Dean Connors

Dean Connors was born in Bend, Ore., with his parents (Brian Connors and Toni Johnson), before the family relocated to Hawaii when he was in elementary school. His dad played running back at University of the Pacific. His sister runs track at Linfield (Ore.) University. Dean played youth football (Waimea Cowboys) for his father and originally attended Hawaii Preparatory Academy for high school. With hopes of getting recruited, he transferred to Murrieta Valley High School and moved to Southern California with his mother. He was a standout track athlete in high school, setting a personal best of 10.84 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Connors was league MVP as a senior running back in 2020, but he went overlooked as a recruit (in part because his best season occurred in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic). He played the 2021 season at Riverside City (Calif.) College and received an offer from Rice. After leading the Owls in rushing yards in back-to-back years, he entered the transfer portal, wanting to play in a power conference for his final season. He transferred to Houston and led the Cougars in rushing in 2025. Connors has a cut-up physique with evenly distributed muscle. He shows patience and slashing quickness at the line and runs with downhill toughness to barrel through arm tackles. His track background shows on the perimeter or in space, where he needs just a few strides to build up speed. He has average elusiveness and does most of his damage by throttling up/down. He is effective as a pass catcher (183 career targets in college) and cut down on his drops (one) and fumbles (one) in 2025. His weight distribution and technique need to be addressed for him to become serviceable in pass protection. Overall, Connors is at his best in the screen game or when he finds an outside track to show off his short-area quickness and open-field acceleration.