With Weigman back at QB, No. 23 Houston eyes a run at the Big 12 title after 10-win breakout season

Updated Aug. 21, 2026 6:10 a.m. ET

Associated Press

No. 23 Houston

HOUSTON (AP) — 2025 record: 10-3

Expectations

The Cougars should be one of the top teams in the Big 12 a year after making a six-game improvement to win 10 games in coach Willie Fritz’s second season.

“We’ve got to build off it and not live off it,” quarterback Conner Weigman said. “Some people are like: ‘We won 10 games last year. That’s going to happen this year.’ No, we’re going into Week 1 0-0. We’ve go to go and play an even better brand of football than we did last year, but we’re in a good spot right now.”

Houston returns 12 starters, led by Weigman. He threw for a career-high 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns and added 700 yards rushing and 11 scores in his first season at Houston in 2025 after transferring from Texas A&M.

Weigman will be protected by an experienced offensive line and the offense should get a boost with the addition of running back Makhi Hughes. He spent last season at Oregon, where he got limited playing time after running for 2,779 yards in two seasons at Tulane.

Weigman will remain the starter despite the addition of five-star recruit Keisean Henderson. The dual-threat QB was ranked by some publications as the top recruit in the country after throwing for 6,415 yards and 76 touchdowns and running for 661 yards and 14 scores in four high school seasons. Fritz could figure out creative ways to get the athletic freshman on the field.

Strengths including QBs and RBs

Weigman and Henderson make the team’s quarterbacks the undisputed strength of the team.

The transfer of Hughes reunited him with Fritz, after he played for him at Tulane in 2023 when he ran for 1,378 yards. Second on Houston’s depth chart at running back is Re’Shaun Sanford II, who had 444 yards rushing in 2024 but missed all last season recovering from an ACL injury. The Cougars also added freshman and Houston product John Hebert, who piled up a whopping 7,210 yards rushing with 80 touchdowns combined in his last two high school seasons.

Weaknesses include pass rush

Houston lost top pass rusher Eddie Walls III, after he had seven sacks and 11 ½ tackles for loss last season. Also gone is defensive tackle Carlos Allen Jr., who led the team with 80 tackles, including 7 ½ for loss. They’ll look to linebacker Brandon Mack II to step up to make up for the absence of Walls after he had five sacks and forced two fumbles in 2025. They also added Oklahoma State transfer De’Marion Thomas to help the interior defensive line.

New faces

QB Keisean Henderson (freshman), RB Makhi Hughes (transfer from Oregon), WR Trent Walker (transfer from Oregon State), LB Jaden Yates (transfer from Ole Miss), DL Ashton Porter (transfer from Oregon).