Winning more on Saturdays than Texas' traditional college football powers is one thing. The University of Houston did that with ease this season, with the Cougars' 13 wins nearly equaling the combined win total (15) of the University of Texas and Texas A&M.

But stealing the attention on National Signing Day is another matter entirely. That's supposed to be reserved for the BCS overlords of college football.

That's just what first-year UH coach Tony Levine and the Cougars program did on a seismic college football Wednesday though. For when California high school star Deontay Greenberry reneged on a verbal commitment to Notre Dame to sign with Houston (yes, Houston, slack-jawed national commentators), it grabbed national headlines.

Suddenly, the Cougars are being written about in national publications and talked about on the sports shows that usually focus on the Alabamas, Floridas, Ohio States and . . . well, Notre Dames of the world.

"That's a stunner that came out of nowhere," Scout.com recruiting analyst Brandon Huffman told USA Today. "He was a five-star kid who was headed to Notre Dame."

Now, he's headed to Cullen Boulevard. And UH is getting publicity that doesn't center around Case Keenum for a change.

How good is Greenberry? Fans of his high school made giant blowup photo signs of his face for TV games, that's how good.

Greenberry only set the all-time single-season record for receiving yards (2,165 yards) and touchdowns (33) in California, one of the most talent-packed states in high school football. He's considered one of the Top 50 prospects in all of high school football. He won Mr. Football State Player of the Year honors from Cal-Hi Sports.

The Cal-Hi editor only puts Greenberry on the same level as former New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, who only played 13 seasons in the NFL, racking up nearly 9,500 career receiving yards.

And he's going to Houston. Over Notre Dame. Where his cousin is set to play and the family ties are almost as strong as the lure of the Golden Dome.

Things like this just don't happen.

"We're excited about him," Levine said of Greenberry at his Signing Day press conference, which UH broadcast live on UHCougars.com All Access, so its most devoted alumni could see and hear all.

Coaching Drama

Greenberry is a Cougar in large part because of the relationship he built with new Houston assistant coach James Christian, who was brought in from Arizona State by Levine. It's one of those strange recruiting twists, but the truth is Greenberry never ends up at UH if Kevin Sumlin does not leave for Texas A&M.

That doesn't mean the Cougars are better off without Sumlin. That's more than a leap. And a pretty crazy one at that. But Greenberry is still one break that went Houston's way out of the whole saga.

Greenberry is the only player outside of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma that Houston signed in its 24-player class. One that includes another wide receiver (Xavier Maxwell of Blinn College, the same junior college that Cam Newton recovered his rep at) who could start immediately. But Levine thinks Greenberry's bold switch is also indicative of a larger perception switch.

"There's more buzz about the University of Houston football than ever before," Levine said during the press conference. Think anyone from Notre Dame was watching the Internet broadcast?

"It's hard to be disappointed about something you never had or you never coached," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of Greenberry at his own, much more covered press conference. "I'm more excited about the guys that signed because they are the right kind of guys."

Beating Notre Dame to a Top 50 prospect is big. But as much as that steals national headlines, what's happening in Texas is even more important to Houston. Texas and Texas A&M both losing out on a top prospect on the same day that UH came out of nowhere to nab one might be even more important in the perception game.

It has to rankle UT coach Mack Brown more than a little that the nation's top-ranked player — wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham — chose to sign with former Big 12 rival Missouri instead. Brown does have the major consolation of still hauling in the No. 2 ranked recruiting class in the entire country though.

And at least Brown never thought he had Green-Beckham for sure, the way Kevin Sumlin did with star high school quarterback Bralon Addison. Sumlin, who'd been rightly lauded for keeping fired Aggies coach Mike Sherman's highly-ranked recruiting class together, saw the Houston Chronicle's All-Greater Houston Player of the Year renege on his verbal commitment to sign with Oregon instead.

That's an ouch for Sumlin on a day when the school he left behind scored a major coup. This doesn't deliver some warped sense of justice. Anyone in their right mind would still rather have Texas A&M's recruiting class than UH's class.

Still on a day when Sumlin delivered more than a little swipe at Houston when he talked about having signed players for Texas A&M who "threw our mail away or didn't return our calls" when he tried to recruit them for UH, it's still more than a little sweet. Sumlin's speaking the truth. But he still looks a little petty for saying it.

Houston took the high road — and still stole a big prize. That's a program-building day.