Trio of Kats to represent at CUSA Media Day

DALLAS — Conference USA announced its annual Football media on a release along with which three Bearkats will be there to represent.

The Bearkats will see head coach Phil Longo, quarterback Landyn Locke and linebacker Dean Ford in attendance at the event. CUSA will hold the event from July 20-21 at Texas Live! Arena and the Loews Arlington Hotel and convention center.

The event will feature a studio show with ESPN’s Mike Corey on Monday, with traditional press conferences from all 10 teams head coaches and players in attendance. It will also feature CUSA Commissioner Judy MacLeod.

Ford will be the Bearkats representative from the defensive side after redshirting in 2024 and playing in eight games for Sam Houston as a redshirt freshman.

Ford tallied 35 tackles, two sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss as a sophomore and is expected to take a leap up as a redshirt sophomore.

On the offensive end, Sam Houston will be represented by its QB1 with Locke.

As a true freshman, Locke appeared in six games and started in the final three games. Locke, who came in a few times as a backup, completed 50.3% of his passes as a freshman for 765 yards. His four passing touchdowns was one behind leader Hunter Watson as Sam Houston saw 12 air touchdowns in 2025.

Locke gained 40 yards on the ground, but was dropped in the backfield several times to bring his net to -15 yards in those six games. Locke will have the opportunity to show why he can be the QB of the future as a sophomore.

Longo will also be in attendance to kick off his second year at the helm. In year two, Longo will try to improve on the Bearkats 2-10 2025 campaign where they finished last in CUSA.