There he coached the first Stanford 2-time All-Pac-8 offensive guard and Hall of Famer, Alex Karakozoff and sent several players to the NFL including Gary Anderson, Bill Reid and tutoring eventual All-American and first round NFL draft pick Gordon King.
During this time, he helped send numerous Trojans to the National Football League including Marvin Powell, Pat Howell, Brad Budde, Anthony Muñoz, Keith Van Horne, Chris Foote, Roy Foster, Bruce Matthews, Don Mosebar and Tony Slaton, among others.
This group helped lead the way for Heisman Trophy-winning running backs Charles White and Marcus Allen, in addition to another USC great, Ricky Bell, an NFL first-round draft choice in 1977.
Over that stretch, five different Rams offensive linemen were voted to a combined 21 Pro Bowls, including Jackie Slater (7 trips), Doug Smith (6), Kent Hill (3), Dennis Harrah (3) and Tom Newberry (2).
Seahawks running back Chris Warren logged the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career with Houck tutoring his blockers.
After the firing of Chan Gailey in 2000, he was considered as one of the candidates to take over the head coaching duties of the Dallas Cowboys, which eventually went to Dave Campo.
During his first year with the Dolphins in 2005, Houck's offensive line ranked fourth in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed.