Willie Fritz Reveals Positive Injury Updates For Houston After Bye Week
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The No. 17 Houston Cougars are coming off a critical bye week that couldn't have come at a better time. The reason for that is that Houston was just banged up after Week 8's tough loss at Utah. It was clear that the team needed time to heal up and get refreshed, and that's exactly what happened.
Redshirt junior tight end Patrick Overmyer, who was just added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, went down with an injury on the first drive of the game in Salt Lake City and did not return. It was a huge loss for a Houston offense that could only put up 13 points total.
Additionally, senior quarterback Conner Weigman was slow to get up a few times and didn't use his legs for most of the game. Houston's defense had already been without leading senior linebacker Jaden Yates and senior defensive tackle De'Marion Thomas for a couple of weeks prior as well.
Coach Willie Fritz announced positive injury updates to all those key players on Monday at the start of his weekly press conference.
Great Injury News for Houston
"He's back at practice and full speed," Fritz said when asked about Overmyer's status. That's a huge piece added back to Houston's offense. His presence was missed as a go-to target across the field for Weigman and changes how defenses game plan.
It looks like Houston's quarterback got the rest he needed.
"Full go, ready to go. He had a good practice today," Fritz said about Weigman.
The dual-threat signal caller initially came up limping during the Oklahoma State game. When asked by Houston Cougars On SI whether he was 100 percent heading into Utah, Weigman stated: "We're getting there."
Houston goes to another level when Weigman is mobile, and it's a good sign that he's practicing at the start of the week.
Houston's defense also got much healthier for the first time since the UCF game a month ago.
"Jaden Yates is back. He's full speed," Fritz said. "A couple of guys are out for the season, but besides that, everybody else is good."
Yates has been out since Week 4 with a leg injury and was expected to return after the bye. The Cougars' linebacker room was heavily relying on seniors Sione Fotu and Carmycah Glass, but Yates was a massive missing piece that is now back as the transfer from Ole Miss.
"De'Marion Thomas, we were concerned about him. He had a good practice today," Fritz said. Thomas transferred from Oklahoma State and is one of the starting defensive tackles up front. Houston's run defense will get the help it needs this week against Cincinnati, a team that runs the ball heavily.
With four weeks left and two more road games, it's a good sign for Houston to get back to being healthy.
"We used last week as a week to get healthy. I think we accomplished that goal. The number one goal was we wanted to get them healthy," Fritz said.
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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.