TEMPE – It is not overstating the matter that Saturday was probably the most emotional day in the 80-year history of Houston Cougar Football. Director of strength and performance Kurt Hester passed away at 10:11 a.m. back home, surrounded by family. The news was shared with Willie Fritz, who had braced for that call but said he was still not ready for it. Fritz decided to withhold the devastating news from the team until after UH’s game at #24 Arizona State.
But word managed to leak out, and by lunchtime, Willie knew he had to talk to his team. He shared the news with the players and staff at the team’s 1:30 meeting, and the group spent 30 minutes telling Hester stories and reminding each other of what he would expect on this business trip to Tempe.
Shortly after the meeting broke up, the team loaded buses for Mountain American Stadium. The players were largely subdued in pregame warmups, balancing focus with thoughts of their fallen coach. The Cougars lost the coin toss for the only time this season, ASU deferred, and Houston received the ball first.
On the third play of the game, Conner Weigman set up for 3rd and two behind two tight ends left and Amare Thomas sealing the edge on the right side. Weigman ran a zone read behind motioning Dean Connors and pulling RG McKenzie Agnello, wiggled through a tackle in the backfield, lowered his shoulder to dodge another short of the line to gain, and jetted through the rest of the linebackers and backfield to go 50 yards before being pulled down at the 18. It was the first of a career-high 21 rushes for Weigman, just one of several career bests in the game.
That first run was a microcosm of Weigman’s day. The team’s emotional center grittily put the team on his back for 60 minutes. Since coming back from concussion protocol before the Oklahoma State game, he’s accounted for 10 touchdowns (6 passing, four rushing) in three games. Against the Territorial Cup schools the last two weeks, he’s run for 209 yards on 35 carries (6 ypc). Conner has transformed from the overused dual threat to simply a threat.
Weigman came to Houston tagged as injury-prone, but he’s shown toughness I didn’t expect. It’s been most noticeable on third down, especially in Houston’s three-game Big 12 winning streak. Through eight games last year, UH was 30/107 on third down, ranking 128th nationally. This season, UH has converted 51 third downs, the second most in the country.
He’s also sustained long drives and converted them into points. Houston had 14 drives of 10+ plays last year and scored on seven of those (four touchdowns, three field goals) – 2.64 points per drive. This season, UH has also had 14 drives of 10+ plays, scoring on all 14 (7 touchdowns, 7 field goals) – 5.71 ppd. Weigman has sustained drives where UH’s quarterbacks could not in 2024. Converting third downs and sustaining drives allow the UH offense to play the type of complementary football Willie Fritz demands.
UH is 4-0 on the road in 2025, which leads to players staying on the field to celebrate. Saturday night, after the ‘good game’ acknowledgements with the Sun Devil players and coaches, most of the UH dashed back to the locker room. But as is typical, Conner Weigman stayed behind. To celebrate, yes, but also because the demands on his time are greater. UH fans and family members asked for photos or a quick chat, and he obliged each time. He was the last player off the field, and before disappearing into the tunnel, he handed a young ASU fan his sweatband. I was behind him going up the tunnel and saw a man who had been beaten down for 60 minutes. But his typical bounciness remained, and he broke into a smile as he talked with Latrell McCutchin and his young son, who was celebrating a birthday.
After Willie Fritz publicly announced Kurt Hester’s passing, Conner was the first player to follow him into the postgame press conference. Weigman was emotional while talking about the strength coach who has shaped this season as much as any other staffer. Weigman is a better quarterback for having worked under Hester, and this team – individually and as a whole – has Hester’s fingerprints all over them. Physically and mentally, to be sure, but also how Hester shaped them with his cancer fight.
Hester’s final time seeing the team was on Thursday. His message to the team was quintessential Kurt Hester. “What kind of man do you want to be when facing adversity?”
Conner Weigman faced trivial adversity on Saturday night. He played the kind of tough, nose-first football that Hester would have loved.
