December 23, 2025 • 10 mins
Willie Fritz Joins Ahead Of Texas Bowl Match up vs LSU
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
All that time was showing ross. It's our final visit
of the season here with the man joining us is
going to help our Cougars hopefully knock off the LSU
Tigers this Saturday at the Texas Bowl. Willi Fritz with
US coach, Long time, no talk. Happy holidays to you
and the family. What a great season it has been overall,
wrapping things up with a bit win in Baylor. Take
(00:26):
us through what you've been doing besides signing some great
kids in the recruiting world. How has it been in
the the time between the batter game and what you
got coming up this Saturday?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Really good? Yeah, you're right, it seems like we haven't
taught for quite some time, but it's uh, you know,
it's been awesome. We signed a I think a great
high school class, signed a number one player in the
nation at all positions, Keishawn Anderson from up the Road
and Legacy Sports Academy High School in Spring Texas and
shines in me on hiring five other kids, six other
(00:59):
kids from you know, greater Houston area and a couple
of kids just outside the metro and a few kids
from state of Louisiana. You know, buying large everybody's you know,
within driving distance, which is our goal when we go
out and recruit. We're very fortunate that we don't have
to get on a plane. First time I get on
a plane and recruit will be the first time I've
(01:19):
gotten on a plane of recruit since I've been here.
So great, great freshman class. And then we've come back
and started practicing. You know, we went ahead and I
had five practices and then we took the kids a
week off, and then everybody came back in Sunday and
we has completed practice number two a couple of hours ago,
and you know, working hard on you know LSU and
(01:41):
what they do, and you know, picking up where we
left off hopefully.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Willie, you have done this before. I'm sure you've gone
against teams, whether it's bowl games or you know, current
situation that you've been in yourself about what the other
side of things you've got coaching situation changed, is gonna
take over to LSU. They're in term coach is going
to be leaving to go to Ole Miss when the
game is all said and done. How much And I'm
gonna assume the answer is still plenty. But is there
(02:10):
anything about game film that can be deceiving because of
the players that are not playing and coaching changes at
this point.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
No, you're right, you got to really look at it closely.
One thing is they made the change with the coaching staff.
You know, I argue with h maybe five games left
in the season, so you got some games that you
can look at. You know, it was the same play caller,
you know, offensively, defensively, special teams wise. Another thing that's
(02:39):
always different in the bowl game is the time. You
know between the last game and when you play the
bowl game, and you know, just like us, we're gonna
have some wrinkles in there. You know, they're not going
to be prepared for offense, defense, kicking game, and there's
gonna be some stuff they're gonna do against us, you know,
the the you know we're not gonna be prepared for
it because they've never shown it before. But you know,
(03:01):
there's always a wrinkle here and there when you're playing
a bowl game, especially when it's over a month since
the last game that's played.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I know that every team goes through a few changes.
You've got kids that don't want to play in the
bowl game. You've got kids that are thinking about transfer portal.
It sounds like to me, and you don't have to
get into great detail, but it feels like you're going
to have as full of rosters maybe anybody in the
country going to this game on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah, we we we think we're gonna have everybody, which
we're really really excited about. You know. It's, ah, this
is a big deal for us, you know, it's this, Uh,
we're playing to have ten wins in a season. There's
not very may teams in the country that will have
ten plus wins, you know, so we want to be
one of them. And all the kids we've done a
(03:47):
good job of recruiting the right kind of guys. You know,
they're excited about representing the university and our team one
more time. So we would feel like we're going to be,
you know, have a full squad out there, you know,
other than the kids who got injured early in the season.
Everybody's gonna is preparing right now and everybody's going to
participate in both You.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Have an environment of riches with Keishaan obviously coming in
next year. But Connor made the decision last year to
leave A and M and was looking for a place
he chose the University of Houston, and I think you'd
be generally speaking, very pleased with his performance this year,
as with many different guys, but for Wigman in particular,
tell me about the first time he stepped on the
campus and where he has grown as far as you're
(04:30):
concerned about who he is as a quarterback and the
confidence that he I think he's rebuilt after a lessons
spectacular season in College Station. The year before, well, a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Is issues and problem with College Station. He's banged, got injured,
tried to play through those injuries, and we're very aware
of that and made sure that we got him healthy.
