Willie Fritz doesn’t mind being called old-fashioned. He built a reputation in college football as a program builder and he enjoyed constructing his roster in the traditional sense. Fritz, 65, wasn’t a stranger to inheriting programs that needed a rebuild. But, like everyone else over the last few years, he’s had to learn to use different building materials.

Fritz followed a similar model when he took over at Blinn Junior College or Central Missouri or Sam Houston State or Tulane. Retain kids, develop them, and reap the reward for that hard work by Year 3, sometimes even sooner. Like Novocain, it always worked if given time.

Blinn went undefeated and won national championships in Year 3 and 4. Sam Houston reached the Division I national championship game in Year 2 and 3. Tulane reached the AAC championship game in Year 3. The only place he hit the ground running was at Georgia Southern. The game has changed, however, and it is up to Fritz to evolve. He knows that. And he’s good with it. He’s one of the only coaches in college football history to lead programs in JUCO, Division II, FCS, G5, and now P4. His first head coaching job came in 1993. He’s evolved five times over.

“There are different rules now with the transfer portal and NIL, so there’s a different way (to build),” Fritz said. “What hurt me last year was coming in a week later than everybody else and making decisions based on where we were at while still familiarizing myself with the new rules. The timing was a little tough.”

He won the same number of games – four – in Year 1 at Houston as he did at Tulane. Victories over TCU and Kansas State headlined his first season in Third Ward. It was Fritz’s first year as a Power Four coach and he left with lessons about the league.

“The big difference that I’ve seen from the Group of Five to the Power Four is that everybody’s pretty good,” Fritz said. “You’ve got to compete every week, bring your A-game every week. I think we’ve got more players on the roster this year than can do that.”

In a lot of ways, Fritz and Houston aren’t building on Year 1 as much as starting from scratch. He hired new coordinators on both sides of the ball with Slade Nagle, who coached with Fritz at Tulane, taking over as offensive coordinator. Austin Armstrong is the new defensive coordinator. The Cougars could start as many as nine transfers on the offensive side of the ball. At least a handful of transfers could start on defense. While the faults are clear, the transfer portal does offer an opportunity for a program like Houston to make a giant step forward in Year 2.

“Obviously, our offense struggled big time last season and we had to get better in that area. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Slade Nagle,” Fritz said. “We did a good job with the transfer portal and I think we signed a dynamite freshman class. We look quite a bit different than we did last season.”

Another reason for optimism is life in the Big 12. Baylor improved from two wins in 2020 to conference champions in 2021, which was Dave Aranda’s second season in charge. TCU made a run to the national championship game in 2022 a year after missing a bowl game. Last year, Arizona State was picked to finish last in the Big 12 before winning the title and reaching the College Football Playoff in Kenny Dillingham’s second year leading the Sun Devils.

“We’ve used Arizona State as a template for how we want to accomplish things,” Fritz said. “I was at the Peach Bowl and they would have, should have, could have won that game against Texas. In this conference, teams can make big jumps from one year to the next.”

DCTF Take

Willie Fritz was forced to hit the reset button on his reclamation project in Third Ward after Year 1. The Cougars replaced offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay with Slade Nagle, who worked with Fritz at Tulane, after Houston finished 133 out of 134 FBS teams in scoring last year. Nagle overhauled the offensive roster with transfers, including former five-star Conner Weigman. Defensively, the Cougars were forced to make a change when Texas Tech hired Shiel Wood as defensive coordinator. A bowl game is the floor. The Big 12’s volatility allows for bigger dreams if the transfers hit.

Offensive Breakdown

The Cougars made a change at offensive coordinator after finishing 133rd out of 134 FBS teams in scoring offense with 14 points per game. Only a winless Kent State squad scored fewer points per game. Houston was tied with Florida State for dead last in college football in touchdowns scored with 20. 

Fritz dipped into his past to find help in the present. He hired Slade Nagle to be his new offensive coordinator after the two worked well together at Tulane. Nagle was an assistant at LSU last year and described his offensive philosophy as “inside out” with an emphasis on physicality, running the football, and creating big plays in the passing game.

Nagle isn’t the only new face on the Houston offense. Far from it. The unit could start as many as nine transfers, including quarterback Conner Weigman. The former Texas A&M Aggie was a five-star recruit out of nearby Cypress Bridgeland who never lived up to that hype in College Station thanks to coaching changes and frequent injuries. The hope is that a new system and a fresh start in the Big 12 unlocks Weigman’s potential and helps the Cougars regain offensive competency.

