Houston wide receiver Amare Thomas carries the ball against Tech, Saturday, October 4, 2025, in Houston, Texas. Emma Christensen/The Cougar.
When junior wide receiver Amare Thomas stepped on the field for the first time as a Houston Cougar, he did so with confidence in his ability and a will to be the best player he could be.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham transfer had only been on campus for a few months, with hopes of taking on a much bigger role in the Big 12 Conference.
While many Houston fans were unfamiliar with the new guy wearing number zero, it didn’t take him long to make his name known.
In the Cougars’ opener against Stephen F. Austin, Thomas showed everyone who was watching a glimpse of his future in the red and white.
With just over eight minutes left in the third quarter, junior quarterback Conner Weigman dropped back in the pocket, looked through his progressions, and saw Thomas break free through the middle of the field.
Weigman fired a 20-yard strike to the speedy receiver, which resulted in Thomas’ first touchdown as a Cougar.
The crowd erupted, and Houston went on to complete its first shutout since Sept. 18, 2021, against Grambling State.
Thomas finished his Cougar debut with three receptions for 44 yards and hauled in his first touchdown of the season.
Although the transfer receiver played well against SFA, he played his best game of the season against the Oregon State Beavers.
After opening as heavy favorites, the Cougars found themselves without an offensive rhythm, down 24-10 with just under seven minutes remaining in the game and with a 0.7% chance to win, according to ESPN Analytics.
Houston was backed up on its own side of the field and faced a 3rd-and-17 scenario with its perfect record on the line.
That’s when Thomas showed who he truly was, and he became the go-to target for Weigman down the stretch.
With the game on the line, Thomas made a clutch grab for 13 yards to give Houston a chance to convert on fourth down.
The very next play, Weigman looked his way on the biggest play of the game, and Thomas came through with a 16-yard catch-and-run for a first down.
The conversation led to a 27-yard touchdown grab on the following snap by senior receiver Stephon Johnson. On the next possession, senior tight end Tanner Koziol took a 50-yard pass from Conner Weigman to the endzone to tie the game at 24.
The Cougars prevailed in overtime with a field goal by senior kicker Ethan Sanchez, and Houston finished the improbable comeback in a 27-24 victory.
“I was really excited with how we finished the game even though we didn’t play as well as we wanted to,” Thomas said. “When it came down to it, we didn’t give up and played well at the end. My role in the game was simple. When the ball comes my way, I have to make the play.”
Thomas did just that against Oregon State and finished the game with six receptions for 104 yards, including several key catches late in the game.
In the win, Thomas demonstrated his ability to change the game’s outcome and what he brings to the table, and coach Willie Fritz and his staff know what he is capable of.
“The thing I am impressed about with Amare is he lines up right and does his assignment correctly, which I don’t think we give guys enough credit for,” Fritz said.
Thomas’s talent and attention to detail in his game solidified him as a starting wide receiver on Houston’s roster, and he is set for a big year in 2025.
Thomas’s background and journey to Houston
Thomas was a three-star recruit from Pinson Valley High School in Pinson, Ala., and first made an impact at his 6A school.
He was one of the top receivers in his program and led his team to the 6A State Championship game in 2020.
Due to his stellar play in the high school ranks, Thomas earned an offer from UAB and committed to play his first collegiate season there in 2023.
“When I got there, it was a completely new staff and I had to work hard to get on the field,” Thomas said. “I learned every single wide receiver position from when I first got there. Whenever someone went down in practice, I was always the first guy to fill in, and that’s how I got noticed.”
His hard work in the offseason paid off early in his freshman campaign.
In just the second game of the season, one of UAB’s top targets on offense went down, and Thomas’ name was called upon to be the next man up.
The rookie wide receiver made the most of his opportunity and ended his freshman campaign with over 400 yards receiving and three touchdowns.
The following season, Thomas put his name on the map and drew interest from many schools.
The sophomore tallied 62 receptions for 670 yards and caught eight touchdowns, and showed he was among the best wide receivers in the American Athletic Conference.
After his breakout season, Thomas looked to further develop his game at a school that would allow him to reach his full potential.
Thomas stated that some of the other schools that had reached out to him in the offseason were: Utah, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Louisville, Clemson and several others.
The talented transfer trusted himself to make the right decision and that Houston is the place he wanted to continue his collegiate journey.
“After visiting Houston and talking to Fritz, it felt like it was the best place for me,” Thomas said. “I just had a gut feeling that it was the right choice.”
So far this season, Thomas and Houston have been a perfect fit for each other.
The junior wide receiver leads the receiver room with 16 receptions and 284 yards, and is tied with Johnson with two touchdowns on the year.
Thomas is a selfless receiver who is focused more on the team’s success than his own.
“I feel like every receiver would like to hit the 1,000-yard mark,” Thomas said. “I am focusing more on winning games and helping the team anyway I can instead of worrying about numbers.”
From the moment he first stepped on UAB’s practice field, Thomas built his reputation by doing the little things right like lining up correctly, learning every wide receiver position and jumping in whenever he was called upon, and the coaches have noticed.
That same determination for success brought him to Houston, where he is no longer a freshman fighting for a roster spot, but he is thriving as one of the Cougars’ most dependable weapons.
His journey from a three-star recruit from Alabama into a go-to playmaker in the Big 12 not only shows how far he has come, but how much he still has left to offer for the city of Houston.
sports@thedailycougar.com
