Published: August 18, 2006 12:10 am            

Bomar visits practice; Kats add WR transfer

Former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar has yet to make a decision on where he is going to transfer, but he was back in Huntsville this week and dropped in on the Bearkats.

Bomar was at Bowers Stadium on Tuesday morning to watch the Sam Houston State football team in action. The Bearkat coaching staff still can’t talk much about Bomar, who has been busy looking for a new school for more than a week.

“There isn’t much more we can say about the situation,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “There is a lot to consider, and we just have to wait for a decision.”

Bomar faces a possible suspension when he returns to the field team investigation by Oklahoma revealed he violated NCAA rules while working for a Norman, Okla., car dealership by receiving “payment over an extended period of time in excess of time actually worked,” according to a press release from the school.

SHSU is one of many schools the sophomore quarterback has expressed interest in since being dismissed by Oklahoma. Some of the schools mentioned include Houston, TCU and North Texas, but if Bomar decides on going to another Division I-A school, he would have to sit out a year because of the transfer rule, on top of whatever suspension the NCAA might hand down.

There have also been reports that Bomar has visited two other Southland Conference teams — Texas State-San Marcos and Stephen F. Austin. If Bomar transfers to the Division I-AA ranks, the transfer rule will be waived.

Wade Pate and Phillip Daugherty are currently fighting for the Bearkats’ starting quarterback job. Pate was named the starter heading into the fall after a solid showing in spring drills.

The possibility of Bomar transferring to SHSU is nothing new for Pate. The junior redshirted his sophomore year in 2004 when Dustin Long joined the Kats from Texas A&M after starting four games as a true freshman in 2003.

Then last season, Daugherty transferred from Texas Tech and split time with Pate as the starter.

“(The possibility of a transfer) really doesn’t change what I have to do,” Pate said. “I’m the starter right now, and I just have to focus on that. (SHSU) has gotten a transfer almost every season I have been here. Playing quarterback at the Division I-AA level, you have to deal with the possibility of a transfer coming in and taking your job.

“I think what has helped me is that I was probably a long shot just to be playing college football. I started my junior and senior year at a small 2A high school (Arp) and then was starting as a freshman at Sam. I just have to do the best I can do and not worry about anything else.”

While the Kats wait word on Bomar’s decision, the SHSU offense did land another Division I transfer recently. Wide receiver Catron Houston joined the Kats in time for fall practice and has been taking part in summer drills.

Houston transferred from Texas Tech after playing in nine games for the Red Raiders as a freshman last season. The 5-11 product from Spring Woods High School in Houston caught three passes for 55 yards in 2005.

The Bearkats got a look at him when they faced the Red Raiders in Lubbock last season; Houston caught a 44-yard pass and gained 19 yards on a reverse.

“I think the thing that is exceptionally good about Catron is that he is transferring in after his freshman year, so we will have him for three years,” Whitten said. “We also had a first-hand look at him when we played Texas Tech last year. In the three or four days we have had him at practice, we have seen that he is very athletic with great speed.

“How well he will do early on, we aren’t sure. But early indications show that he will probably be a big addition to our team.”

        

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