Looks like some schedules got changed. We missed the first round of changes....crosses fingers for no Thursdays.

http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/040115aad.html

Talked about a bit in other threads, but this one of the main things I noticed from the time I was able to watch the open practice saturday. They were getting up to the line and getting the ball snapped. One of the more frustrating aspects of last season was how slowly the offense ran. Running the plays in with the WR and huddling. That's middle school stuff. Here's hoping that the up temp offense is here to stay.

The defensive line looked pretty good for losing so many bodies. Vontrell Williams is a big human being. Marcus Davenport looks bigger, and faster than last year. If he can become more than just a third down specialist it will really help the line. Kevin Strong is growing up fast. I would be surprised if he is not a big part of the rotation next year. He had a sack and some TFL's during practice.

Linebackers looked good but nothing really stood out to me. Egwuagu is a beast out there. He will one of the leaders of this team. Crazy to think he quit football before coming back.

UTSA finally has cornerbacks that look like they should be playing division one football. Trevor Baker was out today. That gave guys like Aneas Henricks, Nkeal Bailey, and Stanley Dye a chance to shine. Henricks looked the best out of those three. Coach Pop had some great players at his disposal.

Mauricio Sanchez and Nate Gaines were out there with the first team defense. Sanchez looked very good out there flying around. I think he got a pick and broke up a couple passes.

The Roadrunners won, 5-4, at home. Pretty big mid-week victory after dropping the earlier meeting with Texas State in a crushing way.

This post was edited on 4/1 3:25 PM by Mike Craven

Thank you for questions. Thoughts?

Mailbag

The offensive line will be a big issue unless UTSA can land a grad transfer or two. They guys look okay not great. Anzaldua is not fast enough to play tackle. It will be up to Reed Darragh to step in a contribute. Juan Perez has a small break in his hand causing him to play tackle in the spring. The positive is that true freshman center Clayton Woods has taken first team reps and by all counts he has performed very well.

The quarterbacks did not impress me. Maybe is was the play calling, but I did not see anything from any quarterback that wowed me. Bogenschutz is still your starting quarterback. Jaylon Henderson look good, but he will need to redshirt.

The wide receiver core is deep and very talented. Thomas, Bias, Campbell, Taylor, Grubb seem to be the names you will hear next season. Do not sleep on the walk-on receivers though. Those guys have size and some good hands. Worth noting that Dannon Cavil looks like the best wide receiver out there. UTSA will praying he gets that waiver.

Tight end summary: David Morgan

Jarveon Williams looks bigger. Do not know if he will be able to be the every down back. The good news though is that Jalen Rhodes is heathy and looks very good. He could see some significant playing time next year if he keeps it up. Corbin White is injured, but expect him to be a contributor next season.

Javi was able to speak to safety Austin Jupe after Saturday's practice.

Q: What are your expectations this season?

A: I want to come in and make the team better. I need to get my priorities in check in order to make the team better and be the best player possible.

Q: How does it feel playing for your hometown team?

A: I love the fact that I'm back home playing in my city. My mom and family are really excited. Me, Javeon, we've been here playing here since we were younger and I think we can build something to make this city proud of what we're doing here.

Q: How are the defensive backs doing this spring?

A: I think we're doing well. There are some things we need to clean up but we're making plays. Big picture, we have a lot of talent and guys that can play. We just need to clean up the mistakes and we'll be fine.

Q: Goals for this spring and moving forward?

A: Really just go out there and make plays. I just want someone to see us on field and know we're dangerous.

Q: Defensive line?

A: I loved our defensive line was really good last year and we're working on getting back there. We have some players up there.

Q: How was the support today?

A: It made me feel good. We had a good amount of people out here and a lot of love. For a new program it is pretty amazing to see.

After Saturday's practice Javi was able to catch up with wide receiver Kerry Thomas.

Q: How does it feel this year knowing you'll be counted on more in the offense?

A: I think I'll do pretty good. Last season was an eye-opener for me because I was a freshman. I needed to start relaxing, but I'm going to get my opportunity now and I'm going to take advantage of it.

Q: How do you think Blake Bogenschutz is doing in the spring?

A: I think Blake is a great quarterback. Now that he is back healthy I think he is really taking advantage of it.

Q: Goals going into fall?

A: Our goal is to get in shape and keep improving. I think our defense is doing really well. As a team we're just building chemistry and we have a chance to get good things.

