Houston quarterback Conner Weigman picked up another national nod on August 19, landing on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watch list as one of the senior or upperclassman quarterbacks in the mix. It comes just a little over two weeks after he was also included on the Maxwell Award watch list on August 3.
For Weigman, the recognition is another step toward a bigger national profile. He’s already being mentioned with some of the top quarterbacks in college football, and this kind of attention only adds to that momentum.
The production is there to support it. Last season, Weigman threw for 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns while also adding 700 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground.
But his college path has not been smooth. Injuries have repeatedly disrupted his time at Texas A&M, wiping out his playing time in 2023 and costing him the starting job in 2024.
Even so, his numbers stack up well inside the Big 12. He finished fifth in passing touchdowns, seventh in passing yards and fifth in passer rating compared with the rest of the conference’s quarterbacks.
This season, Weigman also has the kind of help around him that can make life easier. Houston expects wide receivers Amare Thomas and Trent Walker to be his top targets.
Thomas earned a spot on Pro Football Network’s Preseason All-Big 12 first team and is viewed as one of the conference’s top receivers. Walker, meanwhile, arrives off a 2025 season at Oregon State in which he posted 823 yards and two touchdowns, and he projects as the offense’s No. 2 option.
The Cougars also got national recognition up front, with offensive linemen Shadre Hurst and Anthony Boswell both earning national nominations.
Weigman was a major reason Houston finished 10-3 and beat LSU 38-35 in the Kinder's Texas Bowl. His feel for pressure, big arm and ability to adjust to defenses helped spark an offense Houston fans hadn’t seen at that level since 2022, when Clayton Tune and Tank Dell were still in the program.
Houston Athletics also pointed to just how rare Weigman’s company is. Since 2021, only 17 quarterbacks have won 10 games, totaled 3,000 yards, thrown 35 touchdowns and kept turnovers at 10 or fewer. That group includes nine first-round draft picks, 11 Heisman finalists, five quarterbacks who played for a national title and two active players: Arch Manning and Weigman.
The odds of actually winning the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award are long, but the watch list spot still matters. It puts Weigman in the conversation as one of the country’s top quarterbacks.
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