Houston starting QB 2024: Who will start for Cougars in Week 1?

The Houston Cougars will begin their 2024 season with a Week 1 showdown against the UNLV Rebels. The game is scheduled to take place on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at TDECU Stadium. Willie Fritz was brought in as the new head coach of the program after Dana Holgorsen was fired following a 4-8 record last year.

But who is going to be the starting quarterback for the Cougars this upcoming season?

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Houston starting QB 2024

As the Cougars gear up for the Willie Fritz era, Donovan Smith has been named as the starting quarterback ahead of their Week 1 showdown against UNLV. Smith joined the Cougars last season after spending three seasons with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Donovan Smith redshirted his freshman season with Texas Tech after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. During the next two seasons, he put up a total of 2,686 yards and 19 touchdowns before entering the transfer portal in December 2022.

After Donovan Smith transferred to Houston, he played in all 12 games as the starting quarterback. He put up a total of 2,801 yards and 22 touchdowns to help the Cougars to a 4-8 record. Now he is set to begin his second stint as QB1 for the Cougars this year.

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Willie Fritz has high expectations from Donovan Smith during his debut season with Cougars

Fritz had a successful run with Tulane before accepting the Cougars job. As the showdown against UNLV inches closer, he heaped praise on Donovan Smith as an experienced quarterback who is capable of leading the team on the field.

Fritz also stated that Smith is a talented dual-threat QB. Thus, he will be looking forward to using his running abilities on the gridiron as well.

"He's a true dual-threat quarterback, which usually you hear that and they do one or the other much better. He does an excellent job throwing the ball, one ball, two ball, three ball I kind of call it, and his football IQ is just off the charts," Fritz said.

Fans can catch all the action of the Houston vs. UNLV showdown from the comfort of their homes. It will be broadcast on the FS1 network and will also be available on various livestreaming platforms.