Two years into its Big 12 era, the Houston football team has had a bumpy ride.
Under the direction of head coach Willie Fritz, however, the Cougars are hoping better days are on the horizon.
This summer, BuffZone will preview each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at Houston, which will host the Buffaloes in the Big 12 opener on Sept. 12 in Texas.
Houston is entering its third season in the Big 12 and its second under Fritz. After back-to-back 4-8 seasons, the Cougars made a lot of changes. Fritz brought in new coordinators on offense and defense, and nearly 30 transfers have joined the team.
“I liked how we installed our offense and defense and kicking game throughout the spring,” Fritz said during an interview with 365 Sports last month. “I like the addition of the kids that we had to work with us in spring football, and I like the addition that we had with some guys we’ve signed here (since spring). I think these guys have got great ability and competed at a high level, and they were position needs for us.”
The Cougars were solid on defense last year, ranking 25th nationally in yards allowed (324.8 per game) and 40th in points allowed (22.9 per game). They were dreadful on offense, though, ranking 132nd in scoring (14.0) and 128th in yards (288.1). Five times they finished with 10 or fewer points, including back-to-back shutouts.
“Obviously in year one in the Big 12 we were not very good on offense and we weren’t very good on the offensive line in particular,” Fritz said. “That was an area we had to address, and we addressed that in December and picked up five guys (on the line) who had started Division I football and had done a good job at the different places they were at.”
For Fritz, the changes started with hiring Slade Nagle as his new (and old) offensive coordinator. Nagle worked for Fritz at Tulane from 2016-23 but spent last year as the special teams coordinator/tight ends coach at LSU.
“Slade was with me at Tulane and did a fantastic job there,” Fritz said. “I was fortunate enough to get him back over here. I liked how he called games for us at Tulane.”
Houston also upgraded at quarterback by landing Conner Weigman, who started 13 games in three years at Texas A&M.
“Conner, I’m just so excited to have him as well,” Fritz said. “He’s been just awesome. Great teammate, great leader, and I think he’s excited for a fresh start, as well.”
The influx of new linemen, receivers, some depth at running back and a talented tight end in Tanner Koziol (Ball State) will also help to reshape the offense.
Defensively, while the Cougars were good last year, they lost seven starters, including star safety AJ Haulcy (now at LSU). A host of transfers will boost the Cougars on that side of the ball, too, but so will a new coordinator.
In December, Fritz was able to pluck Austin Armstrong away from Florida to be Houston’s new defensive coordinator. Considered a rising young coach, Armstrong was the DC at Florida the past two years. He was the coordinator at Southern Mississippi from 2021-22.
With games against Stephen F. Austin and at Rice to open the year, Houston is set up for a good start before CU comes to town. Fritz is hoping some lessons learned last year turn into some more success this year.
“In the Big 12, everybody is pretty good,” he said. “I was impressed with the league in my first season of competition. Just a very, very competitive league, from top to bottom. … A distinct difference from Group of Five football that I was involved with, without question.”
Houston Cougars
Head coach: Willie Fritz, 2nd season (4-8; 212-124 career)
2024 season: 4-8, 3-6 Big 12
Series with CU: Buffs lead 1-0
Matchup with the Buffs: Friday, Sept. 12, 5:30 p.m. MT (ESPN), at TDECU Stadium in Houston
5 Guys to Watch
NT Carlos Allen: Leader up front finished last year with 43 tackles, four tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries. He is a sixth-year senior who played his first four seasons at Kennesaw State
LB Brandon Mack II: A seventh-year senior who was granted an extra year of eligibility, he posted 39 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks last year, along with two forced fumbles. Started his career with four years at Mississippi.
RB Re’Shaun Sanford II: Houston didn’t have a great rushing attack last year, but Sanford was the leader and he’s back this year. He gained 444 yards and a touchdown, averaging 4.7 yards per carry.
WR Amare Thomas: Comes to Houston after two productive years at UAB. Last year, he caught 62 passes for 670 yards and eight touchdowns. As a freshman, he hauled in 53 passes for 437 yard and three touchdowns. In addition to a redshirt year (2019) and COVID season (2020), he missed all of the 2021 season and all but two games in 2023.
QB Conner Weigman: Texas A&M transfer threw for 2,964 yards and 19 touchdowns (seven interceptions) in 13 career starts with the Aggies and he’s projected to take over at Houston. Last year, he struggled a bit, completing 56.1% of his passes for 819 yards, three touchdowns and five interceptions.
Good to know
• The only previous meeting between these teams was a 29-17 CU victory on Dec. 31, 1971, in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. CU’s Charlie Davis rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns.
• Fritz went 54-47 in eight seasons at Tulane before going to Houston. That included 12-2 in 2022 and 11-2 in 2023. He’s also been a winner at Georgia Southern (2014-15), Sam Houston (2010-13), Central Missouri (1997-2009) and Blinn College (1993-96).
• Prior to joining the Big 12, Houston enjoyed a great deal of success in the American Athletic Conference (2013-2022) and Conference USA (1996-2012). From 2003-22, the Cougars played in 16 bowls in 20 seasons, with six different head coaches.
• Houston was just 13-of-19 (68.4%) on field goals last year but brought in Ethan Sanchez from Old Dominion to fix that. He was 11-for-12 (91.7%) at ODU last year and 35-of-46 (76.1%) in three years with the Monarchs.
• Tight end Tanner Koziol could be one of the most impactful transfers in the conference. The 6-foot-7 senior caught 94 passes for 839 yards and eight touchdowns at Ball State. In three years at Ball State, he caught 163 passes for 1,507 yards and 18 TDs. He spent this past spring at Wisconsin before making the move to Houston.
Portal movement
It’s been a busy offseason for the Cougars, who lost 28 players to the portal. Most notably, first-team All-Big 12 safety AJ Haulcy went to LSU last month. Other key players from the defense – safety Hersey McLaurin (Purdue), defensive lineman Anthony Holmes Jr. (Texas Tech) and cornerback Jeremiah Wilson (Florida State) – departed, as well. They also lost nickel Keionte Scott, a projected starter who transferred from Auburn in January but went to Miami in May. Receiver Joseph Manjack IV (TCU) was the main loss on offense. Houston added 30 transfers, however, and many of them are projected to start, including Koziol, Thomas, Weigman and a trio of offensive linemen: Jason Brooks Jr. (Oklahoma State), Dalton Merryman (Texas Tech) and Matthew Wykoff (California). Receiver Harvey Broussard III (Louisiana) and running back Dean Connors (Rice) are expected to make an impact on offense. Defensively, edge rushers Eddie Walls III (FIU) and Khalil Laufau (Washington State), linebacker Jesus Machado (Tulane) and defensive backs Jordan Allen (LSU), Wrook Brown (Wyoming) and Blake Thompson (Louisiana Tech) could all be starters. Sanchez takes over at kicker.
