App State transfer defensive lineman Joshua Donald commits to Houston Cougars

Appalachian State transfer defensive lineman Joshua Donald committed to the Houston Cougars. He chose the Cougars over his other finalists, including Wisconsin and Kansas State. He finished 2024 with 32 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. It was his lone season with the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Before the 2024 season, Donald played at Southern University from 2022-2023. His 2023 campaign included 11 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack in nine games. He logged eight tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack during the 2022 campaign.

More on Joshua Donald and the Houston Cougars

In the spring of 2023, Donald participated in spring practices with the Troy Trojans. In high school, Donald played at Jordan High (Durham, North Carolina), before spending one year at Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, Virginia) during the 2021 campaign.

The Houston Cougars had a rough first year under their new head coach, Willie Fritz. The Cougars finished with a 4-8 overall record. The Cougars have been one of the most active teams in college football in the transfer portal in the 2025 cycle. Willie Fritz has shown that he’s not going to be afraid to contact just about anyone he feels that could potentially upgrade his roster.

So far, Fritz has landed safety Will James from Southern Miss, linebacker Luke McGary out of Tulsa, safety Jordan Allen of LSU, on the defensive side of the football. One of the biggest lands of the offseason for the Houston coaches was Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman.

Weigman threw for 819 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions in six appearances in the first year of the Mike Elko era in College Station. He was replaced by Marcel Reed at halftime of their LSU win and never started again for the Aggies. During his three seasons for Texas A&M, Weigman finished with 2,694 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Coming out of high school, Conner Weigman was one of the most coveted prospects in the nation. He was named a 2022 Under Armour All-American. As a senior, he led Bridgeland to the 6A Region II Championship Game. He finished with nearly 2,900 total yards and 34 touchdowns his senior year. As a junior, he was named the District 16-6A Offensive Player of the Year. He threw for more than 3,800 yards, while rushing for an additional 581 yards on the ground. Weigman finished with 51 total touchdowns, including 42 passing and nine rushing.

The Houston Cougars will open up their 2025 campaign against Stephen F. Austin. That one will be on August 30th, 2025.