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Houston football forms a huddle after practice, Thursday, August 14, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez\/ The Cougar.<\/p>\n
Entering the offseason after Houston\u2019s second straight 4-8 finish, the goal for now second-year coach Willie Fritz was clear.<\/p>\n
Retool, replenish and restore.<\/p>\n
Fritz, with more time and resources in year two, focused on retooling his roster through the transfer portal, which brought in 30 new players to the school.<\/p>\n
The program has restored depth, bolstering several positions and ensuring the Cougars can keep up with the demands of the Big 12 conference.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the 30 transfers that could make an impact in Houston\u2019s 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n
Quarterbacks<\/b><\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s offense averaged a conference-worst 152.7 passing yards per game last season, but received a jolt when former Texas A&M standout Conner Weigman announced he would be transferring to Houston in December.<\/p>\n
Injuries have impacted the former five-star recruit and Texas A&M signal-caller\u2019s past two seasons, with a season-ending foot injury in 2023 limiting him to four games and a shoulder injury in 2024, ultimately forcing him to lose his starting role.<\/p>\n
However, a noticeably slimmer Weigman has mentioned feeling \u201cone of the healthiest\u201d he has been heading into a football season, and it\u2019s been reflected by his performance throughout fall camp, with numerous end zone connections and tight-window throws that made him a seamless match for Houston.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally blessed to have him here. I think it\u2019s a good fit for him, and I think it\u2019s a really good fit for the University of Houston,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n
Weigman has worked with the first-team unit all throughout fall camp, and all signs point to him being the team\u2019s starting quarterback to begin the season.<\/p>\n
Running Backs<\/b><\/p>\n
One word among coaches and players alike has remained consistent throughout the entire summer: depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At just about every position.<\/p>\n
Few on Houston\u2019s roster possess it more than its running backs room.<\/p>\n
Senior running back Dean Connors, who transferred from cross-town Rice, exemplifies the dynamic skillset that both Fritz and first-year offensive coordinator Slade Nagle envision, while bringing more experience to the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think coach Nagle is very creative. Whatever he wants me to do, whether it\u2019s catching or running the ball, I have all my faith in him and we\u2019ve done some great stuff so far,\u201d Connors said.<\/p>\n
Connors rushed for 771 and 780 yards over the past two seasons, while also gaining 403 and 485 receiving yards in those campaigns. He was Rice\u2019s second-leading receiver in both seasons as well.<\/p>\n
Wide Receivers\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Every year, there are position battles that go down to the wire, with numerous players all vying for a starting spot or to be fixtures in the rotation.<\/p>\n
Two of those in the thick of competition are junior wideouts Amare Thomas and Harvey Broussard III, who transferred from UAB and Louisiana, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Broussard, at 6-foot-3, boasts a unique skillset that could make him a viable end zone target over smaller defenders, while Thomas\u2019 abilities have received praise from teammates and coaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cJump balls, 50-50 balls, whatever you want to call it. That\u2019s my skillset, and I\u2019m going to use my advantage to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tight Ends<\/b><\/p>\n
Last year, the idea of regularly running two tight end sets seemed inconceivable. This season, it may come to fruition.<\/p>\n
Behind the addition of senior tight end Tanner Koziol from Ball State and junior Luke McGary from Tulsa, Houston has brought in two more ready-to-start tight ends, alongside senior Jayden York, who is entering his second year with the program.<\/p>\n
York, aside from being settled into Houston, boasts four prior years of experience in the Big 12 as a member of Texas Tech from 2020-23.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Experience that those around him immediately benefit from.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I come off the sideline after the play, I\u2019m with Luke McGary, I\u2019m with Jayden York and we\u2019re talking about it,\u201d Koziol said. \u201cIt\u2019s been very complementary just getting better with everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koziol and McGary bring similar skill sets, both possessing pass-catching and run-blocking abilities, which McGary says allows them to feed off of each other and is part of what makes the unit \u201cso good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Offensive line<\/b><\/p>\n
