Can Houston Win the Big12? | HC Willie Fritz Promises Title | College Football 2024

the Houston Cougars heading into the 2024 season with a brand new head coach and Willie Fritz coming over from two lane they've got some great transfers coming in as well we're heading out to Houston Texas to give you an Insight on the Houston copers heading into the 2024 season Brad this is a very intriguing program for us here at break the Huddle not the most talked about program by any means even though they play a power five conference we know Texas leaves the Big 12 we know Oklahoma leaves the Big 12 Houston right there in the hub of Texas in the greatest recruiting grounds you could possibly have especially in the city of Houston you're talking in your own backyard you have some of the most elite players in all the nation to grab from Willie Fritz is a guy that wins year in and year out wherever he goes to from two lane to any other program been to in the past he's found a way to win can he do the same here at Houston we've seen the success of other coaches at Houston we've seen guys like Tom Herman BR I'll turn it over to you what are your thoughts on on Willie Fritz I know you're really high on this guy can he get it done in the Big 12 for the Houston Cougars yeah Nate this is first of all yes so high on on on Coach Willie Fritz um just has been a winner everywhere he has been and you know I I first heard of Coach Fritz when he was actually in the state of Texas at Sam Houston State there the of course at the FCS level he went on a great great four-year run uh with the with the Sam Houston State Bearcats which ended him get getting him to Georgia Southern which of course took him to two lane um and then of course ends up at Houston Nate you talk about his last two years at two lane 12 wins in 2022 and 11 wins last year in 23 and this guy was just he's just a he's just a winner he just knows how to win he's a veteran at 63 years old he's been around football a long long time Nate I'm curious to see what kind of offense he runs at Houston of course you think about Tom Herman they were you know a very very balanced spread thinking about what what their their last head coach with with Dana hogerson just you know throwing the ball over the field throwing the ball 40 50 sometimes 60 times a game I think Willie Fritz is definitely going to take a different approach because we saw him at two lane with Michael Pratt and some really good running backs where they were a run heavy team so that's intriguing that that's very very intriguing to me and Nate another intriguing thing is who he kind of picked up in the transfer portal he brings over Zeon Chris who transferred from Louisiana Lafayette who was a good quarterback I wouldn't say he set the world on fire but he was very very consistent but Nate I want to focus on two tight ends he brings in transfer Jaden York from Texas Tech who is a big kid 64250 that's intriguing one the other intriguing one to me is Mal car from Michigan State 66260 you know you bring these two guys in and and you know match up nightmares for linebackers and and and safeties and um you know I I'm really really intrigued by the type of offense that coach Fritz chooses to run you know I think Houston's just going to be really really intriguing to watch one other guy I want to point out if you're a Georgia fan and you listen the channel you're going to know this name Makai muse now this kid is not the biggest but he is exciting 5'8 goes 185 H had some success last year at Georgia I remember he took a punt back early in the year for a touchdown played some in the slot but um he he he transferred and Nate this is one of the reasons I love the transfer portal as bad as it is it's guys like this that don't get a whole lot of playing time at at a big school but can go to a place like Houston and find themselves getting a lot of snaps um I think M Muse is going to have a chance there Nate the final point that I'll touch on before I turn over to you is look we we have been talking about this this spring on break the Huddle all these changes to the conferences and Nate the Big 12 is wide open and Willie Fritz is a winner he's successful he's been in the state of Texas and with the big 12 transitioning um of course the big boys Texas and Oklahoma leaving I think Houston's in a prime position to where they can be really really successful Nate I'll turn over to you but I I like I like the move to hire Willie Fritz and I think I think the C cougars could have a really really good year yeah Brad it's intriguing to me what the Big 12 is going to look like we've had a mid level I guess is what most people would talk Big 12 teams kind of come up through the ranks in the last few years we've seen tcu's recent run we saw Baylor a few years ago now we're gonna get a chance to see who is the new Top Dog in the Big 12 and I think Houston is one of those teams that can make their Mark early along with a couple other teams we'll get into further in the spring I think UCF has a good chance as well it's a very under program big recruiting grounds down there in the State of Florida but for this program specifically I I I completely agree with you Brad I think Willie Fritz was one of the most underrated hires in in this whole 2024 off season this is your guy I know he's older but he knows the lay of the land he knows how to recruit in that area even though he's from the you know the the coming from the state of Louisiana and you're looking at the two best states possibly in recruiting for college football outside of Georgia and California and Florida uh Louisiana in Texas provide plenty of talent in itself one thing I noticed about Willie Fritz heading into this season and what he's trying to build I'm not an Insider for that program obviously maybe one day we will be Brad but for now you when you look at the roster change one thing he's really made an emphasis on is getting big guys up front you mentioned the two you mentioned the two tight ends up front I want to mention a couple other guys on both side of the ball he gets transferred defensive lineman from two lane coming over with him from two lane Keith Cooper Jr 64 230 pounds this is a three star guy but look he's gonna provide that stability and that experience up front and that leadership that you need heading into the new program when you when you head into a new program you need guys that have experience in college football that have those leadership skills so it kind of takes a little off the load playerwise to make sure that PE that players are staying disciplined they're doing drills the right way and they're getting it done the right way and I think Keith Cooper Jr is one of those guys you mentioned um Makai Muse coming over from Georgia just an absolute Speedster I'm so happy for this guy and I think he's really really gonna up his chances of getting drafted in the NFL while being coached under Willie Fritz runs super fast really good on special teams can kind of line up in the slot maybe even running back at some points you know some end rounds I really like his abilities there I mentioned the size up front he goes out and gets interior offensive lineman from UCLA 65 250 but you have to think in the weight room he's going to add another 20 to 30 pounds over the off season and Jake Wy I think he's a really big pickup for the Houston Cougars another guy I want to mention and that's offensive interior offensive lineman coming over from La Tech Dakota white 63 280 really really good um I believe he's either going to play tackle or um or excuse me guard or or Center um he's a really big addition for them overall I think Willie Fritz has done a phenomenal job making sure that he gets guys up front he gets some guys outside and and like you mentioned it looks like he's got his quarterback in Zeon Chris for the for foreseeable future we're going to find out pretty quickly but yeah Brad it's going to be very fascinating to see um who ends up being the top dog in the Big 12 in the 2024 season and to come if you're a Houston fan be sure to comment down in the comment section below let us know what you think about this Willie critz hire and um what the Cougars can do heading into the 2024 season [Music]