The expectations for Houston football are the highest they’ve been in years, with the Cougars firmly in the conversation among Big 12 Championship contenders.
Before Houston can embark on its conference campaign, it will turn to Oregon State at home on Saturday, a matchup it’s worked towards the entire summer.
Here are four storylines ahead of Saturday:
Preparing for “what ifs”
Oregon State’s coaching staff, led by first-time head coach JaMarcus Shephard, is newly assembled at offensive, defensive and the special teams coordinator positions.
“I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit for this opportunity,” coach Willie Fritz said. “There’s only 138 of these jobs in the United States, he’s got one of them and so do I.”
Though Houston has studied what the staff has done in previous spots, it will still be a guessing game on Saturday.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some things we’re not totally prepared for, so there’s always a little bit of the unknown in week one,” Fritz said.
Fritz said that game one is “more scheme than anything else”, and that there will be players and things Houston will do offensively, defensively and on special teams that Oregon State may not anticipate.
The mysteries don’t end there.
In late August, Oregon State named Mercer sophomore transfer Braden Atkinson its starting quarterback, beating out senior Maalik Murphy for the role.
As a freshman, Atkinson threw for 3,596 yards and 34 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, while completing 65.8% of his passes.
Atkinson won the Jerry Rice Award last season, given annually to the top freshman in the FCS.
Houston will be only the second FBS school he’s played in college.
Against Auburn last November, Atkinson tossed one touchdown and surrendered two interceptions, finishing with 210 passing yards in a 62-17 defeat.
The personnel surrounding him are also a much different cast than last year, with multiple transfers at both the wide receiver and tight end positions.
Fresh season for Weigman and weapons
Saturday marks the beginning of senior quarterback Conner Weigman’s final collegiate season.
Over the summer, Weigman worked to improve his mechanics and physical shape.
Both of those efforts have been evident, with the Cypress native showing more “zip” on the football throughout fall camp and assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Shawn Bell stating he’s in the “best shape of his life.”
Weigman has new pieces around him offensively through the transfer portal, including junior tight end Patrick Overmyer (UTSA) and senior running back Makhi Hughes (Oregon), who rushed for 2,779 yards his first two seasons at Tulane.
Throughout summer, he’s called his receivers and offensive teammates over as early as 6 a.m. to get additional work in.
Even his defensive teammates have noticed.
“I’ve seen Conner in the offseason bringing the whole wide receiver group, all the linemen, all the tight ends, everybody in here,” senior safety Jordan Allen said. “They’re catching more, they’re throwing more, all the extra stuff necessary to be able to do exactly what we want to do.”
As much work as Weigman and his teammates have put into on-field chemistry, off-field bonding has been just as important, particularly with his receivers.
“They go to events together, they’ve been all over the city doing things together building that relationship and chemistry,” Bell said. “Just really proud of the leadership with that.”
Debut of rebuilt offensive line
Houston entered the offseason needing to bolster its offensive line, and responded by adding three projected starters through the transfer portal: guard Shadre Hurst (Tulane), center Anthony Boswell (Toledo) and right tackle Drew Terrill (Miami Ohio).
The two projected starters who return are right guard McKenzie Agnello and left tackle Alvin Ebosele.
Houston ranks fifth nationally with more than 32,000 career snaps across its roster, due in part to the experience of its projected starting offensive line.
It is composed entirely of upperclassmen, with junior Boswell the only non-senior.
The “competitive depth,” assistant offensive coach Robert Beacham says, is the most important thing about Houston’s offensive line room.
“I tell the guys all the time, all you can ask for is opportunity,” he says. “If you’re given the opportunity, it’s all about how you prepare and your consistency about whether or not you’re going to seize it.”
Quick reunion for a quick receiver
Houston senior wide receiver Trent Walker wore an Oregon State jersey the first four years of his college career.
Before that, he’d wear the jersey as a fan, growing up in Beaverton, Ore., a roughly 90-minute drive north of Corvallis.
His first game wearing another one, just so happens to be against the Beavers.
“Everything I knew was Oregon State. I grew up as a fan there,” Walker said in the spring. “I’ve got no bad blood to those guys, I’ve still got best friends on that team.”
Walker is expected to be a key contributor on Houston’s offense and has received praise for his route-running and ability to get open.
Some of Houston’s younger receivers have acknowledged the impact Walker’s experience has in the room.
“It’s great having that kind of receiver in the room, not just for me, but for everybody,” sophomore wide receiver Jaquise Martin said of Walker. “Everybody can learn from him… also he’s learning more and more every day as well. But it’s great having an older guy in the room you can learn a lot from.”
Walker and Houston’s season-opener against Oregon State will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday at TDECU Stadium, airing on ESPN.
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