What began as a redshirt year turned into a breakout opportunity for Eastern Illinois sophomore defensive back Isaiah Houi.

From Rockford, Houi started playing flag football at 3 years old. He then transitioned to tackle football at 5.

Sean Houi, father of Isaiah Houi, was his coach from when he first started playing flag football at the age of five in the Northern Illinois Conference.

After that, Isaiah Houi played Pop Warner for a team called the Northern Illinois Spartans.

While coaching his son, Sean Houi did not worry about teaching Isaiah Houi on the field skills. 

“Some of the biggest things I taught him was mental toughness, hard work and discipline. I think [those] are the things that I feel have more bearing on an athlete’s success,” Sean Houi said. “If you apply those things to anything in your life, typically, that constitutes success.”

Isaiah Houi also played basketball and baseball growing up but was drawn to football more than anything else.

“When football season came around, that’s when I felt the happiest playing the sport,” he said.

Houi stopped playing baseball his senior year to solely focus on football. He did enjoy playing the other sports because it gave him time away from football so he didn’t lose the love for the game.

He started looking at Division I football after his sophomore year in high school.

Houi did not receive any offers before his junior year and that’s when he and family went to camps to showcase his skills.

“It was weeks, where one day we were in Minnesota on a Friday, and Saturday we were in St. Louis,” Sean Houi said. “The week after, we were in Indianapolis. It was a hustle thing but we knew it was worth it.”

After demonstrating his skills at a camp in Naperville at North Central College, Isaiah Houi received his first offer from Eastern Illinois. 

At the end of the camp, Houi was shocked when cornerback back and defensive pass game coordinator Maurice Fleming came up wanting to offer him, especially since just weeks earlier he had DM’d the same coach on Twitter asking to watch his film and never got a response.

“He was small, and the game has transitioned to longer corners. But a football player is still a football player at the end of the day,” Fleming said. “I could see right away that he deserved an opportunity.”

Isaiah Houi committed to the University Northern Iowa before the start of his senior year, which changed for Houi when it was time for basketball season.

“They called me saying they were going to change my full ride [scholarship] to a partial,” Houi said. “So after that call, I went home and told my dad and we were sitting in the family room late at night just trying to figure out what we should do.”

He decommitted from Northern Iowa and called coach Fleming to set up a visit. 

“It was a game changer for sure because even after I had committed, and during the process, I feel like Flem[ing] was the one that kind of talked to me more and showed me more love,” Isaiah Houi said. 

Houi said the recruiting process made him realize it was a business and one of the biggest adversities he has ever faced.

He committed to Eastern but did not plan on playing his freshman year.

“I just wanted to get bigger, stronger and faster,” Houi said. “Just being in the system for a year, I was going to redshirt for the year, and watch and learn to get better. That was my mentality coming in.

The NCAA allows football athletes to play in four games while maintaining their redshirt eligibility. He played in his fourth game against Western Illinois.

Houi got in the game at the start of the second quarter and played the rest of the game. He was given the opportunity to take his redshirt or start the rest of the season.

Isaiah Houi called his dad to talk about the opportunity. Sean Houi said they listed out the pros and cons of each side to make an informed decision.

“It took a lot of thought. I slept on it. But I think just me wanting to play and being competitive, if I have the opportunity to play, I’m not going to say no,” Isaiah Houi said.

Isaiah Houi started the last three games of the season against Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern and Tennessee Tech. He finished the season with 16 tackles and five pass break-ups.

Head coach Chris Wilkerson appreciates the team first mentality from Houi. 

“He was willing to make individual sacrifices for the good of the collective of the team. He’s been that guy on the field, in the classroom, in the locker room, and in the weight room. I’m excited about watching him continue to grow as a player and as a person,” Wilkerson said. 

Cameron Thomas can be reached at 581-2812 or at cathomas8@eiu.edu.