“Conner has been great. He’s a real good decision maker and a natural leader,” Nagle said in the spring. “The one thing that’s surprised me is how well he moves. He’s more mobile than I anticipated when watching film.”

Zeon Chriss, who played in 11 games and started seven times at quarterback last year for Houston, returns to be the primary backup at quarterback. The 6-foot-3 junior is a plus athlete and could carve out a role because of his legs.

Houston also replenished the wide receiver and tight end ranks ahead of the 2025 campaign. The Coogs added Amare Thomas (UAB) and Harvey Broussard III (Louisiana) to bolster the wide receiver room while plucking Luke McGary (Tulsa) and Tanner Koziol (Wisconsin) for the tight end room. Houston does return last year’s leading receiver in Stephon Johnson, who recorded 32 catches for 402 yards and a pair of touchdowns in 2024.

The running back room was called “the deepest position on the offense” per Nagle. The addition of Rice transfer Dean Connors gives the Cougars a dangerous weapon in the backfield who caught 62 passes out of the backfield last year to lead all running backs in the FBS ranks. He also led the Owls in rushing yards with 780. He’s joined in the stable by Re’Shaun Sanford II, Stacy Sneed, and J’Marion Burnette. The staff moved JayShon Ridgle to running back from wide receiver in the spring.

No position on the team was overhauled to the extent of the offensive line as Houston expects at least three new starters in the trenches. Left tackle David Ndukwe and center Demetrius Hunter are the two returners expected to log starting snaps. Houston brought in tackles Dalton Merryman (Texas Tech) and Alvin Ebosele (Baylor) and guards Jason Brooks Jr. (Oklahoma State) and Matthew Wykoff (Cal). New Mexico transfer McKenzie Agnello can play center or guard.

“Our offensive line had to improve for us to have a chance in the Big 12 and we have a lot more Power Four bodies up front for us this season,” Fritz said. “We’ll be able to move some people around with this group.”

 

Breakout Candidates 

TE Tanner Koziol – A senior who led Ball State with 94 catches for 839 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He spent the spring at Wisconsin before re-entering the transfer portal and landing with the Coogs in April. Koziol caught 34 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns in 2023.

RB J’Marion Burnette – The running back room is stacked in Third Ward but that won’t stop the big-bodied Burnette, nicknamed “Fat”, from carving out a niche. At 230 pounds, he can be a weapon in short yardage situations and in the red zone. He led all Big 12 true freshmen with 116 rushing yards after contact.

 

Projected Starters

QB          1               Conner Weigman         Jr.             6-3, 215               Cypress Bridgeland

RB           44            Dean Connors                 Sr.           6-0, 206               Kamuela, Hawaii

WR         5               Stephon Johnson          Sr.           6-2, 188               DeSoto

WR         3               Harvey Broussard III  Jr.             6-3, 185               St. Martinville, La.

WR         0               Amare Thomas               Jr.             6-0, 205               Birmingham, Ala.

TE            87            Luke McGary   Jr.             6-4, 250               Prestonwood Christian Academy

LT            77            David Ndukwe                 Sr.           6-6, 325               Decatur, Ga.

LG           73            Jason Brooks Jr.             Sr.           6-4, 315               Dobie

C              66            McKenzie Agnello         Sr.           6-4, 314               Copperas Cove

RG          74            Matthew Wykoff            Sr.           6-6, 325               Magnolia

RT            75            Dalton Merryman         Sr.           6-9, 305               Montgomery

K               92            Ethan Sanchez                Sr.           5-9, 192               Dallas, Ga.

 

Keep an Eye On

The lack of a vertical passing game was one of the biggest hindrances for the Houston offense last year. The Cougars ranked 118th nationally in yards per attempt at 6.5, sandwiched between Central Michigan and Kent State. Offensive coordinator Slade Nagle hopes to change that in 2025. When he was the offensive coordinator at Tulane in 2023, the Green Wave averaged 8.2 yards per attempt, which ranked 29th in the FBS. Adding Conner Weigman at quarterback along with wide receiver Stephon Johnson and a host of transfers at the skill positions should allow the Coogs to push the ball downfield in 2025.

 

By the Numbers

133 – That’s where Houston’s scoring offense ranked in 2024 while accounting for only 14 points per game. There are 134 teams in the FBS.

152.7 – That’s the average passing yards per game last year for the Coogs, which was 126th in the nation and worst in the Big 12 and state of Texas.

