How OSU is preparing for No. 23 Houston’s 5-star QBs
Published 1:37 pm Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Oregon State keyed in on eliminating Cougars’ quarterback-run game — no matter who’s under center — ahead of week one road matchup
The Oregon State Beavers are putting a particular focus on containing the quarterback this week, according to head coach JaMarcus Shephard and defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre.
Set to face No. 23 Houston in their season opener, the Beavers have made eliminating the threat of the Cougars’ quarterback-run game a key point of this week’s preparation — no matter who is under center. Houston, led by head coach Willie Fritz, returns former five-star recruit Conner Weigman as the Cougars’ incumbent starter at football’s most talked-about position. Fritz also has freshman five-star Keisean Henderson, the class of 2026’s No. 1-overall recruit, waiting in the wings.
The pair of Cougars signal-callers are both dual threats, though their abilities as rushers show up differently in games. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Weigman logged 700 yards (4.1 ypc) and 11 scores last season in his first year as Houston’s starter. Although he hasn’t taken a collegiate snap yet, Henderson (6-foot-5, 195 pounds) tallied 522 yards (7.1 ypc) and 10 scores as a high school senior last fall.
Weigman is firmly entrenched as Houston’s starter this year. However, Fritz lauded Henderson as a “football junky” who’s engrained himself in the Cougars’ offense since he arrived at Houston in January. On Monday, Fritz said the Cougars are “not going to limit” the freshman this season and he’s expected to play this weekend.
Beavers open up scout-team quarterbacks to live tackling to prepare for Houston’s rushing attack
Shephard said Monday that he and his staff are prepping the Beavers to handle the pair of quarterbacks in a unique way — by hitting their own. The first-year head coach said he’s made Oregon State’s scout-team quarterbacks “pretty much live” for contact this week in practice.
“So many plays (in fall camp) you’re saying, ‘Hey, don’t touch the quarterback,’” Shephard said. “Well, (Weigman’s) not going to just be the one you have to tackle. He’s going to try and run you over at times. So we’ve tried to get that mindset out of our players… by having the quarterback be, pretty much, live this week.”
Shephard added that mobile quarterbacks of either archetype — be it Weigman’s downhill, bruising style or Henderson’s escapability and straight-line speed — have a way of galvanizing football teams.
“When (a quarterback) runs, drops their shoulder into somebody, stands up and they’re excited about (that), guess what? The team usually gets excited,” Shephard said.
It’ll be up to MacIntyre and his defense to neutralize that excitement for the Cougars. Oregon State’s defensive coordinator is embarking on his first year in Corvallis, but has been calling defenses for the better part of 40 years. MacIntyre said Monday that, because there isn’t fresh game-tape to evaluate, the Beavers will adapt to the schemes Houston throws at them offensively, rather than adjust to personnel.
“We’ll be ready for both of them,” MacIntyre said of Weigman and Henderson. “I don’t know how much it’ll change when they do that, (or) if they’ll go more open sets with (Henderson) or whatever. But we’ll just have to adapt as they get out there and go, and be able to play (against them both).”
In 2025, Oregon State was one of just a handful of teams to neutralize Weigman’s legs. He scored a touchdown on the ground, but tallied -1 yard on six carries. MacIntyre said the Beavers’ new staff consulted key contributors from that matchup, such as senior defensive end Takari Hickle and senior linebacker Aiden Sullivan, in preparation for week one.
‘Just (tackle), baby’
Ultimately, the Beavers’ “old dog” defensive coordinator says he won’t need new tricks to neutralize the Cougars’ quarterback-run threat. It’ll come down to the sport’s most-basic principle — tackling in one-on-one scenarios.
“To be a good football team on defense, you’ve got to tackle,” MacIntyre said. “I mean if you don’t tackle, it’s like being a basketball team that can’t make a shot. It doesn’t matter what play you run. We’ve been practicing tackling relentlessly… the first guy can’t just whiff. Because, if he does, the other guys can’t get there in time.
“They’ve got to hit (the Cougars’ ballcarriers) somehow. And our tackling is something we’ve worked tremendously on. I feel like the guys are bought in to that. Now we need to go do it when the real bullets are flying.”
Oregon State’s week one matchup with No. 23 Houston kicks off at 9 a.m. (PST) at Houston’s TDECU Stadium, with ESPN broadcasting the game.