Willie Fritz Had Some Major Takeaways from Houston’s Spring Game

There was a different level of excitement around the Houston Cougars football team during this past spring season. Houston is coming off a 10-win season and Texas Bowl victory and is looking to take that winning to the highest level this season.

The talent is certainly there to make that happen after a productive transfer portal period and one of the best freshman recruiting classes in recent program history. Houston has a balance of young talent as well as experienced Power Four players.

The team was on full display during the spring game on April 18 at the outdoor practice fields that were open to viewing by the public. Coach Willie Fritz has been at the forefront of this turnaround for the program, and his group is expected to take another step forward to a Big 12 championship.

Fritz broke down what he saw from the spring game and spring practice overall in a post-game scrum. Here were some of his main takeaways.

A Successful Spring

University of Houston quarterbacks Conner Weigman and Keisean Henderson warming up before Spring Game. Pretty nice fan turnout for morning event with two of the portable bleachers already filled. Willie Fritz's program is trying to build off the excitement of that 10 win season. pic.twitter.com/vCOkWLyYk1
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) April 18, 2026

“Our number one goal was to come out as healthy as we possibly could, and we did that. I didn’t play a whole lot of guys today,” Fritz said.

Fritz mentioned some of the experience his senior class has with over 1500 snaps from quarterback Connor Weigman and over 2600 snaps from guard Shadre Hurst.

“It’s kinda like playing a 10-year vet in a preseason game. Doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Fritz said.

The main idea of this spring game was to get a look at the depth at some of the newer players and talent available.

“We did get a good look at the young guys. Everybody’s got a good understanding of the offense, defense, and special teams,” Fritz said.

The success of last year is in the rearview mirror for this program, and Houston’s 66-year-old head coach is ready for Houston to achieve the ultimate prize.

“We did some great things last season, but we’ve got some big-time goals here at the University of Houston. There’s no reason why we can’t compete for national championships, and that’s what our goal is,” Fritz said.

As far as the spring game goes, there were a couple of areas that stood out to the two-time Paul Bryant Coach of the Year winner.

“I thought our tackling at times was good and at times was terrible. We didn’t do a good job at pass protection on multiple occasions,” Fritz said.

The offensive lineman has been rebuilt through the transfer portal with Hurst, Drew Terrill, and Anthony Boswell to name a few. While the first-team offensive line wasn’t in full strength for the spring game, the unit overall has still stood out.

Fritz has been impressed with the front of the offensive line and believes the Cougars have strong competition for the other spots on the o-line.

While there were no new injuries, the recoveries for players currently injured are on track.

“All the guys that have been injured are going to be in great shape when we begin in June,” Fritz said.

The two noteworthy injuries were junior corner Will James and senior linebacker Brandon Mack.

Fritz liked the attendance of the fans at the event, even though it had to be moved from TDECU Stadium to the outdoor practice field in the week leading up to it.

“I thought this would be a good atmosphere, we had. Pretty good crowd. We had to change things at the last minute, but appreciate everyone coming out,” Fritz said.

The position group that Fritz highlighted was the tight ends, led by transfer junior Patrick Overmeyer.

Fritz really likes how the tight end room has come around and believes they could be the strength of the team.

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