But he's been just awesome. He's a really really nice
young man, good young man, good leader, very competitive, you know,
I think he said an excellent he's in forrest. Uh
(05:02):
you know, just you know, you want to have that quarterback,
but be that type of leader. You know, sometimes you
don't get that. I hear stories and lots of guys
that I think a little bit of a prima donna
maybe at that position, but Connor's you know, really is
entrenched with the offensive line, all the guys on the team.
(05:23):
He's just an excellent leader for us and we're really
really happy that we got in at the University of Houston.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Wellie, I'm very curious about how LSU is going to
prepare for this. They have been to previous Texas Bulls
and like, you've got some guys auditioning for jobs, you've
got kids that are moving on, and you've got quarterback
changes left and right. Would it be fair to say
that maybe the first quarter you'll see it in their
eyes and we'll see it as fans about how bested
(05:52):
they're into this game, depending on what kind of start
you get on your side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Oh, I think those kids are going to be very,
very excited. Uh. Coach Wilson does a super job. I'm
knowing him. He's a New Orleans guy and now's there
two lane. For eight years, we did a lot of recruiting,
you know, camps in collaboration with LSU, especially when coach
Origeron was there, and you know, so they're they're gonna
(06:18):
have him fired up, them ready to go. I know
a few of the coaches on their staff coach for
me before Alex Atkins, our offensive coordinator. You know, a
really good coach, Kevin Peetle's a D line coach for me.
He's coached for me a bunch of places. They're gonna
have them ready to go. I got to do a
good job and make sure our guys are ready to go.
This is you know, it's a it's a big ball
(06:38):
game for us. We've sold out of our allotment of tickets.
LSU has done the same. We're gonna have a really
good crowd and n RG uh So it's exciting. I
know it's gonna be exciting for both.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Teams and the love that this school has for its city.
I do like the fact you guys are making a
staycation out of it. We're getting the kids away from
campus to get that feel of being at a bowl game,
even though you're still staying in seven one to three.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Oh yeah, we're staying a hill in Americas down downtown.
We're going to be doing a bunch of things with them.
We do have going and doing a little go car
racing tonight with the kids, and you know, we want
to have fun. You know, we want to have the
right kind of fun and they know that. But the
main thing is playing great Saturday night at eight twenty.
That's you know, I tell them all the time and
(07:27):
all of this is for us to play great at
eight twenty. So when it's time to prepare, prepare, it's
time to have some fun. Let's have some fun. But
we're just blessed and honored to you know, represent the
University of Houston in this bowl game.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Well, there's some of our last visits. So let me
ask you this, Uh, the game will end, your wife
is going to ask you to do some honey dues
because you've basically been away from that for quite a
few months. And then after that, what's the next sixty
days for you and your staff?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Like here, Well, we got the portal that's going to
open up on Anuary the second through the sixteenth, and
that's going to be take a lot of our time.
Got the National Convention in American Football Coaches Association. You know,
I'll go out to Charlotte, North Carolina for a day
or two for that, and some of my coaches will
(08:17):
as well. And then when that finishes, you know, we
get into high school recruiting, so we'll be out and
about driving around town and seeing all the great high
school football players and coaches here in the state of Texas.
So there's always work to do. So Luckily, I love
my job, so it's labor of love.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And I've said this before many times, even when you've
not been on my show. I feel like, with so
many Houston kids that this would be a And people
have their own opinions about the portals, so we'll leave
at for a different time. But if you've got some
homesick children, the University of Houston could be a great
place to finish out a college football career.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well, I've mentioned it before. One of the reasons we
got two Lane turned around and did things there that
nobody was we were capable of ever being able to do.
Is we had a bunch of Orleans kids and went
our distances to go to school. I thought the grass
was green or somewhere else, found out it was only green,
and came back home. And uh sooner or later that
(09:21):
out weighs a little bit more money in my opinion,
but uh, I just think there's going to be that
opportunity for us to grab some kids and maybe went
someplace else. A lot of the kids we got on
our team and we got out of the portal, we're all,
you know, kids from this area for the most part,
besides two or three guys. That's one of the main
(09:42):
reasons why Connor Weedman came came to the University of Houston.
He's from Houston, very close to his family, and you know,
he wanted to come back home and we're fortunate enough
to get him. But there's a lot of guys that
we're in a similar situation. So you're right, we're going
we're going to use that to our advantage.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Well, thank you for the visits each and every week
throughout the course of the year. We wish you know,
the very best best Slok Saturday against the LSU Tigers.
I work with nothing with LSU Tiger people, so I
need you to win this one, especially badly because I
can give them so much grief over the next two
handful of days.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, do your best job of it, man, I appreciate you.
