NCAA FOOTBALL: Ward Jr., Johnson shine in Houston Red/White spring game

Houston head coach Tom Herman talks with quarterback Greg Ward Jr. during a spring football game at TDECU Stadium Saturday. Ward completed 18 of his 28 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Houston head coach Tom Herman talks with quarterback Greg Ward Jr. during a spring football game at TDECU Stadium Saturday. Ward completed 18 of his 28 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Photo: Jason Fochtman Photo: Jason Fochtman Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close NCAA FOOTBALL: Ward Jr., Johnson shine in Houston Red/White spring game 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

HOUSTON - The University of Houston offense squared off against the defense Saturday afternoon Red vs. White Game at TDECU Stadium and, bucking Cougar tradition, the defense prevailed.

Granted, the defense eked out the ‘win’ by a small margin, 74-72 in a complicated, modified scoring system that was never fully detailed to the public, but the takeaway was clear: this Cougar football team has a strong defensive identity.

Second-year head coach Tom Herman spoke to the defense and particularly to the physical mindset of the team in his postgame comments.

“One thing that is firmly ingrained in our culture is to run and hit,” Herman said. “That’s the name of the game. Run as fast as you can and hit somebody as violently as you can when you get there. We do that as good as any team I’ve been around, and we’re going to continue to do that, because that’s how this great game is won.”

That physicality was evident in the defense’s commitment to stopping the run. To be fair, quarterbacks wore no-contact jerseys and did not get tackled in any real sense, but taken with a grain of salt, the numbers are pretty encouraging. Houston’s offense ran the ball against its defense 51 times for 136 total yards, just 2.7 yards per carry on average. Herman lauded the defensive unit for its run-stopping performance, which he suggested was just a continuation of what he had already seen through 14 spring practices.

“It’s really hard to run the ball on our defense,” Herman said. “That’s encouraging. I think we have a chance if we stay healthy up front to be pretty good on defense.”

Traditionally, Houston football has been good to elite offense mixed with questionable defense. To put it another way, the over was the smart bet for years with this program. Not so anymore. Herman is building a team that prides itself on its defensive abilities, which is especially beneficial because that defense will be paired with an effective offense.

Senior quarterback Greg Ward, Jr., a Heisman hopeful for the early portions of the season last year, enjoyed a strong outing Saturday, completing 18 of his 28 pass attempts, good for a 64 percent completion rate, for 303 yards and three touchdowns. That is no surprise, of course, since Ward has been performing at a consistently high level for a while now.

The surprise of the day was sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Johnson, who caught all three of those touchdown passes, for 48, 51 and 90 yard scores. Johnson finished with 15 receptions for 292 yards. Herman said after the game that Johnson had worked himself into the starting lineup with his spring performance, and that junior Ra’Shaad Samples and senior Chance Allen would have to earn back spots when they recover from concussions, a sign that nothing on this team is guaranteed, and everything is earned.

In another encouraging sign, Herman highlighted Ward Jr.’s improvement in ‘vocal leadership,’ a term he used several time in his postgame comments, presumably to highlight its importance, headed into a months long dead period.

“The last week, he’s really come along from a vocal leadership standpoint,” Herman said. “Now is when he’s really got to continue it, when our coaches aren’t there. This is a period of time when we go the rest of the month of April, all of May, June and July with very little coach involvement. He’s got to be the one to really lead the team and lead the offense.”

Houston will need all the vocal leadership it can get, squaring off against perennial powerhouse Oklahoma University in the first game of the season Sept. 3 in the Advocare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium. The matchup will be the perfect early-season test to see whether the Cougars are ready for the national spotlight that - should they win - will be shining brightly on them.