I’ve been to all 14 practices this Spring and have gotten a good feel of where this team is at. After discussion with coaches, staffers, and players, here are my three guys on offense you should be watching Saturday morning:
Patrick Overmyer – TE
Overmyer (#9) wanted to play his final season in P4 and come back home. UH had a great presentation ready for him: they showed him the film of Tanner Koziol’s work in this offense. Despite the fantastic numbers Koziol put up here, I think Overmyer might be a better athlete (better player? TBD).
Sunday night on Talkin’, Willie Fritz said Overmyer has picked things up quickly with the offense, has been catching the ball well, and running great routes. They saw on his UTSA film that he could be an excellent blocker. He dropped five passes at UTSA last year, and he’s worked quite a bit to correct that both in individual work and with the QBs. Watch him over the middle (Overmiddle) and down the seams. He’s been excellent in both this Spring and has made several great catches along the sideline.
Conner Weigman – QB
Conner Weigman (#1) is this team’s undisputed alpha. There’s no doubt that he’s healthier and stronger than he was last year. And for the first time, he’s healthy and playing in a Spring game in the same system, with the same OC and QB coach as the year before. You can tell there is more zip on his ball, and he’s making throws and decisions at an elite level. This is the first spring since 2022 in which UH doesn’t have a starting QB returning from or dealing with an injury.
I usually shy away from expectations, but it is reasonable to have high expectations of Conner this season.
Don’t be surprised if Weigman does not play much Saturday, giving freshman phenom Keisean Henderson and transfer Luke Carney the bulk of the reps.
Shadre Hurst – LG
Shadre Hurst (#56) is squatty but an absolute fire plug at left guard. He gets down in a deep stance and fires off the ball. He’s naturally aggressive and does good work as a pulling guard. When Martin Marroquin wrote about him after he signed, he noted that Hurst punches above his weight class and included this nugget: in 1,224 pass-block reps, he’s given up only 1 sack.
I think he’s the best player UH pulled from the transfer portal this offseason. He is going to unlock the run game.
And three guys on defense to pay attention to:
#2 Jaylon Mayo, #0 Javion White, and #25 Carmycah Glass. Also, a lagniappe: freshman DK Mays (#47) from Baton Rouge Central has been turning heads on special teams.
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