Q: As a wide receiver group, how do you think things are looking after losing so many guys in the rotation?

A: We have a lot of new faces so it is about creating that bond and trust, knowing that no matter who is on the field we're going to do our job.
This post was edited on 3/30 12:50 PM by Mike Craven

By Kevin McDonald:
UTSA baseball drops their second series in a row, this time to #25 Ranked Florida Atlantic. UTSA is now sitting at a 15-13 mark and 5-4 in CUSA play.


Game 1: Game of the series will always be critical for UTSA. This is the game UTSA should win especially with Brock Hartson pitching and ample run support. Unfortunately, the late innings proved to be disastrous for UTSA. Hartson was fantastic through his first 4 innings of play vs a very skilled hitting team in FAU. UTSA struck first in the B2 when CJ Pickering grounded out to score Tyler Straub from 3rd (1-0). FAU tied up the game in the 4th on a solo HR off Brock Hartson (1-1) but UTSA took back the lead in the B4 on a RBI single from Horacio Correa III (2-1) Brock got into his first big jam in the 5th and gave up 2 runs but recovered nicely to end the inning (2-3) UTSA knotted the score once more in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a RBI single by Jesse Baker (3-3). In the 7th, Hartson was pulled after giving a lead off hit. Filipek struggled and Chance Kirby came in the game to shut down the inning but not before FAU plated 3 runs (3-6). We finally got to see Nolan Savage in the 8th, but his struggles continued. After giving up a hit and several walks, Nolan was pulled for Rosipal and Sefcik but was credited with 3 earned runs. UTSA drops the first game in the series in late innings

Final score: UTSA 4, FAU 10

Brock Hartson L (1-2)

Notable Stats:
Hartson: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
Baker: 2-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Pickering: 2-4, 1 RBI
Correa: 2-3, 1 RBI
Straub: 2-4

Game 2: Aaron Burns got the nod on Saturday and had another amazing pitching effort to earn back to back complete games. UTSA's bats were also on fire which helped the Roadrunners achieve a 7 run 6th inning. UTSA got off to early (3-0) lead after a RBI double from Jesse Baker, a RBI single by Correa and a throwing error by FAU which scored Geonte Jackson. The monster 7th inning was kicked off by a 2-run homerun by Matt Hilston. UTSA also plated 5 more runs via a single from Kevin Markham, a fielder choice RBI from Tyler Straub, a Bormann double, a RBI triple from JT Gilmore and a throwing error by FAU (10-3). While Aaron Burns found his second wind and shutdown the FAU batters in the last 3 innings, UTSA added 4 more runs in the bottom of the 8th. Tyler Straub smacked a 3-run HR and CJ Pickering added a RBI double (14-3)

Final Score: UTSA 14, FAU 3

Aaron Burns W (5-1) CG (2)

Notable Stats:
Burns: 9 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Straub: 2-5, 4 RBIs, 1 HR
Hilston: 1-4, 2 RBIs, 1 HR
Correa: 2-3, 1 RBI
Markham: 2-4, 1 RBI


Game 3: Another disastrous inning dooms UTSA and the series. Nolan Trabanino was looking to get back on track after being moved to the Sunday starter. This time we actually saw some improvement from Nolan as he pitched 5 pretty respectable innings and only gave up 5 hits, 1 walk and recorded 5 Ks. Two of three of Nolan's earned runs came off solo homeruns in the 3rd and 4th innings (0-2). UTSA took the lead in the 6th inning thanks to a 2-run homerun by CJ Pickering (3-2), in which he had 2 in one game. The top of the 7th was rough for UTSA relief pitching. After one run scored (3-3) Cody Brannon was brought into the game and recorded a K and had a home assist to earn the 2nd out of the inning. Brannon was pulled for a better pitching matchup and UTSA relief pitching gave up 4 more runs with 2 outs. FAU took a commanding lead and although UTSA battled back they were unable to make up the deficit.

