Houston was the darling of the American Athletic Conference once again last season as Tom Herman led the Cougars to a 13-1 record and a conference championship. Houston ultimately fell one win short of an undefeated season but they put the entire country on notice and the expectations are once again sky high for this coming year. One of the most intriguing storylines to look out for is the incoming talent both for the Cougars and some of the other contending teams in the conference. Here is a look at the top incoming freshman set to make the biggest impact in the AAC this season.
DT – Ed Oliver, Houston Cougars
The Houston-native Oliver was the third-ranked defensive tackle in the nation, so the fact that he decided to stay out home and play for the Cougars speaks volumes about the job that Herman has done with the program. The 6’2’’, 277-pound tackle is an absolute beast that is poised to wreak havoc from the outset in the AAC this season. He is expected to slide right in at the vacant tackle spot left open by Tommy Marks when he graduated and he should form a dominant duo along with BJ Singleton in the middle. Houston has become an intriguing force not just within its conference but on the national stage and Oliver’s arrival will only make the Cougars that much more dangerous in 2016.
Remember that this is a team that’s built around offense and defense isn’t usually the name of their game. It’ll be interesting to see if Oliver is part of a culture that starts to change that in 2016. This is a program that has been close, but no cigar a few times now and the main reason has been that their defense hasn’t been reliable. If that changes in 2016, that would give this team a huge boost.
DT – Karamo Dioubate, Temple Owls
Temple went 10-4 last season including a 7-1 record in conference play to finish atop the AAC East. They might not have recruited the same level of talent as Houston did but that doesn’t mean they didn’t land an impressive haul overall. Dioubate will be their top incoming freshman after the 4-star defensive tackle committed to the Owls. The 6’3’’, 275-pound tackle will get an immediate opportunity to justify the hype surrounding his arrival at Temple. Dioubate has the strength, athleticism and explosion at the point of attack to be a force in his freshman year and there is no question he will make an immediate impact.
WR – Darnell Salomon, South Florida Bulls
Willie Taggart has made recruiting homegrown talent an important aspect of building up his program at South Florida so he had to be thrilled when he landed a potential star at the wide receiver position in Salomon. The 6’3’’, 210-pound receiver was the No. 42 prospect in the state but he has sleeper potential to be something special. Salomon has excellent hands, size and speed and it will only be a matter of time before he steps in to the spotlight for the Bulls.
DT – John Tate, Memphis Tigers
Justin Fuente moved on to Virginia Tech, so the Tigers will turn to Mike Norvell with the hope that he can build a winning tradition at Memphis in the coming years. Norvell’s first class of recruits is pretty impressive with yet another defensive tackle rounding out this list in Tate. The 6’4’’, 258-pound Tate has the potential to make an immediate impact in the middle of the Tigers’ line and he should get every opportunity to thrive as a true freshman on the defensive line.
The question for Memphis is will they be able to sustain last year’s success. Clearly, they had been building for years but Fuente was a big part of that. A good recruiting class should help as well as Tate, but nobody is really for certain that this team will be as good as the one we’ve seen in recent years.
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