Willie Fritz Praises 'Productive' Running Back Dean Connors
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In the haul of transfers that came to the Houston Cougars over the offseason, head coach Willie Fritz landed some players who have truly made an impact on his team's offense through three games thus far, including quarterback Conner Weigman from Texas A&M and tight end Tanner Koziol from Ball State.
But the newest Cougar that he might not have expected to make the impact that he has thus far is running back Dean Connors, who stayed in the city of Houston after transferring over from the Rice Owls.
And after losing running back Ra'Shaun Sanford for the season, Coach Fritz couldn't be more grateful for the senior from Kamuela, Hawaii.
"He's Really Fun to Coach"
In an appearance with 365 Sports, Willie Fritz did not hold back on how great of a player Connors was and the assets that he provides the team that is currently 3-0.
"Yeah, he's (Connors) really fun to coach," Fritz said. "He's really smart, you know, book smart and he's also got a high football IQ. As you know, this game is very complicated, and we do a lot of stuff, you've got to have a great memory. There's a lot of memorization involved with playing football and being a great football player. So, he doesn't bust very often. He's lined up properly, he knows his assignments, his responsibility, he carries that assignment out."
"Some people don't think that's a skill. That's a big-time skill."
Fritz also detailed Connors' speed, which on its own, is quite the stat.
"He's also got great speed, I think he almost reached 23 miles an hour with pads on a couple of weeks ago," Fritz said. "He can run in between the tackles, he can run out in the perimeter. He can catch the ball, he's great at blocking, whether it's run blocking or pass protection, and like I said, he just doesn't bust, so he's really done a nice job for us. I've been very impressed."
Through three games, Connors is pacing the Cougar backfield by a hefty margin with 271 and stuck it to his former team by putting up 132 yards with two touchdowns in Week 2 against Rice.
Connors was just as efficient with the Owls last season, carrying the ball 159 times for 780 yards and nine touchdowns, and is currently on pace to eclipse 1,000 yards rushing in his first year with the Houston Cougars.
The Cougars will play their last non-conference game in their first game outside the city of Houston when they take on the Oregon State Beavers Friday night.
