Houston Football’s Top Portal Needs After National Signing Day

The Houston Cougars finished the regular season 9-3 overall, and they will play in a bowl game for the first time since the 2022 season.

Houston carried over that momentum to national signing day, where they signed 17 recruits, and the Cougars are on the verge of signing their best class in program history.

While Houston has a lot of thing going its way, the transfer portal will once again be vital for success, just like this season.

How The Portal Boosted Houston This Season

The transfer portal was one of the biggest factors that completely turned Houston’s program around this season.

Several of Houston’s top performers came from the transfer portal. Junior quarterback Conner Weigman transferred from Texas A&M, and he had as big of an impact as anybody in his first year at UH.

He passed for 2,475 yards and 21 touchdowns, and he also contributed 644 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

Senior running back Dean Connors was also a big pickup from Rice, as he ended the season with 1,093 total yards and eight touchdowns.

Junior receiver Amare Thomas and senior tight end Tanner Koziol were the go-to guys in Houston’s passing offense. The two transfer combined for 124 catches for 1,557 yards and 15 touchdowns.

As seen this season, the transfer portal can give the boost a team needs with good coaching to turn a rough 4-8 season around and follow up with finishing at the top of the Big 12 Conference.

What Houston Needs This Offseason

With Houston’s commitment to high school recruitment and development, UH doesn’t need as many players from the portal as last season, but there are a few key positions that could use some help.

With the 2026 class highlighted by No. 1 rated quarterback Keisean Henderson, the Cougars are stacked at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future.

Houston is losing two senior running backs in Stacy Sneed and Connors, who are both out of eligibility, so in response, the Cougars signed one of the best high school running backs in Houston history, John Hebert.

With unknowns about sophomore running back J’Marion Burnette’s recovery, it wouldn’t be surprising for Houston to go get another veteran running back to pair up with sophomore running back DJ Butler for next season.

The Cougars could also be aggressive at finding another pass catching tight end with similar characteristics as Koziol, who is also out of eligibility.

As seen this season, a big bodied tight end who can block as well as catch passes is very dangerous in Houston’s offense.

The Cougars did an outstanding job by landing five offensive linemen in the portal in the offseason, and it greatly benefited them this year.

The only downside is now five offensive linemen are seniors, and there is not a ton of experience behind those guys.

Houston did sign three offensive linemen in the 2026 class in Rhett Gray, Aaron Wolford and Troy Pless, but it is unlikely that they will be ready to play as freshmen.

The Cougars will most likely be aggressive once again and sign multiple offensive linemen in the portal.

On the defensive side of the ball, several key players will be out of eligibility this season. The Cougars are losing four senior defensive backs in Blake Thompson, Latrell McCutchin Sr., Zelmar Vedder and Marc Stampley Jr.

Houston would most likely be takers for one or two veteran defensive backs this offseason.

The Cougars will also most likely look to add another linebacker and play maker on the defensive line.

The last position Houston will need to add in the portal, is a new place kicker.

With the loss of senior kicker Ethan Sanchez, finding a new, reliable kicker will be a priority for the Cougars.