Conner Weigman participated in a few parts of practice Sunday and Monday (hand-offs, mostly) but had not thrown either day. Tuesday, in a night practice at TDECU, Conner came out, stretched, and warmed up his arm a little with the other QBs. OC Slade Nagle and QB coach Shawn Bell were with him as he started throwing, just making sure their guy was fine.
15 minutes after he walked through the tunnel, Conner hit Amare Thomas over the middle on an 18 (or so) yard throw. He then put together a solid, if not great, practice, threading tight targets in goal-line situations and connecting on deep balls. Early(ish) in the scrimmage, he found Thomas again on an out route that required perfect timing and a strong arm.
After an off-day for the team Wednesday, we will see how Weigman looks over the next four-day cycle.
To start the scrimmage, freshman running back John Hebert was at off-returner on first-team KOR (and they kicked it to him). He’s going to see more action in 2026 than I would have guessed two weeks ago.
Another freshman that I just keep writing and talking about is Jeremiah Bushnell. Yes, I was excited that UH signed a guy from scenic Iowa, Louisiana, but I had no expectation of him contributing for a few years, if ever. But Bushnell keeps turning heads. He has excellent mechanics and tracks the nose of the ball, catching it at its apex. The WR room is stacked, but he has definitely stood out on second-team reps.
It appears that Marcus Trice (cornerbacks) and Slade Nagle (OC) will be upstairs in the booth this year. Nagle was upstairs last year. It would also be the third year that Willie’s OC is in the booth.
Tuesday night, defensive lineman Quindario Lee intercepted a Keisean Henderson pass out of the air and, in a fully live scrimmage, would have had himself a pick six. Q is from a small high school in Alabama, went JUCO for a year, then to Central Michigan, and this will be his third season at UH (due to injuries and COVID, this will be his 7th year of college). After missing all of 2025 with an injury, watch for him on the DL this year.
Latreveon McCutchin batted down a Conner Weigman throw in the series prior.
Willie Fritz mentioned earlier in the week that Jalen Mayo has punched out 3-4 balls already in camp. `
I said on Talkin’ Bout Them Cougars that Jonathan Dimas was leading the placekicking competition. After the show, I wondered if I had jumped the gun. I hadn’t verified it – just asking a few people their thoughts to go with what I see at practice. What I’ve seen is that Dimas has been best through the Fall (and most of the Spring, too).
Thankfully, Willie Fritz announced the next morning that Dimas is his first-team placekicker if the season started today. I’m not clear on who would handle kickoffs at this point, but my gut tells me it’s Zak Yoakum.
