Houston Cougars Player Spotlight of the Week: Dean Connors

Houston's brand of explosive offensive football sought to be rebirthed in 2025 under the instruction of offensive coordinator Slade Nagle, with the transfer portal additions of junior quarterback Conner Weigman, senior tight end Tanner Koziol, junior wide receiver Amare Thomas and senior running back Dean Connors.

Though the offseason emphasis relied heavily on the passing game, the running back room was complemented by the crosstown addition of Connors. However, the loss of sophomore Re'Shaun Sanford due to knee surgery prior to the season opener against Stephen F. Austin proved a significant blow to the position room, where coach Willie Fritz wanted to start the season with a fair distribution of snap counts in determining who would lead in that department.

After running for 50 yards amongst the Cougars' 191 total rushing yards in the opener, Connors more than doubled that total the following week in his Rice Stadium homecoming, tallying 132 yards on the ground with two house call touchdown runs, both coming late in each half. He averaged 10.2 yards per carry on the night, which put his season mark at 6.5.

The case for the "bellcow"

Prior to the crosstown transfer, Connors rushed for 1,679 yards on 307 carries in three seasons at Rice. He also established a hefty pass-catching presence on 113 career receptions, six of them touchdowns, for 912 yards with the Owls. His 1,128 career snaps were just one of the many examples of additions for the Cougars in the portal who logged a hefty number of snap counts.