How Willie Fritz is looking to elevate Houston in year two – The Cougar

When Houston football’s head coach Willie Fritz spoke to reporters Wednesday morning as part of Big 12 media days, he arrived as a second-year man, more familiar and comfortable with the program he took over in December of 2023.

Despite going 4-8 in his first Big 12 season, the 12 games showed his vision for the program, but the year also reminded him of how challenging succeeding can be in the conference.

“The Big 12 is a fantastic conference, and everybody is pretty good,” Fritz said.

Fritz is well-travelled in his now 32 years of head coaching experience, having been a part of five conferences before joining Houston, but his sixth allows for even fewer days off, and punishes off-days like no league before it.

“There were some games where maybe you brought your C-game, and you still were able to win. That’s not the case in our league,” Fritz said. “Everybody’s good, top-to-bottom.”

Houston’s next step toward competing for a conference title started with this offseason’s internal competition among key position groups, a luxury the program lacked last year.

“One guy was kind of going to start for us no matter what. Now we’re going to have to use our first two or three games to figure out exactly who is going to be playing and how much they’re going to be playing.”

Despite his familiarity with the city of Houston dating back decades, Fritz spent his first offseason getting acclimated to the school while working with what he already had on his roster, leaving little time for recruiting.

One year later, Fritz is confident with the talent and depth he has assembled, headlined by former Texas A&M quarterback and five-star recruit Conner Weigman.

“He’s been everything I hoped he’d be. He’s a great young man, great leadership abilities,” Fritz said. “We’re just very fortunate to have him in our football program. Just a real, old-fashioned type of quarterback.”

Weigman, now back fully healthy after injury setbacks in seasons past, will have a retooled offensive line to protect him, another group Fritz looked to bolster ahead of the 2025 campaign.

After the spring football game in April, Fritz caught a glimpse of his new offensive line’s potential, calling the unit a “night and day” difference from last year.

A revamped offensive line should allow for better pass protection, but one of the benefits Weigman presents is the dual-threat archetype that’s prevalent in Houston’s quarterback room, and aligns with Fritz and new offensive coordinator Slade Nagle’s visions.

“We like to be a 50-50 team. If you want to win championships, you’ve got to be able to run the football effectively, and Slade certainly understands that,” Fritz said.

Nagle served as his tight end’s coach at Tulane from 2016-21, before becoming assistant head coach in 2022 until Fritz’s departure in 2023.

He then spent 2024 as LSU’s special teams and tight ends coach, which has allowed him to introduce new concepts during the spring that differ from what Fritz had seen at Tulane, while still maintaining a balance between passing and running.

That balance wasn’t present last season, when Houston averaged 152.7 passing yards per game, nearly fifty yards less than second-worst Utah’s 199.4 among the Big 12 and 11th worst nationally.

The starting quarterback seesaw where starts and snaps were traded between Donovan Smith and Zeon Chriss only accentuated the imbalance even more.

But it’s a balance Fritz and his staff know they need to restore heading into year two, where Weigman, Chriss and freshman quarterback Austin Carlisle will get reps throughout a preseason in which Houston will hone its new offensive identity.

“Our slogan this year is Houston. When we break (huddle) it’s 2025 Houston,” Fritz said. “Not 2026, 2027, every team now is going to be its own team.”

The first preseason practice is July 28, with the Cougars kicking off their season in a home matchup against Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, Aug. 28 at TDECU Stadium.

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