Just some news, notes, thoughts, and more from the first day of spring football. Spent the day watching the offense and will spend Wednesday with the defense.
Practice was at TDECU Stadium due to rain over the last few days. It was a last-minute switch on Monday morning. The first few days of spring ball are mandatory helmets-only days for acclimation, meaning there’s no live hitting or contact allowed.
Conner Weigman had 6-8 throws I never saw him make last year. The ball had noticeable zip, and he was putting it in great spots. He threw a 25-yard out route to the far sideline into the wind on a dime. It’s the first time he’s been healthy from one season to another, and it shows. Weigman willed this team to 3-4 extra wins last year, and with the same QB coach and OC, he should get even better in his second season in the program.
Conner seemed much looser talking to the media after practice than at any time I can remember. He’s always friendly, but seemed more confident and at ease.
Keisean Henderson ran the second team. He looked like he belonged and not like a lot of lost freshmen. He’s wearing #5 in the spring – More on him later in the week.
Indiana Wijay is no longer with the program. He will graduate and look to transfer as a graduate. I’ve never seen anyone happier on a football field than Indiana – hopefully, he gets to go somewhere and get reps. He did an effective job running the scout team last year.
Amare Thomas, Trent Walker, and Koby Young were running with the first team at WR. Walker is a machine, very similar to Amare. He’s going to be very easy for Conner to build trust with, and he is going to help open up this offense. Young made a nice play on a post route – he is wearing #2 this spring.
The five OL that ran first team were (L-to-R) Alvin Ebosele, Shadre Hurst, Anthony Boswell, McKenzie Agnello, and Drew Terrell. It’s rare to think an OL is going to be a fan favorite, but it’s possible that Hurst becomes one. He’s a little squattier than I’d imagined, and has played all over the OL, but I think you can put him in at LG in ink.
I walked onto the field before the team started drills, and I saw #9 working with the tight ends. I had to do a double-take. It’s Patrick Overmyer, the UTSA transfer tight end wearing #9, who looks to be a (slightly) smaller version of Tanner Koziol. He’s a playmaker at 6’5” and 230 lbs. He says he’s added some weight since arriving in Houston and expects to add a little more.
When asked about how the staff persuaded him to choose Houston, Overmyer said, “They treated me like I’m more than just a football player, and that’s what matters to me.”
Overmyer has a great catch radius, made a couple of tough catches, and caught several that were behind him or in traffic. He seems to have excellent focus through the end of the catch. He’ll also be a fan favorite.
The running backs group is mostly guys you’ve seen before, plus the addition of Makhi Hughes. Like Overmyer, I was stopped for a minute when I saw him wearing #21. Stacy Sneed? But this time, the new 21 is bigger (Hughes is 6’ and 210 lbs – he has 25 lbs on Stacy). Hughes is going to take some of the burden off of Weigman in goalline situations.
Re’Shaun Sanford looked every bit as quick and shifty as he did before his knee injury last August.
Waxahachie QB Jerry Meyer III was at practice. He decommitted from TCU last month and has a lot of big-time interest. He has 16 P4 offers, with seven from the Big 12.
It appeared just one high school coach was in attendance, but after UH’s spring break, they’ll have plenty more. A UH coach told me last week that he’d never seen a head coach allow high school coaches more access than Willie. They are encouraged to sit in on team and position meetings, film sessions, meals, and more.
Transfer kicker Evan Noel was popping the ball in FG attempts. Very interested to see him develop into next season.
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