Houston Week 6 Injury Report: Latest Updates, Practice Status and Replacement Options
In this story:
No. 22 Houston is heading to Manhattan on Oct. 10 to face Kansas State.
A few key players for the Cougars are dealing with some injuries.
Their health could impact the conference race Houston is in.
Houston's Injuries
Quarterback Conner Weigman will start against Kansas State; however, head coach Willie Fritz said he was dealing with an illness last game against UCF.
"He's sick as a dog," Fritz said in the postgame press conference. "He fought through and played really well in the second half."
Weigman was able to score three touchdowns on the ground and has had five rushing touchdowns over the last two weeks.
The biggest concern is the defense. Linebacker Jaden Yates suffered an injury last week and is ruled out for the Saturday game.
Yates has been a key piece of the Houston defense that only allows 65 rushing yards per game and ranks eighth in the nation.
He currently has 29 tackles, a sack and a pass deflection this season. Additionally, Houston is facing off against quarterback Avery Johnson, who leads the Wildcats in rushing yards with 291.
With Yates out, Houston will be looking to linebacker Carmycah Glass for that run-defending role. Glass had 27 total tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in 2025. When he was with Louisiana in 2024, he had 75 total tackles.
The Cougars also lost depth in the running back position. Freshman running back John Hebert is most likely going to miss the rest of this season after a lower-leg injury on kickoff coverage late in the UCF win. During a press conference on Oct. 5, Fritz wasn't too worried about the running back and said he would return.
"John will come back," Fritz said. "I told him that he's going to use Re'Shaun (Sanford) as a good example for him."
Hebert has 65 rushing yards and a touchdown in 2026, all of which came in the game against Southern. He also caught a 20-yard touchdown pass in that game as well.
Although Hebert is likely out for the season, the Cougars didn't lose a lot of dominance in the run game. The two main runners for Houston are Makhi Hughes and Sanford.
Wide receiver Muizz Tounkara and linebacker Bryson Castile are also ruled out for this game.
Houston has won seven of the last eight road games, which dates back to 2025. Keeping that streak alive will be tough, especially when Yates is out at the moment.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Micah Clay is a staff writer for the Houston Cougars on SI. He is currently a freshman at the University of Houston and majoring in Sports Administration. He also works for The Cougar organization. You can find Clay on his Instagram(@mcjosh_btw_podcast)