20 – Houston was tied with Florida State with an FBS-low 20 touchdowns scored in 12 games. No other team scored fewer than 22. 

 

Defensive Breakdown

The good news for Houston last year was that the defense was excellent and it allowed the Cougars to pull off a couple of Big 12 Conference upsets against TCU and Kansas State. The bad news was that Shiel Wood’s group played so well that it earned him a huge pay raise when Texas Tech offered him the same role in Lubbock.

Enter Austin Armstrong. Houston’s new defensive coordinator spent the last two seasons at Florida after stops at Louisiana, Georgia, and Southern Miss on his way up the ladder. He deploys a similar defense to the one Houston ran last year and its origins date back to the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990s when Bill Belichick and Nick Saban were on staff.

“The multiplicity of this defense gives you the illusion that a lot is going on even when a lot isn’t going on,” Armstrong said. “We can base out of a three-man or four-man front depending on what works best for our personnel and what we think works best against our opponent. We’re typically in nickel with five defensive backs on the field.”

The secondary was poised to be the best unit on the team before safety A.J. Haulcy and cornerback Jeremiah Wilson entered the transfer portal after spring practices. Haulcy was a first-team All-Big 12 selection after finishing tied for the Big 12 lead in interceptions with five and second in passes defended with 13. His 74 tackles were second on the team. Wilson’s 86.9 defensive grade on PFF was best in the Big 12 and fourth amongst Power Four cornerbacks. Starting cornerback Latrell McCutchin Sr. could be the lone starter in the secondary that spent 2024 with the Cougars.

Southern Miss transfer Will James can play all five positions in the secondary and might land at full-time cornerback because of Wilson’s loss. JD Rhym and spring portal additions like Zelmar Vedder (Sacramento State) and Kenny Parks (Wyoming) will also figure into the rotation. LSU transfer Jordan Allen is the favorite to replace Haulcy as the boundary safety. Georgia Southern transfer Marc Stampley II left spring as the starter at nickel, which is called the “Star” in Armstrong’s defense.

Carlos Allen Jr. and Brandon Mack II return to anchor the defensive line. Allen is a big-bodied defensive tackle who is a tough player and a good run stopper. Mack plays a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker position in the new defense that’s called “Jack” because that player needs to be a jack-of-all trades. Two transfers – Joshua Donald and Khalil Laufau – were added to the interior of the defensive line to compete with returners like Allen, Xavier Stillman, and Zavian Tibbs.

“Football starts up front and the good defenses I’ve been around are good in the trenches,” Armstrong said. “I like our starting point with personnel and I think some of our young players will emerge over the summer to help us out this fall.”

Houston lost a ton of production at the linebacker position after Michael Batton and Jamal Morris ran out of eligibility. That forced the Coogs to dip into the transfer portal for instant impact additions. Carmycah Glass (Louisiana) and Sione Fotu (Utah) are competing for starting snaps alongside returners Corey Platt Jr. and Jalen Garner. Garner recorded 17 tackles last year for Houston.

 

Breakout Candidates

OLB Eddie Walls III – Houston added the edge rusher from FIU following spring practices and he should compete for snaps off the edge with the likes of Brandon Mack II and Latreveon McCutchin. Walls totaled 30 tackles, including six for loss and five sacks last year in Conference USA.

LB Jesus Machado – A Tulane transfer who was added in the spring window, Machado started twice last year while playing in all 14 games for the Green Wave. He recorded 40 tackles. He was a three-star prospect out of Miami when he was recruited to Tulane by Houston head coach Willie Fritz.

 

Projected Starters

DE           5               Carlos Allen Jr.                Sr.           6-1, 295               Atlanta, Ga.

NT           95            Joshua Donald                Sr.           6-2, 320               Durham, N.C.

DT           18            Khalil Laufau   Jr.             6-3, 293               Salt Lake City, Utah

DOG     4               Brandon Mack II             Sr.           6-4, 245               Montgomery, Ala.

MLB       36            Jalen Garner    Sr.           6-1, 225               Norcross, Ga.

WLB      25            Carmycah Glass           Jr.             6-4, 230               Monroe, La.

Ancho  22            Marc Stampley II           Sr.           5-11, 185            Peachtree, Ga.

CB          15            Will James         Soph.   6-0, 185               Grand Bay, Ala.

CB          1               Latrell McCutchin Sr.                                    Sr.           6-1, 185               Austin LBJ

FS            6               Jordan Allen     Soph.   5-11, 199            Lafayette, La.

