The bye week came at the right time for No. 17 Houston, and Willie Fritz sounded plenty encouraged on Monday when he laid out where the Cougars stand health-wise coming out of it.
After getting beat up in the Week 8 loss at Utah, Houston needed a reset. The break gave the Cougars a chance to get bodies back, and Fritz said that process went well as the team turns its attention to Cincinnati.
The biggest offensive boost is redshirt junior tight end Patrick Overmyer, who left on the first drive in Salt Lake City and never returned. Houston felt that absence in a game where the offense managed just 13 points, especially after Overmyer had just landed on the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.
“He’s back at practice and full speed,” Fritz said.
That matters for a Houston passing game that lost a reliable target across the field. Overmyer’s return gives Conner Weigman another piece to work with and changes the way defenses have to prepare.
Weigman, too, appears to have come out of the bye in better shape.
“Full go, ready to go. He had a good practice today,” Fritz said.
The senior quarterback had been dealing with some bumps and bruises. He was slow to get up a few times against Utah and didn’t use his legs much in that game, while his mobility had already been a talking point after he initially came up limping against Oklahoma State. When Houston Cougars On SI asked him before the Utah game whether he was 100 percent, Weigman said, “We’re getting there.”
Houston’s defense got a lift as well, and not a small one.
“Jaden Yates is back. He’s full speed,” Fritz said. “A couple of guys are out for the season, but besides that, everybody else is good.”
Yates had been out since Week 4 with a leg injury, and Houston had been leaning on Sione Fotu and Carmycah Glass in the linebacker room while waiting for him to return. The transfer from Ole Miss is now back in the mix.
Fritz also had a positive update on De’Marion Thomas, who had been a concern after missing time. The senior defensive tackle, a transfer from Oklahoma State, practiced well on Monday.
“De’Marion Thomas, we were concerned about him. He had a good practice today,” Fritz said.
That’s especially important with Cincinnati on deck. Houston’s run defense will need all the help it can get against a team that leans heavily on the ground game.
With four weeks left and two road games still ahead, Houston came out of the bye in much better shape than it went in. Fritz said that was the entire point.
“We used last week as a week to get healthy. I think we accomplished that goal. The number one goal was we wanted to get them healthy,” Fritz said.
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