarterbacks because you can’t find the guy. That’s not the issue in our quarterback room. There’s some real talent.”
He said Mettauer had an advantage because of his knowledge of the offense, Locke brought familiarity from his recruitment and family connection to the system, and Watson entered with starting experience at Sam Houston. “They’re all bright, talented, and extremely competitive,” Longo said. “Whoever we name the starter, I think we’re going to feel pretty good about.”
Defensive leaders step up
The Bearkats’ defense will feature several new faces, but Longo pointed to leadership from veterans CJ Johnson and Antavious Fish.
“He knows his way around. He knows how it’s done here,” Longo said of Johnson. “He’s added leadership on the field. Work ethic is fantastic. He’s had a fantastic camp. I’m probably as excited to see him and some of these guys on defense play as I am anybody.”
Building depth across positions
Longo said one priority is giving more players meaningful snaps, keeping starters fresh, and strengthening team morale.
“The more depth you have, the more durable that room’s going to be, the healthier you can keep people, the fresher your team is going to be when they’re out there on the field,” he said.
He cited his time at Ole Miss, when receiver A.J. Brown’s production increased after his workload was reduced while Elijah Moore gained more opportunities. “That was better for our team,” Longo said. “That’s our philosophy. We believe in that in every room.”
NIL and relationships
Longo also addressed the changing landscape of college football with the growth of NIL deals.
“It’s not going away. It’s not going to change. We can sit here and complain about it or we can attack it and make it work for us. And that’s what we’re doing here at Sam,” he said.
He acknowledged the challenges but said he refuses to let the sport become impersonal. “I hear a lot about this thing becoming very transactional and not as relational as it used to be. I just choose not to do that. We’re going to continue to put the time in to have good relationships with our players and we’re going to take care of them while we’re here.”
Preparing for Western Kentucky
Looking ahead to the opener, Longo said success will come from discipline.
“We want to play a composed, poised, good decision-making game. We want to secure the football,” he said. “Fast start to me would be a successful start. You’re moving the ball, you’re playing good defense.”
Sam Houston kicks off its season August 23 against Western Kentucky in a Conference USA matchup.
The Matchup: Sam Houston at Western Kentucky
Kickoff: Aug. 23, 6 p.m. CT | Bowling Green, Ky. | CBSSN
Records: Both teams enter 2025 at 0-0 in Conference USA play. Sam Houston finished 10-3 in 2024, while Western Kentucky ended 2024 at 8-5.
Coaches:
- Sam Houston: Phil Longo (Rowan, 1992). Career record 7-14, first season at SHSU.
- Western Kentucky: Tyson Helton (Houston, 1999). Career record 48-32, seventh season at WKU.
Series history: WKU leads the all-time series 2-1. The Bearkats won the first meeting in 2004, but the Hilltoppers have claimed the last two, including a 31-14 win in Huntsville on Oct. 16, 2024.
By the numbers:
- Sam Houston has won 13 of its last 17 games after starting FBS play 0-8 in 2023.
- The Bearkats are 5-5 all-time in the month of August; the Aug. 23 kickoff equals the earliest season start in program history.
- SHSU notched 10 wins in 2024, the program’s first winning season at the FBS level.
- Western Kentucky’s head coach Tyson Helton is the younger brother of Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton, whose team Sam Houston defeated in the 2024 New Orleans Bowl.
- Bearkat strength coach Blair Vaughan will have a homecoming; he played at WKU from 2012–16 and helped the Hilltoppers to consecutive CUSA titles.
Last meeting: Western Kentucky defeated Sam Houston 31-14 in Huntsville in 2024, snapping a four-game Bearkat win streak and denying SHSU its sixth win needed for bowl eligibility. Quarterback Hunter Watson threw two first-half touchdown passes before leaving with an injury. WKU capitalized in the fourth quarter with two big plays to seal the win.