Sam Houston State Rides Final Four Success Into Recruiting Season

In Texas, there's plenty of high school football talent to go around. And … there's plenty of big-time college programs circling the Lone Star State, hoping to land that talent.

Sam Houston State is no different. It's an FCS powerhouse, a team that routinely makes deep playoff runs. It's head coach, K.C. Keeler, has won a national championship before at Delaware, and coached NFL stud QB Joe Flacco. The ingredients are all there to attract good young talent–and it's working again in 2016. With less than a week until national signing day, the staff has to be smiling.

"I like how much this team and upcoming class reminds me of my (high school) team now," SHSU DB recruit Austin McCarther told HERO Sports on Friday. "They give off the feeling of a true family. Of course the credit goes to the amazing coaching of Coach Keeler and his coaching staff. They have a goal and are preparing us to achieve that goal. (Keeler) knows how to put the team and me in position to win. I believe all we have to do is buy in completely to what he preaches to us and we should win him another (national) title."

McCarther–who had Houston and Iowa State giving him serious looks before he chose SHSU a few weeks ago–has some special talent around him. Quarterback Caleb Griffin out of Keller (Texas) is a 3-star rated gem at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and Arkansas never quite quit talking to Griffin either. Fellow defensive back recruit Bryan Henderson out of Mesquite (Texas) is another big find for the staff. They are just three of many solid pickups for the Bearkats.

"I love the offense Sam runs," Griffin told HERO Sports in a past interview. "It is a wide open, no-huddle, fast paced spread offense. I think the FCS level allows me to play earlier in my career and win a whole lot of games, potentially national championships. Absolutely I have been overlooked, but that is OK. You can either complain about it or work harder. I chose to work."

It has been a busy couple of weeks for recruiting, as it is for many FCS programs–especially ones who were coaching in games in December like the Bearkats' staff. There has been a flurry of commitments, including one late Thursday when 6-foot-3 wide receiver Coree Compton came aboard out of Garland (Texas).

"All of our commits have great character," Henderson told HERO Sports recently. "Coach Keeler is high on recruiting kids who have those qualities … We have some big time playmakers in our class. As far as coaching goes, we have the best staff in the nation for FCS."

Here's a look at the Sam Houston State recruiting class, with a shout out to the fan site KatFans.com for helping us fill in a hole or two in our list (NOTE: NCAA rules prohibit schools from providing any kind of recruiting lists prior to national signing day).