Houston’s trip to Statesboro for Week 4 comes with a strange little web of connections attached to it.
The Cougars are headed to Georgia Southern for the first time ever, making this last non-conference game of the season a rare road date for a Power Four program against a Sun Belt opponent. But the matchup is more than just unusual geography. There are familiar names all over it.
Houston coach Willie Fritz spent 2014 and 2015 leading Georgia Southern, and he did plenty of winning while he was there. In two seasons, Fritz went 17-7, delivered a 2014 Sun Belt Conference title and guided the Eagles to their first bowl game. Now he’s returning to Statesboro, only this time he’ll be on the other sideline.
Georgia Southern’s current coach, Clay Helton, also has deep Houston ties. He played quarterback for the Cougars in 1993 and 1994, served as a captain in 1994 and did it all under his father, Kim Helton.
Kim coached Houston from 1993 through 1999, putting together two winning seasons and one bowl appearance. Clay later came back to Houston as the running backs coach from 1997-99.
His younger brother, Tyson, also played for Houston under Kim from 1996-99.
Fritz said of Helton, “I’ve heard nothing but great things about Clay, and I know a bunch of people in Statesboro are really proud of the program he’s built there," Fritz said.
When Fritz first got the job, he put together a reunion for all Houston lettermen the night before the spring game and invited the Heltons, though they were tied up with spring football. It was a first for Fritz, who said he had never been in a situation with that many coaching and playing connections.
The quarterback matchup carries its own layer of familiarity, too. Houston senior quarterback Conner Weigman and Georgia Southern seventh-year quarterback Max Johnson were teammates at Texas A&M.
Weigman entered 2022 as a third-string freshman, while Johnson was the backup. Johnson later got hurt, and Weigman wound up starting four of the Aggies’ final five games.
The next season, the roles flipped. Johnson was behind Weigman on the depth chart, but it was Weigman who got hurt early in 2023, and Johnson ended up starting most of the year for Texas A&M.
Now both quarterbacks are set to lead their teams in Week 4, with a lot of familiar history packed into one meeting in Statesboro.
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