College Football Top 25: Spring practice 2016 edition

Former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman was well aware of what it took to win, seeing as he was coming off a national title victory against Oregon in 2014 when he decided to accept the Houston Cougars’ head coaching gig. What did he do in his first season with the program? Oh, just put up a 13-1 record with a win over Florida State in the Peach Bowl.

Houston’s overwhelming success on the gridiron is going to translate well into recruiting for the next few years. Herman’s first class was ranked No. 51 on Scout and would have been considerably higher had he not lost out on four-star Tyrie Cleveland to Florida on National Signing Day.

If Herman can recruit the Houston area, and Texas in general, well over the years, the Cougars could end up being more than just the best team in the American Athletic Conference, but they could be a national title contender.

Herman did sign a five-star defensive tackle, Ed Oliver, from Houston and that might just be the start of his success there.

The Cougars are returning nearly every skill position player on offense, outside of junior receiver Demarcus Ayers who declared for the NFL Draft. Dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr. might end up being a dark-horse Heisman contender in 2016. He finished with 2,828 passing yards and 17 scores along with 1,108 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns.

Ward’s return is huge and so is Chance Allen’s. He’s Ward’s lead returning receiver and can take over the No. 1 role that Ayers leaves behind.

This team is going to be really good once again, and don’t be shocked at a top-10 finish.

Next: 11. Stanford Cardinal