The Houston Cougars have two really good quarterbacks on their college football roster.
The problem, of course, is you only get to play one of those guys at a time — so one of Keisean Henderson or Connor Weigman will always be on the outside looking in.
In the early going, it has been Henderson.
He was ranked by some recruiting services as the top overall recruit in the nation in the Class of 2026, and it was a historic victory for Houston to bring Henderson to their school over some of the college football world’s classic powerhouses.
Despite the hype, though, Henderson is only QB2 at the moment.
He did get a chance to play in the Sept. 12 blowout of Southern, and he was 6-for-7 passing for 83 yards and two touchdowns while also running one time for a 54-yard TD.
Henderson also got into the Sept. 5 33-20 win over Oregon State and threw a single incompletion.
On the other hand, Weigman has been dealing. He threw for 305 yards against Oregon State, then 9-for-12 for 120 yards and three TDs against Southern.
Weigman also ran for a touchdown against the Beavers.
Clearly, it’s a good problem to have for Houston.
The one concern, of course, would be that the top recruit Henderson gets annoyed by not starting, but that’s something that the Cougars will have to deal with internally to prevent such frustrations as they battle winning now with winning in the future.
Why Isn’t Keisean Henderson Starting?
In the current world of college football, it’s very rare for true freshmen to start at quarterback.
Arch Manning didn’t do it, as the most high-profile recent example, but pretty much none of the top-notch programs start guys in their first fall on campus.
Bear Bachmeier did it to great success at BYU last year, but he wasn’t even a high-ranking recruit.
Teams generally want to be sure to get it right with a five-star QB, much like NFL teams don’t always start their top picks right away — take Fernando Mendoza sitting behind Kirk Cousins with the Las Vegas Raiders to start this NFL season.
Henderson has all the talent in the world, but Houston clearly feels it can take his develop at a comfortable pace and not rush it.
Why Is Connor Weigman Starting?
Weigman is starting because he’s one of the most experienced quarterbacks in college football.
He spent three seasons at Texas A&M, where he threw for at least 800 yards in each campaign with a total of 19 touchdowns across the three years.
Weigman then came to Houston last year and completed 65.2% of his passes for 2,705 yards and 25 touchdowns while also rushing for 700 yards and 11 more TDs.
Since he chose to stay at Houston and not transfer, it was pretty clear this would be Weigman’s job to begin the year, and Henderson probably knew it, too.
Why Keisean Henderson Isn’t Playing for Houston With QB Connor Weigman