Willie Fritz Breaks Down Houston Cougars' Preparation Ahead of Season Opener

The Cougars’ head coach gives his thoughts on the team ahead of Stephen F. Austin matchup.

Jul 10, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz speaks to the media during the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images | Candice Ward-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, the Willie Fritz Radio Show returned for its first episode of the 2025 college football season. Located at Little Woodrow’s EaDo, Coach Fritz gave his thoughts on the Cougars' season opener against Stephen F. Austin on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Willie Fritz Radio Show will air each week, usually on Wednesdays or Thursdays, giving Coach Fritz a chance to reflect on recent games, share insight on his team, and even tell stories from his coaching career.

Throughout the night, Coach Fritz touched on a variety of topics, including former players and coaches, as well as the preparation that goes into the first football game of the season. His number one point of emphasis against SFA? Establish a game plan and stick to it.

What Can Coog Nation Expect Based on the Willie Fritz Radio Show?

Oct 26, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz reacts after a play during the second quarter against the Utah Utes at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

To begin the show on Monday, Coach Fritz gave high praise to both Conner Weigman and Carlos Allen Jr. for their representation of the University of Houston. Weigman and Allen Jr. were both on the radio show prior to Coach Fritz that evening.

Coach Fritz, who had previously coached at Sam Houston State, talked about how cool it was that he got to coach Conner Weigman's father as well.

"It's neat years later being able to recruit Conner and getting him over here," Fritz said. "He just wanted to be back home."

The head coach also talked highly of Allen Jr. who transferred from Kennesaw State after three years.

When asked about the preparation that goes into a Thursday-night home opener, Fritz said the Cougars need to “make a game plan and rep the dog out of it.” One can assume based on that statement that Houston intends to dominate the game with a consistent attack both offensively and defensively.

Whether that means playing to the Cougars' strengths or exploiting weaknesses in the Lumberjacks' defense, it seems the coaching staff has a plan that they're going to stick to for all four quarters.

When Coach Fritz was asked about what he and his coaching staff expect from the Lumberjacks, the head coach said that he believes that Stephen F. Austin's scheme and gameplan will be very similar to what they did last year.

"I think defensively, they've run the same type of format for the last few years," Fritz said. "And then offensively, they've had the same offensive system for quite some time."

Earlier this week, in a press conference with Coach Fritz, he came out with his philosophy for the team this season. The head coach said that the phrase "Houston 2025" means that he wants his guys focused on this year and this year alone.

"Each year in this day and age, your teams are going to be quite a bit different, besides the freshman that you bring in," Fritz said. "I want our guys to put everything into it for this season

"We're not worried about next year, the year after, or the year after that, just this season. I talked to them about you know, with all the new players that we have, high school kids and portal guys, we got to cook this like it's thrown in a microwave oven."

For Fritz and his staff, everything being "thrown into a microwave oven" describes the current landscape of college athletics perfectly. With the transfer portal being as volatile as it is, one can only hypothesize how transfers will perform on the field when kickoff arrives.