SS           13            C.J. Douglas    Jr.            5-10, 195            Leeds, Ala.

P               91            Liam Dougherty             Soph.   6-2, 205               Geelong, Victoria

 

Keep an Eye On

Armstrong says the field defensive end position opposite of the Jack is arguably the most influential spot in his defensive system. “When our defenses have been good in the past, this position was one of the main reasons,” he said in the spring. The competition for the starting spot was encouraging for the Cougars in the spring with redshirt freshman Darius Washington and senior Quindario Lee battling it out. Both will play plenty of snaps regardless of who is named the starter. Lee began his career at Central Michigan and played in all 12 games for Houston last year in his first season on campus. 

 

By the Numbers

22.9 – That’s how many points a stingy Houston defense allowed per game in Year 1 of the Willie Fritz era, which was good enough for 40th in the FBS.

134 – Only one team allowed fewer 10-plus yard plays than the Cougars and that was an Indiana team that qualified for the College Football Playoff.

214 – Houston finished in the Top 10 nationally in first downs allowed last year, checking in at a tie for ninth with Nebraska and Rice.

 

Ceiling

8-4

There is always one Big 12 team predicted to finish in the cellar that overachieves and Willie Fritz hopes it is his Cougars as he enters Year 2. The schedule sets up nicely early on with winnable games against SFA, Rice, and Oregon State. Houston gets Texas Tech and TCU at home. 

Floor

2-10

SFA and Rice are the only true slam dunks on the schedule for the Coogs. The Big 12 is a buzzsaw and continued offensive woes would put Houston in a tough spot considering that the defense can’t play much better than it did last year. 

Coach Gossip

“(Fritz) is one of the best college coaches in the country. Is Houston going to give him the resources it takes to get him to where he needs to be?”

“My worry for Willie at Houston is two-fold. One, Houston is lower on the totem pole with money and resources, at least that’s how it seems in recruiting and in the portal, and in today’s landscape, how do you win in the Big 12 without that backing when Texas Tech and other places are throwing around tons of money. Two, does the old way even work anymore? Like, he builds programs from the inside and he’s probably the best at it over the last 20 or 30 years, but that’s just not how this sport works anymore. He’ll have to adapt. I’m sure he will. I’m just not sure it’ll work there unless they jump into the deep end on NIL and revenue sharing.”

2024 RESULTS

Aug. 31                 UNLV   L, 27-7
Sept. 7                  at Oklahoma   L, 16-12
Sept. 14               Rice       W, 33-7
Sept. 21               at Cincinnati   L, 34-0
Sept. 28               Iowa State         L, 20-0
Oct. 4                     at TCU                   W, 30-19
Oct. 19                 at Kansas           L, 42-14
Oct. 26                 Utah                        W, 17-14
Nov. 2                    Kansas State  W, 24-19
Nov. 15                 at Arizona          L, 27-3
Nov. 23                 Baylor                    L, 20-10
Nov. 30                 at BYU                   L, 30-18
Record: 4-8 (3-6)

 

2025 PREDICTIONS

Aug. 28                 SFA        W
Sept. 6                  at Rice W
Sept. 12               Colorado            L
Sept. 27               at Oregon State              W
Oct. 4                     Texas Tech        L
Oct. 11                 at Oklahoma State      L
Oct. 18                 Arizona                 W
Oct. 25                 at Arizona State              L
Nov. 1                    West Virginia  W
Nov. 7                    at UCF                  W
Nov. 22                 TCU       L
Nov. 29                 at Baylor             L

Record: 6-6 (3-6)

 

Biggest Game

Sept. 12 vs. Colorado

Houston should start the season 2-0 with winnable matchups against SFA and Rice before hosting the Buffaloes in Week 3. Upset Deion Sanders’ squad as Colorado works to replace Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter and the Coogs are 3-0 and one win away from matching the 2024 win total. 

Trap Game

Sept. 6 at Rice

The Owls won the last Bayou Bucket that was played at Historic Rice Stadium when Mike Bloomgren’s squad outlasted Dana Holgorsen’s Cougars in overtime. Wille Fritz must avoid the same fate against a Rice team transitioning to the option under Scott Abell. 

Upset Bid

Oct. 4 vs. Texas Tech

Houston upset TCU on the road and Kansas State at home during Year 1 of the Willie Fritz era. Texas Tech has struggled on the road and early in the season in the first three years of the Joey McGuire era.