Conner Weigman on Track to Become Houston Cougars' Next Great Quarterback?
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The transfer portal is absolutely insane. Plenty of quarterbacks have jumped ship on their former team to have career resurgences at their new destinations.
Bo Nix went from Auburn to Oregon, where he rebuilt his reputation and skyrocketed his draft stock. Duke’s Riley Leonard departed for Notre Dame after Mike Elko left for Texas A&M and competed for a championship there. Haynes King left Texas A&M in 2022 and has not looked back since earning the starting role at Georgia Tech.
There are enough instances of quarterbacks leaving the programs they were used to and becoming even better versions of themselves at their next destinations to raise the question about Houston Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman.
Will Conner Weigman Become a Houston Great?
Weigman has looked like a completely different player than the quarterback he was last season at Texas A&M since arriving in the Third Ward and people are taking notice. Over a two-day span, Weigman was named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list, Comeback Player of the Year Watch List and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch list.
“He’s been everything I’ve hoped he’d be,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz said after a recent fall camp practice. “A great young man, great leadership, abilities. It’s hard to coach a football team when your quarterback is a prima donna. It happened to me one year many years ago. I made the decision that would never happen to me again.”
While at Texas A&M, Weigman was in the Heisman Trophy conversation heading into 2024 before sustaining an injury that ultimately derailed his career in Aggieland. Over three seasons' worth of intermittent starts, Weigman recorded 2,694 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. If Weigman can stay healthy, he should be a great improvement over Donovan Smith, who recorded just 867 yards, four touchdowns and eight interceptions.
“I think he can be a top quarterback in the Big 12,” Fritz said. “I think Conner is really excited for this fresh start.”
Weigman has the tools available, he has the skill and he has his health. If he can stay healthy throughout the course of the season, he has the chance to become a Bo Nix or Dillon Gabriel and bring Houston out of the 4-8 hole it dug itself last season.
The Cougars are set to start their 2025 campaign with a home game against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.
