What I’m hearing and seeing first-hand through 8 Fall Camp practices:
Conner Weigman told me late in the Spring that he had recovered from the shoulder issue that came up late in the Fall of 2025. It was more confirmation than anything: his arm strength and accuracy were superb through 15 Spring practices.
It was an offseason of several firsts for Weigman in college: his first offseason relatively pain-free, his first in the same system, and with the same coordinator and position coach. Add in upgraded offensive weapons around him and the second-year-starting-QB bump, and things were lining up.
In an April interview, Weigman told me he had his summer plan mapped out so he could take another step during his final college season. Conner had his throwing days, lifting days, agility days, and rest days mapped out. He had receivers slotted on those throwing days and had a plan with S&C coach Bennie Wylie to lean him out and make him more explosive.
QB coach Shawn Bell loves what he’s seen:
Weigman came into Fall Camp at 210 pounds – the same weight he played at during last season – but he’s in far better shape. He wanted to add a little muscle and lean out, but not to the point that would invite injury.
Quarterbacks need to keep a little more body fat than most other positions to help absorb hits. Patrick Mahomes says 14% body fat is his goal, and Weigman believes somewhere between 12-16% is right for him. At the same time, he also wanted to get faster, more explosive,
Through eight practices, Conner looks like a changed man. The ball looks great coming out of his hand, and he’s dialed in with his receivers. He’s as confident as I’ve seen him in the 18 months he’s been on campus (and he’s never lacked for confidence).
After practice on Wednesday, a defensive coach walked up to me, shook his head, and said that Conner always gets the ball where it needs to go. That’s exactly right.
As Martin wrote about yesterday, Paris Melvin is getting good reps at STAR. That’s impressive for a freshman, even if freshmen aren’t really freshmen anymore. Fall camp is the fourth time guys are going through installs: February Football School, Spring ball, and summer workouts, and now camp.
But Paris is also getting a lot of reps in the return game – currently, he’s running second team on both KOR and punt return. In the last rep of the KOR period, Paris returned with John Hebert at off-returner. That could be a fun duo for years.
Some are fretting online about UH’s corner depth. I believe Jaylen Mayo and Will James are potential All-Big 12 candidates, but behind them? Guys are working their way into the role, with Keany Parks being the first guy off the bench (as of today).
Because of the high price for a quality corner, no one in the country has a third. I’ve spoken to coaches at UH and in the Big 12 and SEC, and no one has disagreed with that hypothesis. Building depth at corner will be a balancing act for every program in the country.
Off-the-radar freshmen that are having a good camp:
– James Henderson III, DB – Cy-Falls
– Braeden Robinson (#27), WR – Lutheran South
– Noah Abebe (#71), OL – Friendswood
– Aaron Wolford, OL – Port Neches-Groves
– Keavon Roberts, WR – Port Arthur-Memorial
– Jeremiah Bushnell, WR – Iowa (Louisiana)
Willie’s special teams use multiple assistants and analysts to coach up the different positions on the field. On kickoff team, three assistants and two quality control coaches join special teams coordinator Chris Couch in coaching the unit. On returns, two position coaches work with four assistants and a quality control coach.
Willie leads all special teams practice periods and is quite involved, something he does not do for offense or defense. Mixing in QC and assistants gives those guys hands-on experience working directly with the head coach while allowing the coordinators, the QB coach, and line coaches to focus on their duties.
Talkin’ Bout Them Cougars debuts Sunday night with a new co-host and a great show: Willie Fritz and Kelvin Sampson join Joseph Duarte and Ryan Monceaux for a joint interview. We start at 8 p.m. at YouTube.com/@GoCoogs.
