The Houston Cougars wrapped up their fall camp last week at TDECU Stadium as they prepare for the season opener on Aug. 28 against Stephen F. Austin. This season, in Willie Fritz’s second year as head coach, there was clearly a sense of a new culture change among camp. Houston looks to build upon last year’s standout moments and have more consistent success. Here are three takeaways from the Cougars’ fall camp.
No. 1: Offense Under Connor Weigman Can Be Effective
The Houston offense was ranked as one of, if not the worst, offenses in the FBS. Points and yards were at a minimum, while turnovers kept on plaguing the team. UH’s quarterback situation has significantly improved since last season, with the huge transfer of former five-star recruit Connor Weigman from Texas A&M back to his hometown roots in Houston. While he did grow up on the outskirts of the city in Cypress, the coaches and coming back to H-Town played a big role in his transfer decision.
Weigman led Bridgeland to the 6A Region II championship game as a senior and was the no. 1 quarterback in his class, as well as no. 4 overall in Texas. Weigman spent three seasons as a Texas A&M Aggie from 2022-24, where he had a career 13 starts.
The 6-foot-three signal caller was a 2022 ESPN Freshman All-American with an impressive start to his career. While he did suffer a season-ending injury in 2023 and wasn’t all that effective the next season, a fresh start could get his bright future back on track.
What the Cougars really need is an experienced play-caller that doesn’t turn the ball over, unlike their quarterbacks last year in Donovan Smith and Zeon Chriss. That is exactly what they’re getting in Weigman, as he has a career 19-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Over the first six games of his career, Weigman had a 13-0 TD-to-INT ratio. His career completion percentage is also a good 60%. The junior quarterback looks to revive a lackluster Cougar offense, and he definitely has the potential to do so as a 2025 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watchlist nominee.
Houston quarterback Conner Weigman on being healthy as the Cougars wrap up camp.
— Joseph Duarte (@Joseph_Duarte) August 21, 2025
“I’m excited to go out and prove a lot of people wrong and ultimately prove myself right.” pic.twitter.com/dAMnaeC687
With new offensive coordinator Slade Nagle’s history of working with tight ends, that position group could end up being a very important facet of this new-look offense. Nagle worked as the tight ends coach at Tulane from 2016 to 022 under Fritz, and most recently was the tight ends/special teams coach at LSU.
The Cougars got a huge late transfer in Tanner Koziol from Ball State. The talented play-making tight end is nominated for both the Biletnikoff Award (best receiver) and Mackey Award (best tight end) watchlist this season. Koziol is coming off a stellar year at Ball State, where he broke their single-season and career receptions records by a TE.
The six-foot-nine pass catcher was ranked fourth nationally in receptions per game and will likely be one of the main targets this year as well, with an 87.9 offensive grade by Pro Football Focus, the third highest by a TE last season. It looks as if the connection between Weigman and Koziol could be elite.
“Tanner obviously is a very friendly target with his size, and Connor has a lot of confidence in him. It shows him being a little bit of a security blanket,” Nagle said.
Luke McGary is the backup tight end that Nagle was high on as well. The offensive line has experience and is especially big on the right side with senior tackle Dalton Merryman at six-foot-nine and senior guard Matthew Wykoff at six-foot-six.
No. 2: Defense Has the Potential to Pick Up Where They Left Off
Austin Armstrong is considered a rising star in his profession as a defensive coordinator. The unit already impressed last year and has the ability to also be effective this season. While they lost some important pieces such as Keith Cooper Jr., Michael Batton, and A.J. Haulcy, the Cougars added 15 defensive players in their 2025 class, which added experience and depth.
The defense will be something to watch, and whether they can maintain their level of play from last season. Some of the focuses of Armstrong's defenses in the past have been good situationally and at taking the ball away, and it has worked at the Southeastern Conference level. Under his leadership, Florida was one of the best third and fourth down, as well as in the top 25 nationally in turnovers.
No. 3: The Depth and Development Are On the Right Track
When Dana Holgorsen was the head coach, he lamented about the depth not being there for the Big 12, but Willie Fritz has done a tremendous job so far in the transfer portal and recruiting to build it up. There looks to be more potential playmakers at wide receiver as well.
Nagle had mentioned how their core of receivers stood out during camp. While senior Mekhi Mews and Stephon Johnson were reliable last season, the Cougars have brought in senior wide receiver from UAB, Amare Thomas. Additionally, junior wideout Devan Williams transferred from Tulsa to Houston.
The running back room has a lot of options. Senior Dean Connors transferred across town from Rice to Houston and has their duo of sophomore backs in Re’Shaun Sanford and J’Marion Burnette from last year. When the roster was released for the season opener this week, the defensive line looked to have a lot of depth. Houston is playing four and three deep on either end. At linebacker, senior Jalen Garner is backed up by sophomore Corey Platt, who had a season-ending injury in fall camp last season.
It feels as if the focal points will end up being the running game and passes to tight ends under Nagle’s system. Houston will definitely like to make some big plays this season with Weigman’s arm.
There are positives to take away for Houston Cougars fans, and football is something that many will be intrigued to watch in 2025.