Go Koks.
All that time was showing ross. It's our final visit
of the season here with the man joining us is
going to help our Cougars hopefully knock off the LSU
Tigers this Saturday at the Texas Bowl. Willi Fritz with
US coach, Long time, no talk. Happy holidays to you
and the family. What a great season it has been overall,
wrapping things up with a bit win in Baylor. Take
(00:26):
us through what you've been doing besides signing some great
kids in the recruiting world. How has it been in
the the time between the batter game and what you
got coming up this Saturday?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Really good? Yeah, you're right, it seems like we haven't
taught for quite some time, but it's uh, you know,
it's been awesome. We signed a I think a great
high school class, signed a number one player in the
nation at all positions, Keishawn Anderson from up the Road
and Legacy Sports Academy High School in Spring Texas and
shines in me on hiring five other kids, six other
(00:59):
kids from you know, greater Houston area and a couple
of kids just outside the metro and a few kids
from state of Louisiana. You know, buying large everybody's you know,
within driving distance, which is our goal when we go
out and recruit. We're very fortunate that we don't have
to get on a plane. First time I get on
a plane and recruit will be the first time I've
(01:19):
gotten on a plane of recruit since I've been here.
So great, great freshman class. And then we've come back
and started practicing. You know, we went ahead and I
had five practices and then we took the kids a
week off, and then everybody came back in Sunday and
we has completed practice number two a couple of hours ago,
and you know, working hard on you know LSU and
(01:41):
what they do, and you know, picking up where we
left off hopefully.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Willie, you have done this before. I'm sure you've gone
against teams, whether it's bowl games or you know, current
situation that you've been in yourself about what the other
side of things you've got coaching situation changed, is gonna
take over to LSU. They're in term coach is going
to be leaving to go to Ole Miss when the
game is all said and done. How much And I'm
gonna assume the answer is still plenty. But is there
(02:10):
anything about game film that can be deceiving because of
the players that are not playing and coaching changes at
this point.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
No, you're right, you got to really look at it closely.
One thing is they made the change with the coaching staff.
You know, I argue with h maybe five games left
in the season, so you got some games that you
can look at. You know, it was the same play caller,
you know, offensively, defensively, special teams wise. Another thing that's
(02:39):
always different in the bowl game is the time. You
know between the last game and when you play the
bowl game, and you know, just like us, we're gonna
have some wrinkles in there. You know, they're not going
to be prepared for offense, defense, kicking game, and there's
gonna be some stuff they're gonna do against us, you know,
the the you know we're not gonna be prepared for
it because they've never shown it before. But you know,
(03:01):
there's always a wrinkle here and there when you're playing
a bowl game, especially when it's over a month since
the last game that's played.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I know that every team goes through a few changes.
You've got kids that don't want to play in the
bowl game. You've got kids that are thinking about transfer portal.
It sounds like to me, and you don't have to
get into great detail, but it feels like you're going
to have as full of rosters maybe anybody in the
country going to this game on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Yeah, we we we think we're gonna have everybody, which
we're really really excited about. You know. It's, ah, this
is a big deal for us, you know, it's this, Uh,
we're playing to have ten wins in a season. There's
not very may teams in the country that will have
ten plus wins, you know, so we want to be
one of them. And all the kids we've done a
(03:47):
good job of recruiting the right kind of guys. You know,
they're excited about representing the university and our team one
more time. So we would feel like we're going to be,
you know, have a full squad out there, you know,
other than the kids who got injured early in the season.
Everybody's gonna is preparing right now and everybody's going to
participate in both You.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Have an environment of riches with Keishaan obviously coming in
next year. But Connor made the decision last year to
leave A and M and was looking for a place
he chose the University of Houston, and I think you'd
be generally speaking, very pleased with his performance this year,
as with many different guys, but for Wigman in particular,
tell me about the first time he stepped on the
campus and where he has grown as far as you're
(04:30):
concerned about who he is as a quarterback and the
confidence that he I think he's rebuilt after a lessons
spectacular season in College Station. The year before, well, a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Is issues and problem with College Station. He's banged, got injured,
tried to play through those injuries, and we're very aware
of that and made sure that we got him healthy.
But he's been just awesome. He's a really really nice
young man, good young man, good leader, very competitive, you know,
I think he said an excellent he's in forrest. Uh
(05:02):
you know, just you know, you want to have that quarterback,
but be that type of leader. You know, sometimes you
don't get that. I hear stories and lots of guys
that I think a little bit of a prima donna
maybe at that position, but Connor's you know, really is
entrenched with the offensive line, all the guys on the team.
