Willie Fritz's 3 Biggest Priorities for Houston After NFL Draft
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After a historic turnaround in Houston football's third season in the Big 12 conference, which saw a 10-win campaign topped off by its 38-35 Texas Bowl win over LSU on Dec. 27, 2025, coach Willie Fritz was proud nonetheless of his outgoing talents who helped those accomplishments to the NFL via the draft, free agent signing or by mini camp invites.
But where those draft losses were evident, Fritz wasted no time in utilizing the transfer portal and relying on key returners to get the Cougars ready for accomplishing an even bigger goal: winning the Big 12 itself, and potentially, putting them in the College Football Playoff spotlight for a national championship.
Now that the pieces are here, they'll play a key part in cashing out on the team's three biggest priorities towards reaching those goals. But what are these simple priorities in question?
Maintain healthy pass and run blocking
If there's one position room the Cougars wish they had the cleanest bill of health from in 2025, it's among their offensive linemen who endured a flurry of injuries that rippled the rotation through various combinations in front of quarterback Conner Weigman.
But if Houston is going to contend for the conference in 2026, those combinations must allow plenty of pocket comfort for Weigman, especially among the first team linemen, but provide blocking for its running back room to be more efficient among its upcoming class.
With additions like redshirt senior lineman Shadre Hurst coming in from Tulane as a highly-touted prospect and efficient pass and run blocker, the Cougars will need plans to keep him on the field as much as possible with returners like Alvin Ebosele, who saw their growth out of Houston's 2025 campaign.
Create early separation, avoid inefficient quarters
The course of Houston's 2025 season could have been drastically different in multiple ways: It wouldn't be in contention for a Texas Bowl appearance if its defense hadn't issued the stops needed in wins over Arizona and Arizona State, and it would have potentially been in Big 12 championship game contention if it took advantage of the struggles of defenses like West Virginia and TCU in the second half of the season.
But if there's one thing the Cougars would like to expand on in as many games as possible, it's creating early separation to avoid walk-off opportunities on either side of the ball.
However, that also comes with keeping offensive consistencies quarter-by-quarter, and it means avoiding long scoring droughts or quarters that only log single digits in total yards.
Cut down on missed tackles
While Houston impressively finished top-50 in total defense in 2025 to fuel a six-win improvement, even going a perfect 6-0 on the road, it didn't come without a recurring theme of missed tackles among its defensive line and secondary, which contributed to its shocking 45-35 loss to then-Big 12 winless West Virginia on Nov. 1.
But while those were part of the growing pains of coordinator Austin Armstrong's first season with the Cougars, impressive numbers were nonetheless churned out.
In an effort for Houston to maximize the win column to punch its ticket to Arlington, minimizing the missed tackles among its revamped defense is key to avoid shocking season-altering moments much like its loss to West Virginia, a game in which it surrendered the most points at home in 2025.
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Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.