FRISCO — Conner Weigman was a four-hour drive away from The Star on Wednesday afternoon, but the University of Houston quarterback was the topic of conversation as the Big 12 wrapped up its two-day football media days.

That’s what happens when you are a former five-star quarterback prospect being counted on to infuse some life into a UH offense that was among the worst in the nation last season.

“I think he can be a top quarterback in the Big 12,” UH coach Willie Fritz said inside Ford Center, the Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility. “I think Conner is really excited for this fresh start.”

It’s a chance for Weigman to hit the reset button after three seasons at Texas A&M, where he was plagued by injuries and eventually lost the starting job before entering the transfer portal this offseason. In 13 career starts over three seasons at Texas A&M, Weigman threw for 2,694 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

“He’s been everything I’ve hoped he’d be,” Fritz said. “A great young man, great leadership, abilities. It’s hard to coach a football team when your quarterback is a prima donna. It happened to me one year many years ago. I made the decision that would never happen to me again.”

While 11 of the Big 12’s 16 schools had a quarterback among their travel party (Colorado brought two), Weigman was not among UH’s four representatives at the preseason kickoff event. Fritz brought four seniors — wide receiver Stephon Johnson, defensive back Latrell McCutchin Sr., defensive line Carlos Allen Jr. and wide receiver Mekhi Mews.

“I always try and bring seniors,” Fritz said. “He understands that. He’s a team guy.”

Weigman was the centerpiece of UH’s overhaul this offseason, as Fritz sought to upgrade an offense that was next-to-last in scoring (14 points per game) and managed only 152.7 passing yards.

Teammates said Weigman, a junior who played at Bridgeland in Cypress, is the type of talent that can change the direction of the Cougars, who are coming off a 4-8 record in Fritz’s first season and haven’t been to a bowl since 2022.

“To have a five-star caliber quarterback is something a lot of people don’t understand the value in,” McCutchin said.

“Him coming here will be great for him,” Johnson, UH’s leading receiver last season, added. “Sometimes you just need a reset. This is going to be the best situation for him, because we are going to do whatever we can to make sure this is comfortable for him, and he knows we got his back.”

Weigman is finally healthy and had no restrictions during UH’s 15 spring practices, something that was rarely the case as he dealt with shoulder and foot injuries at Texas A&M. Even when he arrived at UH, Fritz said Weigman was still dealing with some lingering effects from the injuries.

“Totally healthy,” Fritz said. “He wasn’t when he first got here. That was a big issue for him at his last institution, both with his shoulder and his legs. He’s 100% healthy now.”

To land a high-profile transfer quarterback would’ve been tough in the past, Fritz said, if not for the Cougars’ increased financial commitment through NIL and revenue sharing that went into effect July 1.

“That would have been very difficult,” Fritz said of the big bucks being shelled out to land top talent from the portal. “You want guys that’s not the only thing they are looking for, but for everyone that’s part of it.”

Johnson has known Weigman for several years, playing together on a 7-on-7 team in middle school. He began to actively recruit Weigman to UH as soon as he entered the transfer portal.

“He’s someone that can definitely change the whole mindset, the whole feel of a practice or flow of an offense,” Johnson said. “Even with him being here, we’re helping him turn into a better player as well. He’s seeing that things didn’t go our way last year but we’re hungry.”

McCutchin described Weigman as “consistent, a leader.” Carlos Allen Jr., a top returner in the interior defensive line, said Weigman has “bought into the culture.” Mews, UH’s second-leading receiver in 2024, said he’s formed an early connection with Weigman, so both are “on the same page.”

“I feel like when you get a guy like Conner to come in, it kind of gives you hope in a sense,” McCutchin said. “It definitely jolts your team a little bit to want to get better.”

While inconsistency at quarterback was a big reason for UH’s struggles last season, McCutchin said there was plenty of blame to go around.

“A lot of people wanted to put our losses and things like that solely on one position,” McCutchin said. “We had a team problem last year. To be honest, it wasn’t one position. It wasn’t a quarterback problem, it wasn’t an offensive line problem, a running back problem, a defensive back problem. We had a team problem.”

© 2025 the Houston Chronicle. Visit www.chron.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.