The No. 18 Houston Cougars pass defense has taken some heat over the course of the season due to the number of big plays allowed, but the secondary as a whole has improved recently.

The back end of the defense for the Cougars is full of experience and was expected to be one of the strengths of the team. It was an area that Houston also upgraded through the transfer portal.

Houston acquired fifth-year cornerback Jalen Mayo from Stephen F. Austin at the FCS level, and that has turned into an excellent choice. In his first seven games at the FBS level, not just the Power Four, Mayo has taken the top cornerback position on the team by storm and has also quickly risen up the rankings in college football.

Mayo is now a semifinalist for the one of the top awards a cornerback can get.

Mayo Has Turned Into a Star

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Mayo is now a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given out to the best defensive back in college football. There are only 15 semifinalists in the nation, and Mayo is now one of them.

Mayo is one of five cornerbacks to be named semifinalists and is just one of two players from Texas and the Big 12, alongside senior Brice Pollock of Texas Tech. Mayo has a 78.5 PFF coverage grade, which is the best in the Big 12.

He has six pass breakups and one interception, which was one of the most impressive picks of the season. Mayo snagged an athletic, one-handed interception against Texas Tech on the road. Additionally, he forced a fumble against the quarterback of Southern in Week 2 when he came off the edge on a blitz.

Mayo's 29 total tackles also rank third most on the team. He's been involved everywhere. The Hampton, Virginia, native has one of the best stories in college football. The only offer he had out of high school was Virginia Union, a Division II school.

Mayo spent three seasons there and helped Virginia Union win two conference titles as a huge part of the defense. He then transferred to the Division I level at SFA in 2025, where he earned first-team all-conference honors and was a second-team FCS All-American.

Mayo transferred to Houston this past offseason. He followed his cornerback coach at SFA, Marcus Trice, who was hired by the Cougars in the same role a couple of weeks before his transfer. That partnership resulted in this level of achievement.