The Next Houston Player Who Could Follow Tanner Koziol to the NFL

The Houston Cougars might have another tight end next up to be an NFL Draft pick.

Houston Cougars tight end Tanner Koziol runs the ball for a touchdown after the catch against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The Houston Cougars are set up to lose one of their most important players from the 2025 season. Although he was a transfer and spent just a single season in Houston, the lone year was crucial for the Coogs.

That player is tight end Tanner Koziol, who, in just one season with the Cougars was one of the main reasons for the successful 2025 season. Koziol now goes from transfer to NFL Draft pick after being selected by the TEAM NAME in the # round.

For the Cougars, now they're tasked with having to replace the production of Koziol, who led the team in receptions last season. And Houston will be looking to strike gold with a transfer portal tight end once again.

Houston Turns to UTSA Transfer to Replace Tanner Koziol

UTSA Roadrunners tight end Patrick Overmyer celebrates his touchdown catch against the Army Black Knights during the first half at the Alamodome. | Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Houston knew that it would be losing Koziol after the 2025 season, with the tight end playing out his final season of college football in the Bayou City. And once the offseason officially rolled around and the transfer portal was officially opened, the Coogs went on the attack for their next tight end.

And in their search, the Coogs landed a tight end who comes from another program in the state of Texas, as UTSA transfer Patrick Overmyer committed to Houston out of the portal in early January.

The tight end found the most success over the course of his college career so far in the last two years, as the redshirt sophomore totaled 58 receptions for 627 yards and eight touchdowns over the course of 26 games in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

The Cougars once again went out into the transfer portal to find a big target for returning starting quarterback Conner Weigman. While Overmyer doesn't have the same huge six-foot-seven frame as Koziol, the tight end has plenty of size at six-foot-five, 240 pounds.

Houston's offensive scheme is very tight end friendly, and as seen by the utilization of Koziol a year ago, the tight-end position is an important one to make the offense run effectively. Overmyer will be looked to continue that production for the Houston offense.

After the Coogs' first spring practice back in early March, head coach Willie Fritz talked about the excitement he has about Overmyer joining the program.

"He had an outstanding career at his last stop," Fritz said. "We're really excited about him, he had a really nice catch out there today. Really good blocker."

Now, Overmyer has an entire spring of work under his belt learning the Houston offense, as he will be looked at as the top option in the tight end room come the Fall. And the tight end will be looking to become a reliable target for Weigman throughout the season and eventually follow in Koziol's footsteps as a transfer turned NFL Draft pick.