UH's Ward, Wilson earn AAC honors

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Some of UH's strong individual efforts from Saturday's win over Louisville were recognized Monday by the American Athletic Conference.

Quarterback Greg Ward was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 236 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for nearly 100 yards.

"The dude is an unbelievable competitor," Tom Herman said on Monday. "He wants to win, wants to win not just for him, but for his teammates and his university. He takes a tremendous amount of pride in being the quarterback at the University of Houston. And when he's in the game, you kind of get the feeling that the players feel, 'Hey, we're never out of it as long as #1's back there taking snaps."

What makes this type of performance remarkable is that Ward made the switch from the wide receiver position relatively recently.

"He spent the first year and a half of his career playing wide receiver," Herman said. "For the half a year that he spent last year playing quarterback, it's just a mad dash to the finish line. There's really not a whole lot of learning or improving you can do when you're thrown into the fire there in the middle of the season. So, for all intents and purposes, he's a freshman out there mentally when it comes to playing quarterback. He's come a long, long way in the nine months that we've been here."

Ward wasn't the only Cougar recognized on Monday. Brandon Wilson was named one of the AAC's two Special Teams Players of the Week. Wilson returned a second-half kickoff 100 yards after Louisville had just scored to take the 17-10 lead.

"Great individual effort," Herman said. "He made a bunch of guys miss and took off and outran a bunch of people too."

Wilson's return personified the team, in a sense, because right now, the vibe is that UH glory is returning after they took off and outscored a nationally-respected Louisville team on the road.

And with it, the Cougars are starting to reap the benefits of recognition.