Final score: UTSA 5, FAU 9

Logan Onda L (2-1)

Notable Stats:
Trabanino: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Pickering: 3-5, 3 RBIs, 2 HRs
Jackson: 2-4
Backer: 1-5, 1 RBI
Markham: 1-4

Analysis: As mentioned in the preview article, FAU is a dangerous hitting team and in retrospect, taking one of the games in the series was still considered an achievement vs a top 25 team. Having said that, this series really came down to the pitching staff for the Roadrunners since the hitting was there all series long. Aaron Burns performance in his second complete game was brilliant. Burns is quickly becoming the best pitcher on the staff and has not had a misstep since his first start vs Texas on February 17th. Burns is really an enigma. He doesn't have an absurd amount of strikeouts but he is just able to retire batters with precision pitches that force pop ups or ground balls. More importantly, Burns does not struggle with accuracy and rarely walks batters (only has 9 on the year) Even a polished ace like Brock Hartson has 20+ walks. Burns will likely have a bad game or two before the season concludes if the baseball law of averages is correct but UTSA fans can always expect reliable, solid pitching from Burns going forward, something UTSA desperately needs.

I've been praising the relief staff all year long and in this series they really struggled. It's difficult to beat around the bush on this topic but UTSA relief pitching cost UTSA the series. I'm sure they know that. In game 1, Hartson was less crisp than previous outing but that game was winnable. The 7 run 7th-9th inning falls largely in the hands of the relief corps. Nolan Savage really got the worst of it recording 0.0 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB. With Savage's 16.62 ERA in 4.1 IP, I doubt we will see much of him for the remainder of the year. In the rubber match, UTSA had the lead before the 5 run inning by FAU. Again this was on the relief staff that struggled to close out the inning with 2 outs. Onda, Herbelin, Filipek and Shrewcraft all uncharacteristically struggled as UTSA made 5 pitching changes in 1 inning (only 1 of them being strategic). There were a few bright spots from the relief staff. Freshmen Chance Kirby, coming off a brilliant performance vs #1 Texas A&M where he shut them down for 3 innings, pitched well on Friday. Douglas Sefcik III pitched on Friday and Sunday and looked strong in game 3 after the myriad of pitching changes. UTSA will likely not face such a strong hitting team like FAU for the remainder of the year, but this is a series that the relief corps really want back.

UTSA fans should be excited about the prolific offense from this Roadrunners club. As good as FAU is offensively, their pitching has also been remarkable. Despite that, UTSA batters were able to touch up aces like Kyle Miller and Drew Jackson who came into the game with a sub 0.50 ERA. Strong hitters such as Tyler Straub, Jesse Baker, CJ Pickering and Kevin Markham continue to shine. Horacio Correa III leaves the series on a hitting streak and new faces emerge like JT Gilmore who has 2 triples in only 14 at bats. When Trent Bowles returns from his concussion, UTSA will be even more dangerous. Currently, 6 UTSA hitters are batting over .300 (Straub, Baker, Pickering, Markham, Gilmore and Jackson) while several players hover just below.

Team Leaders:
Batting Average - Tyler Straub (.354), Jesse Baker (.346), Pickering (.333)
Hits - Straub (35), Pickering (34), Markham (33)
RBIs - Baker (19), Hilston/Pickering (18), Straub/Bormann (16)
Homeruns - Baker (5), Hilston (4), Pickering/Markham (3)
ERA (min 10 IP) - Burns (1.39), Onda (2.60), Filipek (2.84)

RPI watch: As of Sunday night, UTSA has moved to 106 in RPI with a 75 SOS

Next up is Texas State at the Bird Bath on Tuesday March 31st (2nd game). UTSA follows with an away series vs FIU

I've written no small amount of words on the subject of tight end recruiting in the past 5 months over at Burnt Orange Nation, so I thought I'd say a little bit about it here from a UTSA angle.

UTSA's starting tight end David Morgan will be a senior this fall. Trevor Stevens and the recently-signed Juco TE Shaq Williams will both be seniors in 2016. The position will need some reinforcement in the 2016 class, though there may not be enough scholarships available for UTSA to sign more than one.

Here are a few TE prospects who I hope the staff takes a hard look at this spring and/or monitors in the fall.

Austin Pope (Christian Academy of Knoxville - Knoxville, TN)
A legit 6'4.5" and 210 pounds now, he likely has room to add more weight and he could project to multiple positions at the next level. He has good speed and some suddenness in his routes when he lines up as an inside receiver. Navy and Austin Peay have offered, and both schools say he could play WR or LB for them. Georgia Tech is also evaluating him as a LB. He tells me he hasn't heard from any Texas schools but would be interested if any were to recruit him.
Highlights

Corey Rau (Katy Cinco Ranch)
Measured 6'5" and 240 at a recent Houston National Underclassmen Combine event. He might be the most underrated tight end in the state for his class right now. He's a solid run-blocker and probably strictly an in-line TE in college, though he lines up occasionally in the slot for Cinco Ranch. He's a good receiver and shows potential to be a pretty good route-runner. I'd take him right now over at least two Houston-area TEs in the 2015 class who signed with FBS programs.
Highlights

