![\"HOUSTON,](\"https:\/\/platform.underdogdynasty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/172\/2026\/09\/gettyimages-2293689511.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 05: Re\u2019shaun Sanford II #6 of the Houston Cougars celebrates a touchdown against the Oregon State Beavers during the second quarter at TDECU Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n
The long, arduous days of intense rehabilitation and physical therapy all seemed worth when the fourth-year Cougar running back took crossed the goal line on the lengthy scamper.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing feeling,\u201d Sanford said. \u201cEvery time you miss a year of something you love doing, you realize how much you really love it. I feel like I was very prepared for that moment as well. Of course, everybody goes into the game wanting to score, but I just wanted to do my job. My preparation over the past year has allowed me to be ready for this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanford exuberantly celebrated the score, repeatedly jumping up and down as teammates sprinted toward him in the end zone. It was a moment many of those teammates had been eager to see, considering the positivity Sanford consistently brought to the team while sidelined with his ACL injury in 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely believe that infectious energy, like good energy, can be fed off of,\u201d Sanford said. \u201cNegative energy can be fed off too, but what good is that if you\u2019re gonna be negative? Even if things might be bad, you\u2019ve got to pump your teammates\u2019 tires. If I\u2019m being infectious, like my energy being infectious, you stay positive and it feeds off to the next guy. Now he\u2019s being positive, and that goes on so on and so forth, so we\u2019re all moving with the same mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head coach Willie Fritz said Sanford\u2019s positivity reached a point where the pain he endured during two of the last three seasons often seemed secondary.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had a very positive attitude the whole time,\u201d Fritz said. \u201cSometimes I forget that he\u2019s had two serious back-to-back injuries because he has a really good attitude about everything. We\u2019re really happy for him. It\u2019s good when a guy overcomes adversity, and he certainly has.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Sanford wasn\u2019t the only Houston running back whose positivity throughout adversity paid dividends.<\/p>\n
The Cougars added Makhi Hughes to the running back room this offseason. Hughes, a former Fritz recruit, at Tulane was a two-time First Team All-American Conference selection, posting back-to-back 1,300-yard rushing seasons with the Green Wave. He was one of the most coveted transfers in the country entering the 2025 season, ultimately landing at Oregon with expectations of contending for the Doak Walker Award or Heisman Trophy.<\/p>\n
Instead, he was buried on the depth chart and posted a mere 17 carries for 70 yards. With his opportunities surprisingly limited in Eugene, Hughes left the team after four games and preserved his redshirt.<\/p>\n