 Kolb initially committed to Oklahoma State to play college football but rescinded this commitment when Houston hired head coach Art Briles, a former head coach at Stephenville High School.Kolb was also recruited by TCU, Oklahoma and Texas Tech.One day before the season-opener in 2003, Kolb was named the starter in Houston as a true freshman, the first true freshman quarterback to start in the season-opener in school history, making his debut against Rice at Robertson Stadium.