2023 Houston Christian Huskies football team explained

Year:	2023
Team:	Houston Christian Huskies
Sport:	football
Conference:	Southland Conference
Short Conf:	Southland
Record:	5–5
Conf Record:	4–3
Head Coach:	Braxton Harris
Hc Year:	1st
Off Coach:	Jason Bachtel
Oc Year:	1st
Off Scheme:	Pro spread
Def Coach:	Eric Daniels
Dc Year:	1st
Def Scheme:	3–4
Stadium:	Husky Stadium

The 2023 Houston Christian Huskies football team represented Houston Christian University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Braxton Harris, the Huskies played their home games at Husky Stadium in Houston. On November 11, the Huskies secured their first winning conference record along with their first non-losing season in program history with a road victory over McNeese State.^[1] Led by first-year head coach Braxton Harris, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 5–5. The Huskies finished in fourth place in conference play with a 4–3 record.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 24, 2023. The Huskies were picked to finish last in the conference.^[2]

1	Southeastern Louisiana	93 (9)
2	Incarnate Word	91 (7)
3	McNeese	65
4	Nicholls	62
5	Northwestern State	52
6	Texas A&M–Commerce	33
7	Lamar	28
8	Houston Christian	24

Preseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 preseason all-conference football team selections on July 21, 2023. HCU had a total of 5 players selected.^[3]

Offense

1st Team

• Karl Reynolds – wide receiver, SR

2nd Team

• Christian Hood – offensive lineman, SR

Defense

1st Team

• Jalyx Hunt – defensive lineman, JR
• Rodney Dansby – linebacker, JR
• Devion Hargrove – defensive back, JR

Dave Campbell's Texas Football post season All-Texas Non-FBS teams

Levi Drake Rodriguez was named to the 2023 All-Texas Non-FBS Defense team.^[4]

Schedule

Houston Christian announced their 2023 schedule on December 14, 2022.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Game summaries

Arkansas Baptist

See also: Arkansas Baptist College.

Statistics	ABC	HCU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Arkansas Baptist	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston Christian	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Western Kentucky

See also: 2023 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team.

Statistics	HCU	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston Christian	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at UT Martin

See also: 2023 UT Martin Skyhawks football team.

Statistics	HCU	UTM
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston Christian	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
UT Martin	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Southeastern Louisiana

See also: 2023 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team.

Lamar

See also: 2023 Lamar Cardinals football team.

Statistics	LAM	HCU
First downs	22	25
Total yards	412	417
Rushing yards	118	189
Passing yards	294	228
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	29:41	30:19

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Lamar	Passing	Robert Coleman	19/30, 294 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Khalan Griffin	17 rushes, 74 yards
Receiving	Izaha Jones	7 receptions, 101 yards
Houston Christian	Passing	Colby Suits	17/35, 228 yards
Rushing	Darryle Evans	24 rushes, 132 yards
Receiving	Karl Reynolds	6 receptions, 112 yards

at Nicholls

See also: 2023 Nicholls Colonels football team.

Statistics	HCU	NICH
First downs	14	19
Total yards	220	441
Rushing yards	46	237
Passing yards	174	204
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	26:55	33:05

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston Christian	Passing	Colby Suits	17/38, 170 yards, TD, 3 INT
Rushing	Colby Suits	7 rushes, 18 yards
Receiving	Ismael Fuller	2 receptions, 35 yards
Nicholls	Passing	Pat McQuaide	15/25, 204 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Jaylon Spears	8 rushes, 113 yards
Receiving	David Robinson	7 receptions, 127 yards, TD

Prairie View A&M

Statistics	PVAMU	HCU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Prairie View A&M	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston Christian	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Texas A&M–Commerce

Statistics	TAMU-C	HCU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Texas A&M–Commerce	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Houston Christian	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at McNeese

See also: 2023 McNeese Cowboys football team.

Incarnate Word

See also: 2023 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team.

National and state honors

Jalyx Hunt was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football post season 2023 All-Texas Non-FBS Defense team.^[8]

Conference awards and honors

Weekly awards

Huskies were recognized four times as conference players of the week.

Weekly honors!style=""

Honors	Player	Position	Date Awarded	Ref.
SLC Offensive Player of the Week	Champ Dozier	RB	September 4, 2023	^[9]
SLC Offensive Player of the Week	Colby Suits	QB	September 25, 2023	^[10]
SLC Special Teams Player of the Week	Dillon Fedor	K	October 16, 2023	^[11]
SLC Defensive Player of the Week	Isaiah Cash	S	October 30, 2023	^[12]

Player and Coach of the Year Selections

Jalyx Hunt was named Southland Conference Defensive player of the year.^[13]

Postseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 all-conference football team selections on November 22, 2023. Houston Christian had a total of five players selected.^[13]

Offense
1st Team

• Karl Reynolds – wide receiver, SR
• Dillon Fedor – place kicker, JR

2nd Team

• Christian Hood – offensive lineman, SR

Defense

1st Team

• Jalyx Hunt – linebacker, SR

2nd Team

• Rodney Dansby – linebacker, JR

Notes and References

1. Web site: November 11, 2023 . FB: Huskies Finish Strong to Secure First Winning Season in Program History . Houston Christian University Athletics Department . November 13, 2023.
2. Web site: Southeastern Voted Top Spot in 2023 Southland Football Preseason Poll . www.southland.org . 24 July 2023 . en.
3. Web site: Southland Announces 2023 All-Conference Team . www.southland.org . 24 July 2023 . en.
4. Web site: Cory Hogue . REVEALED: The 2023 All-Texas Non-FBS Team . Dave Campbell's Texas Football . December 7, 2023 . December 6, 2023.
5. News: FB: Huskies Reveal 2023 Schedule. December 14, 2022. January 21, 2023.
6. Web site: 2023 Football Schedule . Houston Christian University . June 12, 2023.
7. Web site: Houston Christian Huskies 2023 . ESPN Enterprises, Inc. . June 12, 2023.
8. Web site: Cory Hogue . REVEALED: The 2023 All-Texas Non-FBS Team . Dave Campbell's Texas Football . December 7, 2023 . December 6, 2023.
9. Web site: Hill, James . HCU's Dozier, SLU's Goodly, McNeese's Thomas Named Southland Football Players of the Week . Southland Conference . November 24, 2023 . September 4, 2023.
10. Web site: Hill, James . HCU's Suits, A&M-Commerce's Epps, Southeastern's Dunlap Earn Southland Football Players of the Week . Southland Conference . November 24, 2023 . September 25, 2023.
11. Web site: Hill, James . Lamar's Rhea, UIW's Foster, HCU's Fedor Earn Southland Football Player of the Week Honors . Southland Conference . November 24, 2023 . October 16, 2023.
12. Web site: Hill, James . UIW's Porter, HCU's Cash, Lamar's Deleon Named Southland Football Players of the Week . Southland Conference . November 24, 2023 . October 30, 2023.
13. Web site: Hill, James . Southland Announces 2023 All-Conference Football Team and Superlatives . Southland Conference . November 22, 2023 . November 24, 2023.