Willie Fritz Gives Huge Injury Update on Starting QB Conner Weigman
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The Houston Cougars had a tough night on Saturday at TDECU Stadium and suffered a blowout loss to no. 9 Texas Tech 35-11.
Additionally, Houston saw their starting junior quarterback Conner Weigman head back to the locker room a few minutes before the second quarter ended with an “upper body injury.” Weigman was out for the rest of the game, and there was worry for Cougars fans on what happened to their star quarterback.
Huge Positive Update on Weigman
Head coach Willie Fritz did not have any update on the former five-star quarterback postgame on Saturday, but he shared huge news about Weigman at his weekly Monday press conference.
Fritz mentioned that Weigman is currently in concussion protocol but doing “pretty darn well.” Fritz even said that Weigman was even going to participate in Monday’s practice but he was down with a cold and not feeling too well. The Cougars head coach expects his QB1 to get some work back in Tuesday and Wednesday and then Weigman should be back to full speed.
“We’re looking forward to having him play for us on Saturday,” Fritz said. That is great news for Houston, and probably the best-case scenario with Weigman not having to miss any additional games.
Along with the early kickoff at 11 a.m. at Oklahoma State, it looks like none of that will pose a challenge. Fritz was also quite confident in his expectation for Weigman to return on Saturday, with a firm “yes” as the reply.
With the concussion being the upper body injury initially reported, Weigman will have to go through the step-by-step protocol each day in order to officially play next Saturday. Fritz mentioned that each day he’ll have to make progress and feel better.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback felt much better on Sunday and was feeling good on Monday besides his cold. Later in the week, the Cougars will start to do some movement drills and lifting weights.
“It seems like everything is trending in the right direction,” Fritz said.
More on Weigman
There was confirmation on when the injury to Houston’s signal-caller was. The Cougars faced a fourth and seven from the Texas Tech 45-yard line, and Weigman had an incomplete pass to senior tight end Tanner Koziol. That was the last series that Weigman played in the game, and what Fritz believes to be when the injury happened.
Additionally, in the prior drive, Weigman took a hard hit, was sacked, and then fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Houston. There was so much pressure on the transfer from Texas A&M throughout, as the Red Raiders had a 65.6% pressure rate on the quarterback.
That resulted in a lot of hits taken, besides the ones that Weigman took on his scrambles. The Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watchlist member struggled against Tech, as he was just 5/12 for 71 yards and an interception along with six rushes for seven yards.
Overall, the Cypress, Texas native has had a solid season for Houston, with 10 total touchdowns and two interceptions on a 59% completion rate. Weigman has thrown for 910 yards and has a rating of 137.5. He also has 46 carries for 148 yards, all the highest rushing totals of his career.
This news does come as a bit of a surprise, but a really nice one to start the week for the Cougars and their fans.
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.