Houston Cougars head coach Willie Fritz walks on the sideline during the game against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Houston Cougars Stock Watch after Week 1: Who's Up & who's Down?

Originally posted on Houston Cougars on SI
By Ylver Deleon-Rios | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 10:38 AM ET

The Houston Cougars are rolling to start the 2025 season after a comfortable victory against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks to open the season a week ago. Now Willie Fritz's squad will focus on the task at hand on Saturday, taking on its intercity rival, the Rice Owls, who, in their own right, began the season off in a positive stride.

There was much to like about the Cougars' first game, especially with the number of new faces in the locker room and on the sidelines for Houston. As with every opening game, not everything will be executed at a high level, but there were some true positives to be taken away after the Cougars' first game

Here's a closer look at a couple of players and where their stocks are headed. Who is trending upwards or downwards after the Cougars' convincing shutout victory over the Lumberjacks a week ago?

Trending Up

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Conner Weigman, QB

Much was expected from the Texas A&M transfer headed into the season, and after Conner Weigman's first start for the Cougars, the quarterback turned in a solid performance in his debut. Weigman completed 15 of his 24 pass attempts for 159 passing yards and three touchdowns on the night.

Weigman's performance certainly gave a few Cougars fans much more excitement and expectation for the season, and if the quarterback can string outings like last week, Weigman's stock could be increasing each and every week.

Dean Connors, RB

The Cougars' running back room took a major blow right before the season after an injury to Re'Shaun Sanford, which will keep him out for the entire 2025 season. Needing to replace the production, Houston looked to Rice transfer running back Dean Connors, who ended game one as the Cougars' leading rusher.

Connors finished the game with 15 carries for 50 yards while averaging a solid 3.3 yards per carry. Now headed into week two, Connors is slated as one of the starting running backs alongside J'Marion Burnette, both of whom are listed as starters on the Cougars' depth chart headed into week two.

Trending Down

Alvin Ebosele, Tackle

The redshirt freshman got the start at left tackle a week ago for the Cougars and is still listed on the depth chart as the starter protecting Weigman's blindside. However, Fritz was a bit critical about the offensive line's performance and talked on Monday at a media availability about his desire to make some changes and rotate between a couple of guys at Ebosele's position.

“Those three tackles, David Ndukwe, Dalton Merriman and Alvin [Ebosele], now those are three guys who we’d like to get in a rotation where they’re playing those two tackle spots,” Fritz said on Monday. “Then kind of see who the best two guys are and they’ll play a majority of snaps. Right now, it’s kind of a toss up."

This article first appeared on Houston Cougars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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