Single transfer portal window brings stability as Houston football closes spring slate

Houston football’s spring practice ended with a “sigh of relief.”

For senior quarterback Conner Weigman, who plays under second year Houston offensive coordinator Slade Nagle, the spring marked the first time he had worked with the previous season.

Coach Willie Fritz also left the spring season with more clarity and a clearer picture of what his team will look like in the fall.

With the NCAA eliminating the second transfer portal window, the Cougars avoided the late roster shakeups that cost them key contributors last year, including interception leaders A.J. Haulcy and Jeremiah Wilson, who entered the portal within a week of the annual spring game. 

While one positive byproduct was the addition of NFL-bound Tanner Koziol, the lack of stability still forced Fritz to effectively “start over again” for fall camp.

Now entering his third season at the helm, Fritz was able to not only build a transfer portal class but also fully retain it.

“There can’t be any second thoughts,” he said. “That’s it — from the coaches to the players, and the players to the coaches, throughout the entire team.”

The team features one of the nation’s top transfer portal classes. It includes two Oregon transfers in junior defensive lineman Ashton Porter and senior running back Makhi Hughes, who have already begun breaking every huddle with “Houston 2026,” a nod to the way the transfer portal can drastically change teams from year to year, but for now, the movement has paused.

“This is all we got, and this is all we need,” said Weigman, who is entering his fifth year of college football. Weigman has taken on the challenge of mentoring the nation’s No. 1 recruit, freshman quarterback Keisean Henderson. 

Henderson, who enrolled a semester early, shared the majority of the snaps with sophomore transfer quarterback Luke Carney during Saturday’s spring game as Fritz largely limited Weigman and other veterans.

“Be patient, the game’s going to come,” Weigman told Henderson ahead of a drive that ended with a 50-yard touchdown pass.

“I think it would have been a cluster for me coming in the fall,” Henderson said. “Just wanted to be ahead of the game, one of those guys who was ready for their opportunity. I feel it was the best choice I ever made in my life, coming in early, learning the playbook, getting to know guys before the season even starts.”

He enrolled alongside four-star freshman Paris Melvin Jr., whom Fritz says will “eventually impact all three phases of the game.” Melvin primarily worked on defense and special teams this spring, but Fritz said he expects him to begin offensive work this summer.

“A big part of it is seeing how much he can handle; we don’t want to overtax him,” Fritz said. “The college game is so much more complex than the high school game.”

Avoiding physical and mental overload was a priority this spring, and Fritz said the Cougars came out largely unscathed. Houston enters the next phase of its preparations with a set roster and a clear direction.

“This is our team right here, this is our squad,” Fritz said.