Houston Kicker Jonathan Dimas Earned Big 12 Special Teams Honor
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The Houston Cougars offense has been great to start the 2026 season. They've been one of the best offenses in the Big 12 so far and a huge reason why the team is ranked No. 22 in the country. Senior quarterback Conner Weigman is leading the group at a high level.
That naturally means the kicking game is also involved quite a bit. The Cougars had Ethan Sanchez last season at placekicker, who ended up being a semifinalist for the Lou Graza Award, given to the best kicker in the nation. Sanchez bagged three Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week awards.
The new answer at kicker this season is former walk-on and current redshirt sophomore Jonathan Dimas. He is a Houston native who graduated from Westfield High School. Dimas earned his first opportunity as starting kicker over redshirt freshman Evan Noel and senior Zac Yoakum in fall camp. He's taken complete advantage of this chance.
For his performance in Week 5 against UCF, Dimas was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.
How Dimas Has Done
Dimas made two field goals on Saturday against UCF, both from at least 40 yards. He was also perfect on his three extra points. Both of his field goals came in critical points in the game in the fourth quarter.
He knocked in a 40-yard field goal in the middle of the fourth that extended Houston's lead to 24-17 and then hit a 46-yarder with just under two minutes to go that put the Cougars up two possessions and pretty much secured the win.
Both kicks had quite a bit of room to spare on them and were perfect in accuracy.
“To be honest, I’m good from 55 and in. I’ve been hitting those 50-pluses during Tuesday practice. I’ve been knocking them in so I’m comfortable. I’m doing it in practice so I can for sure do it in the games," Dimas told Houston Cougars on SI.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound kicker has gone six for six in field goals this season, with three from at least 40.
“Really proud of Jonathan. He’s a great young man and he’s had a sensational year. He’s been perfect on extra points. I know that they tagged one on him, but it was really the hold that was the issue on it. He’s done a phenomenal job,” Coach Willie Fritz said.
Dimas goes out to dinner once a week with his fellow specialists in holder Jake Sock and long snapper Weston Edwards. He has taken the advice of the previous Houston kickers.
“Learned a lot from Jack Martin and Ethan Sanchez. I’m still in contact with Ethan. Me and him still have talks. It’s been great to have Ethan as my mentor," Dimas said.
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Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.