The Winning Aura Of Conner Weigman — Discarded Texas A&M Quarterback Is Making His New Houston Teammates Believe

Latrell McCutchin Sr. has been around and seen plenty in his college football life. But the senior defensive back who played at USC before arriving at the University of Houston has never seen a UH quarterback like Conner Weigman.

“From the day he stepped on campus, he’s been consistent,” McCutchin tells PaperCity. “He has a way of going about his process That hasn’t changed. that hasn’t wavered for anything. So I feel like his unwavering competitiveness and his unwavering consistency is going to be something that sets him apart and really pushes our team to the next level.

“Because if I’m being honest, we didn’t have that. We didn’t have a leader in a quarterback. We didn’t have that extra leadership.”

McCutchin sees this in the way guys are being held accountable by another player, a peer who does not hesitate to speak up. “Just having a guy who can really put his foot down and has a voice around the team that people actually listen to is going to help us,” the cornerback says.

This is the Conner Weigman Effect. David Raffield has seen it before. The longtime former head coach at Bridgeland High School watched this quarterback put that school’s football program on the map. “He’s the most competitive person I’ve ever coached in 36 years,” Raffield tells PaperCiy. “He’s No. 1 with that competitive thing.

“We’re having a rough game, he’s not afraid to just take it over.”

A case in point came in a Texas high school playoff game against Klein Collins. With Weigman’s Bridgeland team down by two scores with nine minutes remaining, things looked bleak. To Conner Weigman newbies. Bridgeland’s new linebackers coach asked one of his linebackers. “Hey, how’s it going?'” and the kid shoots back, “We’re good coach. We got this.” Somewhat confused, the linebackers coach answers, ‘You know we’re down by 11 points right now?” The linebacker looks his coach in the eye and firmly replies, “That’s all right. We’ve got Conner. We’re good.”

With about 20 seconds left, Conner Weigman throws the game-winning touchdown pass. And Bridgeland moves on.

“I’ll never forget, the (linebackers) coach came up to me after and goes, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it,’ ” Raffield laughs while retelling the story. ” ‘The whole defense knew we were going to win because of Conner.’ I said, ‘He has that aura about him.’ ”

Some of Weigman’s aura seemed to eventually dim at Texas A&M. He burst onto the Aggie scene early on, throwing for a freshman-record 338 yards and four touchdowns in his first college start against Ole Miss. But he suffered a series of injuries and after playing hurt lost his job last season to current A&M quarterback Marcel Reed.

Conner Weigman needed a new spot to rediscover his mojo and he picked hometown Houston, creating one of the more compelling stories in Texas college football this season. The discarded A&M quarterback will try to turbocharge Willie Fritz’s Houston rebuild. This marriage of need will begin in earnest when fall camp kicks off this Tuesday morning, just a day after the UH players moved into the new $160 million football operations center.

Fritz sees a healthy Weigman, pointing out how the 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback was clocked at 21 MPH sprinting on the GPS tracking system.

For his part, David Raffield thinks Weigman and the Cougars is the perfect fit.

“I’ll never forget, the (linebackers) coach came up to me after and goes, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. The whole defense knew we were going to win because of Conner.’ I said, ‘He has that aura about him.’ ” — former Bridgeland coach David Raffield

Dismissing Conner Weigmen?

In Raffield’s mind, the Cougars are getting a now underrated Conner Weigman. The Athletic dubbed Weigman only the 51st ranked quarterback in college football in its analysis of all 136 starting QBs in the FBS, placing him in the fourth tier. No one nationally seems to be expecting much from the former five star recruit anymore.

“He’s had a rough ride,” Raffield says. “Two head coaches. Three offensive coordinators. Three different offensive schemes. And multiple injuries. It seemed like every time he took a step forward, he’d take two steps back. But it’s led to this.

“I think if he can stay healthy and do what he does, it’s going to be a great thing for the Cougars.”

Part of what Conner Weigman does is make his teammates believe, giving them confidence that they can do more too. “He’s always talking to somebody,” Houston coach Wille Fritz says. “And not just the offensive guys. I’ll walk by and he’s sitting down talking to a defensive player.”

You cannot lead half a team. Not if you really want to go places. The head coach isn’t the only one who’s noticed this Conner Weigman trait either.

“Every time I see Conner, he’s talking to a different member of the team,” Latrell McCutchin says. “And that’s something I haven’t seen in the past since I’ve been at UH. I haven’t seen this type of poise and plays since I played with (current Chicago Bears starting quarterback) Caleb Williams (at USC).”

Weigman’s leadership has evolved. Raffield remembers how the quarterback came off the field hot and upset even though he’d thrown a long pass to set up a field goal right before the half in a game Bridgeland found itself struggling in. “Everybody’s fired up,” Raffield says. “And he comes running to me pissed off because the receiver flattened the route. Had he stayed vertical, it would have been a touchdown. And he’s all wound up.

“I said, ‘Take a deep breath. Look behind me. The little sophomore’s all excited because he had caught a ball that led to a field goal. I said if I say anything, he’s not going to get it. ‘Why don’t you go over and tell him what you saw.’ Well, he did.”

Raffield watched Weigman explain the whole play, where the safety was, pointing out to the young receiver what he should have done. Three weeks later in a district playoff game, Bridgeland calls the same play right before the end of the first half. The sophomore receiver splits the safety and Weigman hits him for a touchdown.

“They’re going nuts,” Raffield remembers with a laugh. “Conner goes to the sideline and I say, ‘See, you teach ’em and it will all work out.’ ”

Now Weigman must help UH’s receivers adjust to the multiple offensive formations that new offensive coordinator Slade Nagle likes to deploy. It’s another new system for this fourth year quarterback who’s never thrown more than 132 passes in a college season due to injuries. But both Weigman and his former high school coach think it is one that suits him well.

Weigman is already helping teach the offense to his new teammates.

“His leadership, his football IQ has been amazing,” veteran receiver Mekhi Mews says. “He has a high football IQ and his command of the offense is real. Whether it’s like go there. Whether it’s ‘Hey guys, this is not the right thing to do. This is how it’s supposed to look.’

“Just watching film together, he helps us pick up a lot.”

“Every time I see Conner, he’s talking to a different member of the team. And that’s something I haven’t seen in the past since I’ve been at UH. I haven’t seen this type of poise and plays since I played with Caleb Williams (at USC).” — Latrell McCutchin

This is the Conner Weigman way. For all the debate over his play, much of it fueled by unrealistic Aggies fans who couldn’t come to terms with what their team really was, Raffield will tell you that this quarterback is just a football nut at his core. One who has little use for hype or hoopla.

One who wants all the responsibilities that come with the most important position in football.

“He gets it,” Raffield tells PaperCity. “He understands that if you want to lead, you have to lead the whole team. He would interact with you whether you were a starter or you were third string. It didn’t matter to him.”

Latrell McCutchin sees a different kind of University of Houston quarterback. Willie Fritz is betting everyone else will too. Soon.