Shadre Hurst Turned Down More Texas Tech Money To Reunite With Willie Fritz at Houston, Now They Play

College sports is all about the money these days. That’s what everyone says when referencing a system that many argue has gone mad amid an NIL and player compensation world with transfers and ever-changing court decisions (and reversals) galore. But sometimes, it’s not just the money that drives decisions. Joshua Hurst, the proud father of Houston football left guard Shadre Hurst, is sure of that.

For Shadre Hurst followed UH coach Wille Fritz even more than the money.

“He had options, such as Texas Tech and other schools, and (Texas Tech) offered him way more money than he’s making at Houston,” Joshua Hurst tells PaperCity. “But this is about Fritz. He wanted to be around somebody he’s comfortable with. He said that he’d be better off here with Fritz. So I think he made a pretty good choice.

“Money’s not everything.”

Now Hurst and the Cougars are facing Texas Tech, the big money goliath he did not choose in the transfer portal, in one of the biggest games of the Big 12 season. A game that could show just how close (or far) Fritz’s UH program is to being a true College Football Playoff and Big 12 championship contender. One that could very well hinge on how well Hurst and the rest of Houston’s retooled offensive line plays against a Texas Tech defense that knocked UH quarterback Conner Weigman out of the game last season.

Hurst played for Fritz his first two years of college at Tulane, and after Fritz’s replacement, Jon Sumrall, left for Florida after two seasons, one of the strongest men in college football found himself looking for a new home. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire came calling. So did Sumrall, dangling the very self-assured lure of the SEC.

But the chance to reunite with Fritz and offensive line coach Eman Naghavi, who coached Hurst his true freshman season, proved to win out over everything the other schools offered.

“He also had an option of going with Sumrall, his coach, to the Gators,” Joshua Hurst says. “But he decided it’d be a better deal to go with Fritz. And I agree with that 100 percent.”

Shadre Hurst is still making good money with Houston this season. He’s one of the Cougars’ bigger financial outlays in an offseason that also included signing star freshman quarterback Keisean Henderson, the No. 1 ranked overall recruit in the land. Even if he’s not quite making Texas Tech money.

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire talked about pursuing Hurst in the transfer portal and how much Houston has spent on its roster in his weekly press conference on Monday.

“For some reason they don’t get enough credit for what they’ve done in recruiting,” McGuire said. “They recruited the best quarterback — I think he was the No. 1 rated quarterback in the nation, in Texas — and those guys don’t come for free. They don’t get enough credit for that.

“. . . That’s a very well put together team. And it wasn’t cheap.”

Money is important, beyond vital, in the big arms race of college football today. But sometimes money and fit wins out over more money.

“This feels like family,” Shadre Hurst told PaperCity of Fritz and this UH coaching staff earlier this season (UH did not make Hurst available to the media this week). “I’ve known them since high school. . . We had home visits. So we’ve been thugging it up for a while.”

Keeping that vibe going was no small transfer portal recruiting win for this Houston football program.

“Having a guy like Shadre is huge,” UH offensive coordinator Slade Nagle says. “For a guy his size, he’s got really long arms and he’s extremely powerful. And it’s helped a bunch, obviously. Any time you get good players and put more of them on the field, it’s going to get better, right?

“We’ve been excited having him.”

So this last Saturday night, Joshua and Shawnette Hurst found themselves in a muggy TDECU Stadium, watching Shadre do his thing. Move men around. And clear the way for his former Tulane teammate and current UH roommate Makhi Hughes, who’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry heading into this Texas Tech showdown, and Re’Shaun Sanford II, who’s run for 102 yards on only 15 carries through two games. Joshua and Shawnette Hurst wore matching red No. 56 Hurst jerseys.

And they plan to take that love on the road this season and attend every one of Shadre’s games in person for what will be his last college season. That includes this Friday night matchup with Texas Tech in Lubbock (7 pm, Fox).

“He had options, such as Texas Tech and other schools, and they offered him way more money than he’s making at Houston. But this is about Fritz. He wanted to be around somebody he’s comfortable with. He said that he’d be better off here with Fritz. So I think he made a pretty good choice. Money’s not everything.” — Joshua Hurst to PaperCity

Shadre Hurst’s mission of helping fix this UH offensive line isn’t so different from what he used to do around the house as a kid.

“He was a handyman around the house,” Shawnette Hurst says. “So he liked to fix stuff. He was really good. I was like, ‘Who fixed this? Shadre, oh wow.’  ”

Shadre taught himself how to fix many of the things he repaired around the house. He’s a tinkerer who knows how to find solutions.

Strength Over Size

Shadre Hurst isn’t the biggest offensive lineman, listed at 6-foot-2, 304 pounds by UH. In contrast, Texas Tech comes in with an offensive line that’s 6-foot-6 and 312 pounds on average.

Sheer size isn’t always everything though. Houston put up 228 rushing yards in its win over Oregon State while the Red Raiders managed 155 yards in their win over the Beavers. Hurst makes up for any size deficit with a strength that bigger men marvel over in the weight room.

“He was always one of the strongest,” Joshua Hurst says. “Very competitive. If somebody could do more than him, he’s going to work out and make sure he can do more next time. That’s just the way he is.”

Shadre Hurst just keeps coming, ready for more, play after play after play.

“He’s not a very tall guy, but he’s got extremely long arms,” Nagle says. “He’s allowed to play with good leverage because he just naturally has it. But he’s twitchy and he can play a long time. Shadre can play all day. He doesn’t get tired. And I think that’s also a huge piece of his game.”

Joshua Hurst is a welder, who was always determined to teach his boys the value of hard work. Shawnette Hurst works as a care giver. Money’s never come easy, but that does not mean higher dollars need to determine every decision. Shadre Hurst reunited with Willie Fritz at Houston.

“Just knowing what Coach Fritz is. Knowing he always got a plan,” Shadre Hurst told PaperCity earlier of what ultimately drove him to going with Houston. “Knowing that I did this with him before. That definitely brought me back. And also having other teammates (like Hughes) coming back as well, seeing the same things I saw in Houston, just reassured me.

“To have full faith in what we can do.”

Now Shadre Hurst will face another one of his main pursuers in a primetime Friday special. Are things greener in Lubbock? Not always, even when there’s more green.