An area Fritz knew was in desperate need of an overhaul in the offseason was his offensive line, which ranked among the worst nationally in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He responded by bringing in five offensive linemen, all with several years of Division I experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among them is fifth-year offensive tackle Dalton Merryman from Texas Tech, who played left tackle in the past but has worked at right tackle throughout the spring and fall camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got some dogs. We\u2019ve got some old heads on the line\u2026 some guys who have been around college football for a little bit,\u201d Weigman said. \u201cSo to be able to have that familiarity within the game, and be comfortable behind them in the pocket, it\u2019s gonna be huge for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Defensive line<\/b><\/p>\n
Leading Houston\u2019s defensive line is senior Carlos Allen Jr., who Pro Football Focus rated as the top interior defender in the Big 12 last year. An established face of Houston\u2019s defense, Allen has spoken highly of the team\u2019s newcomers ahead of the season.<\/p>\n
Among them is former Tennessee Tech defensive tackle Myles Parker. Parker spent two years with the program, recording 48 total tackles, including 29 in 2024 and a career-high five-tackle performance on Sept. 28, 2024, against Gardner-Webb.<\/p>\n
Other names to keep an eye on are junior Khalil Laufau from Washington State and senior Eddie Walls III from FIU.<\/p>\n
Linebackers<\/b><\/p>\n
Last season, it was sophomore linebacker Corey Platt Jr. who followed Fritz to Houston.<\/p>\n
This year, it\u2019s senior linebacker Jesus Machado who did the same, ready to make his return following a torn ACL he suffered during the first quarter of the 2023 Military Bowl.<\/p>\n
Machado, excited for the season, says he feels great and credits familiarity with Fritz and Tulane teammates like Platt Jr. for quickly learning the defense\u2019s scheme and playbook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJesus is picking up what we\u2019re doing. This is a different scheme than what we had at Tulane, but he\u2019s a really, really smart football player, as well as Corey,\u201d Fritz said.<\/p>\n
Defensive backs<\/b><\/p>\n
Houston witnessed firsthand the perils of the transfer portal this past spring, losing two starters\u2013 the program\u2019s two top ballhawks in senior safety A.J. Haulcy and senior cornerback Jeremiah Wilson.<\/p>\n
They departed on back-to-back days, with Haulcy entering the portal just hours after participating in the school\u2019s annual spring game.<\/p>\n
As a result, coach Fritz used the second portal window to find more depth.<\/p>\n
In the span of weeks, the program added sophomore cornerback Will James (Southern Miss), junior cornerback Keany Parks (Wyoming), senior cornerback Zelmar Vedder (Sacramento State), senior safeties Wrook Brown (Wyoming) and Blake Thompson (Louisiana Tech).<\/p>\n
Defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong has applauded their adaptability and how they\u2019ve caught up despite limited practices, comparing it to the NFL, where players are added in the offseason and teams must find ways to \u201cmake it work\u201d through all the challenges.<\/p>\n
Special teams<\/b><\/p>\n
Houston will be without its field goal specialist, Jack Martin, who departed this past spring after two years with the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martin was perfect from under 40 yards out last season and finished 11-for-11 on extra-point opportunities in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To replace him, the program brought in senior kickers Ethan Sanchez from Old Dominion and Zac Yoakam from Notre Dame.<\/p>\n
Sanchez, in his career, is 11-for-11 on field goals inside 50 yards and his 91.7 made field goal percentage ranked 12th in college football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yoakam kicked in 20 games across three seasons with Notre Dame due to limited playing time in 2023-24, appearing in just seven contests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Houston football forms a huddle after practice, Thursday, August 14, 2025, in Houston, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez\/ The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":171557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[1358,4345,97980,358,41388,3187,97981],"class_list":{"0":"post-171556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-big-12-football","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-football","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-transfer-portal","13":"tag-tx","14":"tag-uh-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}