(05:23):
He's just an excellent leader for us and we're really
really happy that we got in at the University of Houston.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Wellie, I'm very curious about how LSU is going to
prepare for this. They have been to previous Texas Bulls
and like, you've got some guys auditioning for jobs, you've
got kids that are moving on, and you've got quarterback
changes left and right. Would it be fair to say
that maybe the first quarter you'll see it in their
eyes and we'll see it as fans about how bested
(05:52):
they're into this game, depending on what kind of start
you get on your side of the ball.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Oh, I think those kids are going to be very,
very excited. Uh. Coach Wilson does a super job. I'm
knowing him. He's a New Orleans guy and now's there
two lane. For eight years, we did a lot of recruiting,
you know, camps in collaboration with LSU, especially when coach
Origeron was there, and you know, so they're they're gonna
(06:18):
have him fired up, them ready to go. I know
a few of the coaches on their staff coach for
me before Alex Atkins, our offensive coordinator. You know, a
really good coach, Kevin Peetle's a D line coach for me.
He's coached for me a bunch of places. They're gonna
have them ready to go. I got to do a
good job and make sure our guys are ready to go.
This is you know, it's a it's a big ball
(06:38):
game for us. We've sold out of our allotment of tickets.
LSU has done the same. We're gonna have a really
good crowd and n RG uh So it's exciting. I
know it's gonna be exciting for both.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Teams and the love that this school has for its city.
I do like the fact you guys are making a
staycation out of it. We're getting the kids away from
campus to get that feel of being at a bowl game,
even though you're still staying in seven one to three.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Oh yeah, we're staying a hill in Americas down downtown.
We're going to be doing a bunch of things with them.
We do have going and doing a little go car
racing tonight with the kids, and you know, we want
to have fun. You know, we want to have the
right kind of fun and they know that. But the
main thing is playing great Saturday night at eight twenty.
That's you know, I tell them all the time and
(07:27):
all of this is for us to play great at
eight twenty. So when it's time to prepare, prepare, it's
time to have some fun. Let's have some fun. But
we're just blessed and honored to you know, represent the
University of Houston in this bowl game.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Well, there's some of our last visits. So let me
ask you this, Uh, the game will end, your wife
is going to ask you to do some honey dues
because you've basically been away from that for quite a
few months. And then after that, what's the next sixty
days for you and your staff?
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Like here, Well, we got the portal that's going to
open up on Anuary the second through the sixteenth, and
that's going to be take a lot of our time.
Got the National Convention in American Football Coaches Association. You know,
I'll go out to Charlotte, North Carolina for a day
or two for that, and some of my coaches will
(08:17):
as well. And then when that finishes, you know, we
get into high school recruiting, so we'll be out and
about driving around town and seeing all the great high
school football players and coaches here in the state of Texas.
So there's always work to do. So Luckily, I love
my job, so it's labor of love.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And I've said this before many times, even when you've
not been on my show. I feel like, with so
many Houston kids that this would be a And people
have their own opinions about the portals, so we'll leave
at for a different time. But if you've got some
homesick children, the University of Houston could be a great
place to finish out a college football career.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well, I've mentioned it before. One of the reasons we
got two Lane turned around and did things there that
nobody was we were capable of ever being able to do.
Is we had a bunch of Orleans kids and went
our distances to go to school. I thought the grass
was green or somewhere else, found out it was only green,
and came back home. And uh sooner or later that
(09:21):
out weighs a little bit more money in my opinion,
but uh, I just think there's going to be that
opportunity for us to grab some kids and maybe went
someplace else. A lot of the kids we got on
our team and we got out of the portal, we're all,
you know, kids from this area for the most part,
besides two or three guys. That's one of the main
(09:42):
reasons why Connor Weedman came came to the University of Houston.
He's from Houston, very close to his family, and you know,
he wanted to come back home and we're fortunate enough
to get him. But there's a lot of guys that
we're in a similar situation. So you're right, we're going
we're going to use that to our advantage.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Well, thank you for the visits each and every week
throughout the course of the year. We wish you know,
the very best best Slok Saturday against the LSU Tigers.
I work with nothing with LSU Tiger people, so I
need you to win this one, especially badly because I
can give them so much grief over the next two
handful of days.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Well, do your best job of it, man, I appreciate you.
Go Koks.
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