Jordan Work (Houston Stratford)
Currently about 6'4" and 230 pounds, he didn't pile up high stats last season, probably due in part to Stratford's offense and the fact that they had injury issues and played three different QBs. He has experience as both an in-line blocker and an inside receiver, and looks like a solid blocker and a decent-or-better route-runner.
Highlights

Jonathan Sanchez (McAllen Memorial)
I'll defer to TX22 on whether he's a UTSA-level prospect, but he's 6'7" 215, has good speed and some experience as a blocker. He has played QB, WR, and TE for Memorial but I believe his highest upside is at TE.
Highlights

Mason Sikes (Lumberton)
He checked in at 6'2.5" and 233 pounds at the The Opening Dallas regionals. His blocking needs a lot of work but he has good size and speed and can makes some moves after the catch.
Highlights

Drake Flores (San Antonio Johnson)
He's 6'3" and about 220. He ran a surprisingly slow 5.22 forty time at The Opening Dallas but otherwise tested out pretty well for a tight end (4.5 shuttle, 36 foot powerball toss, 31.3" vertical). I don't consider him an obvious FBS take right now but he's one I'd definitely watch in the fall as a possible late offer or preferred walk-on candidate. Plus, if you're UTSA there's no reason you shouldn't be familiar with every prospect in the city who's even borderline D1 caliber.
Highlights

Anybody else have favorites among this group, or like a tight end prospect in or out of state who wasn't mentioned here?

I decided to set up a March Madness pool. Password is BirdsUp and bracket name is BirdsUp.com Winner will get a comped membership until football season starts.
This post was edited on 3/18 4:08 PM by Mike Craven

The Pool

Curious to know what people saw today?

UTSA has an open spring practice Saturday. I'm told there won't be a true scrimmage, but more of a normal practice with some team aspects.

1. How much further along is Blake Bogenschutz than the other quarterbacks? He needs to be the guy.

2. What does the rotation look like at offensive line? Cody Cole is limited and Jordan Gray is out. With Gabe Casillas not yet on campus the tackle position may be hard to judge, but the interior guys should be figuring out a rotation.

3. Who is the backup for Jarveon Williams? Can Jalen Rhodes be the guy he was before the injuries?

4. Does UTSA have a fullback?

5. Which young wide receivers are stepping up?

6. Is the defensive line building depth?

7. Who is the best player at Hawk?

8. Is Trevor Baker the man opposite of Bennett Okotcha?

9. Is Mauricio Sanchez entrenched as the starter at Rover?

10. Who is leading the way at free safety?

Everyone is invited to attend (though ticket purchase is required).

There are different ticket levels and depending on how much you willing to pay for tickets, you could be sitting in the same table with a student-athlete, an assistant coach, a offensive or defensive coordinator, or Coach Larry Coker himself (though seating is limited).

https://alumni.utsa.edu/footballbanquet

Please note that this banquet is on the day before the 2015 Spring Game.
This post was edited on 3/27 11:48 AM by mac78251

Apparently the chain has started a full blown cultural crisis in Houston and is destroying the food in the city.

Will SA be able to hold strong or will it completely crumble in the face of a designer taco?

http://www.texasmonthly.com/daily-post/true-tex-mex-cuisines-long-adios?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Eat%20Like%20a%20Texan&utm_campaign=ELAT%20%2B%20Horizon

Today was a really fun afternoon on Twitter.

Avoiding a sweep is key, but if UTSA can steal this series it would be huge.

FAU

Fire away.

UTSA has lost a lot of experience along the offensive line, but one of the more promising prospects ready to emerge is Cody Cole. I spoke with him after Wednesday's practice.

Q: Are you working at offensive tackle?

A: I'm working at right tackle right now. I'm limited, though. I herniated my disk last summer and had surgery in September. I'm the starting right tackle right now, but I'm limited in what I can do. I'll be fine, but we're taking it careful. I'm trying to save it fall.

Q: You've played guard in the past, so how valuable is it for you to know both of those spots?

A: It is a huge advantage for me. I played left guard last year and now I'm playing right tackle. It gives you different perspectives and vantage points. I think it helps and is an advantage.

Q: How are things with the new offensive line coach?

