UTSA Roadrunners 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: UTSA got off to a strong start last fall after their opener was cancelled because of a hurricane in Houston, but after a 5-2 start, the Roadrunners finished just 1-3, and missed out on a bowl trip. The schedule gets tougher in 2018, and the roster has some holes, especially on offense, where just 3 starters return. After an opening stretch that includes 3 Power 5 opponents (2 on the road), can the Roadrunners hit the reset button and make some waves in CUSA football?
Breakdown Offense: Spring camp saw 7 different QBs make their way into camp, but only a couple had a shot of replacing Dalton Sturm, who moved on after last season. Bryce Rivers, who was the primary backup last season, should get the nod in camp over Cale Grundy. RS freshman Frank Harris was in the battle as well until he injured his knee in the spring session, and we should still have a competition heading into fall camp. JoJo Weeks will be on campus in fall camp, and could find his way into the competition as well as a freshman.
Jalen Rhodes is expected to win the RB position in camp. He led the team with 659 yards and 5 scores, and averaged 4.92 yards per carry last fall. I can see him having an increased workload this season. BJ Daniels is penciled in as the backup, but carried the ball just 13 times. Brett Winnegan, could not win the backup job in camp, and could be the 3rd back after 17 carries last season. Halen Steward is the FB.
UTSA must replace both starting receivers. Tariq Woolen is in a battle with Tykee Ogle-Kellogg at one spot. Woolen is a RS freshman, while Ogle-Kellogg is a true freshman, so there will be some growing pains here. Greg Campbell appears to have won the Z WR spot, but caught just 27 passes last fall, and never saw the end zone. Blaze Moorhead is penciled in as his backup there, but he caught just 5 passes. Marquez McNair is the H WR when they go to 3 receiver sets. He caught just 16 passes last fall, averaging just 1.8 touches per game. Matt Guidry backs him up, but has no experience.
TJ King steps in as the new starting TE. Michael Goff and Chance McCleod will be in a camp battle for the TE2 spot.
The line gets back just 2 starters from last season in Jordan Wright (LG) and Josh Dunlop (RT). Treyveon Shannon is a junior transfer who will likely start at LT, while RS freshman Kevin Davis is penciled in at C. The Roadrunners will start another junior transfer at RG in Jalyn Galmore. Josh Otis and Dominic Pastucci will back up the Tackle spots, while David Anzaldua and Jacob Graner are the backups at the OG spots. Bosah Osakwe is the backup Center.
Breakdown Defense: Marcus Davenport is gone at DE, but the staff believes they got a good one to replace him in East Mississippi JC transfer Lorenzo Dantzler. He started his career at Southern Mississippi, but redshirted, and will have 3 years of eligibility remaining. Still, he could end up backing up Eric Banks at the DE and SAM spot. Banks finished with 7.5 TFLs last fall, and added 1.5 sacks. Jarrod Carter-McLin is penciled in at the open DE spot currently, but that is still an open topic heading into camp. He totaled 3 TFLs as a sub last fall. Solomon Wise will be in a camp battle with Robert Fuente to win the backup spot behind Carter-McLin.
Both starter return at DT in Baylen Baker and Kevin Strong. Strong totaled 7.5 TFLs last fall with 3 sacks, while Baker is more of a people mover that opens holes for the play makers. Baker may not end up starting, however, as he has moved back on the depth chart post spring ball, with junior King Newton moving in to replace him. Newton totaled 3.5 TFLs last fall, and may be more of a pressure option up the middle. Jaylon Haynes and Morris Joseph are in a camp battle to back up one spot, while Baker is in a battle to stay on the 2nd unit with Jim Philistin pushing him.
Josiah Tauaefa is back to start at his MIKE spot in the LB unit this fall. He totaled just 29 tackles in a down season for him, and missed 3 games. Lawrence Jackson could be his backup when camp breaks and the season starts. Les Maruo will be the new starter at WILL, but totaled just 12 tackles last season. He will be backed up by RS freshman Donovan Perkins.
Both corners need to be replaced, but 2 of 3 Safeties return in CJ Levine and Carl Austin III. Austin totaled 48 tackles, while Levine totaled 46 last fall. Brenndan Johnson and Andrew Martel are their backups. Darryl Godfrey looks to line up at the RAM Safety spot. He totaled 19 tackles with 2 PBUs last fall. Carrington Kearney is his backup.
Clayton Johnson has locked up one CB spot, and played in 6 games last fall as a sophomore. He will be backed up by Teddrick McGhee. The second CB spot will be an open camp battle between Stanley Dye, Jr. and Javontavius Mosley. Mosley played in 8 games as a freshman last fall.
Breakdown Special Teams: Jarad Sackett is as good as it gets for PKs in CUSA football, as he nailed 19/22 FG attempts last season. He was also good on 23/24 PAT tries.
Yanis Routsas is also solid on punts, as he averaged 41.55 yards per punt last fall.
Winnegan is solid on KR duty, as he averaged 23.23 yards per return last fall. Kirk Johnson, Jr. could step into the open PR job in camp.
Final Analysis: The Roadrunners are not in great shape coming into the season. With just 3 starters returning on offense, and 6 on defense, there are a ton of questions to be answered in fall camp, and at key positions. Production levels from the returning defensive players were not exactly great either, and that is concerning for a team that finished ranked 5th nationally in total defense a year ago. I would expect a drop there. Jason Rollins is an up and coming DC, but he will have his hands full. Offensively, the Roadrunners were pedestrian last season, at best, as they averaged just 23.5 points per game. If the defense slides this season, the offense may not be able to keep up. The schedule is fairly brutal early, so we may be forced to see another bumpy go in 2018 from this club, before everything has a chance to gel for 2019.
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