A: It's good. It is something different and I've been lucky to have both coaches. Get a different point of view and that can't be a bad thing. We'll take what we learned from coach Marshall and get to add some new ideas and ways of doing things. It is exciting.

Q: How is the group coming along?

A: I don't think I can be called an experienced player yet. We only have a few of those, but we have a couple of those guys. Honestly, I don't think it'll be that big of a deal not having a ton of experience because we're all ready and fired up for our chance. We've waited our turn. We're all working out hard. My roommates and I have a bet on who can lose the most weight. We're just pushing each other and trying to come together as a team.

After Wednesday's practice I was able to catch up with starting Dawg safety Michael Egwuagu. Here is our Q&A.

Q: How is the first day of practice with pads different for a defense than previous practices?

A: "The biggest thing is we can be more aggressive. I can put my hands on that number two slot receiver in the slot. I can collision him more. We can play more free and not have to pull up all the way. We're still pulling up because no one needs to get injured, but it is more of an aggressive tone when those pads come on. No matter what anyone says we all love to hear those pads pop.

Q: How different is it being a junior on an inexperienced team compared to when you came in as a freshman on an experienced team?

A: The biggest thing is now that I have that two years of experience under my belt the other guys look at me for guidance and to lead the drills, even to make some calls on defense or an audible. I'll even be telling the free (safety) what we're checking into, whereas in previous years I had Nic (Johnston) right there and T-Wade (Triston Wade) telling me what to do because I was the baby. I just followed their lead, but now the leadership role is on me and that is a difference. It is one I embrace, though. You know I'm no follower.

Q: Not having Triston out there has to be weird for this defense. How have other guys stepped up and has anyone taken over that spot?

A: It is wide open. We're filling out. Wade was a big playmaker. We have guys that can go. We have playmakers.

Q: Was watching Pro Day a motivation for you?

A: Most definitely. That was probably the biggest motivation I've seen since I've been here. It is one thing to come to UTSA and know we're going to have a chance to play these big teams and all that, but once we have a Pro Day like we had on Monday it shows that we've made it and we have a chance to see that dream become a reality. You physically see these NFL scouts from all over the place watching guys we played with, that we competed with and know their skill-sets, it is crazy. It's real now. We have to go get it now. We have the platform now. There isn't anything holding this program back. We're here.

Game is tonight at 6pm at the Bird Bath. I will be unable to attend due to work

Projected Starter: Cody Brannon: 1-1, 6.65 ERA

Last meeting: 2/24/15, UTSA won 12-0

I love offensive line coaches.

Markuson

First Pitch: 3/24/15 6:30 pm

#3 Texas A&M (24-1, 5-1)

UTSA (13-10, 4-2)

Probable Starters:

UTSA - (SR) Boone Mokry (1-0) 3.42 ERA, 9.2 IP, 6 Hits, 4 ER, 5 BB, 6 K
Texas A&M - (FR) Turner Larkins (2-1) 3.58 ERA, 27.2 IP, 32 Hits, 11 ER, 4 BB, 28 K

On paper this is an un-winnable game for the Roadrunners but anything can happen in baseball. The Aggies were the last undefeated team in D1 baseball before dropping their first game of the year on Saturday vs Alabama. Texas A&M's freshmen pitcher, Turner Larkins, is the real deal and was drafted coming out of high school but choose to attend A&M. The strikeout artist will be tough to hit. After that, the bullpen consists of several guys with sub 2.00 ERAs. Boone Mokry is coming off a solid performance but UTSA has yet to play a team as talented as Texas A&M

The Ags come in with one of the most dangerous lineups in the nation lead by Nick Banks who carries a .418 BA with 38 hits and 17 RBIs. Banks is not the only dangerous bat in the A&M lineup. In fact, 8-9 starters have 16 or more RBIs and everyone of them has hit at least 1 HR. There is really no weak spot in their lineup. UTSA will counter with (4) players who have a +.300 BA (Straub, Markham, Baker and Pickering) Jesse Baker has been on a hot streak since coming back to the team after missing the first 9 games. Since then, Baker has elevated his BA to .317 with a team high slugging % (.633) and 4 home runs.

I won't be in attendance at the pro day but a buddy of mine who is a NFL scout will be and I'll get quotes from him after it takes place Monday morning.
This post was edited on 3/23 1:10 PM by Mike Craven

Scout's thoughts

Another great breakdown by Kevin.

WKU