No one outside of the team, and maybe a booster or two, has seen UTSA football practice since the fan appreciation day. With less than two weeks until the Roadrunners travel to take on Arizona to start the season, I spoke to a few people inside the program to get thoughts on what the team will look like for Arizona.
- Blake Bogenschutz will be the starting quarterback unless he is injured. I'm told everyone inside the program knows it, including the players. Austin Robinson has a package for him at QB and the team is working on getting him involved in other spots, but I wasn't allowed to know how/where that would take place. Russell Bellomy would be the guy to take over at QB if Bogie goes down for an extended period, but Dalton Strum would probably be the guy against Arizona if Bogie was injured during the game.
- Jarveon Williams will get at least 10 rushes per game. The goal is to get him around 15 touches a game. After that, the team doesn't really know how the rotation will go. Corbin White is impressing. Jalen Rhodes is electric, but the coaching staff wants to limit him early. Brian Vaughn will be a Brandon Armstrong type player. Expect Brett Winnegan to get a touch or two against Arizona. It appears the coaching staff really wants him to play this season, much like Jarveon was used as a freshman.
- JaBryce Taylor continues to receive great reviews. The staff knows what it has in Kenny Bias and Aaron Grubb and each are expected to be healthy for Arizona. Kerry Thomas was described to me as "our number one receiver", which I found interesting. Derrick Dick has looked the best out of the true freshmen at the position.
- The team feels good about tight end, obviously. The biggest conversation within the program is if Shaq Williams should be held out to redshirt since Morgan is a senior. He's been so good during camp that it may be impossible to do.
- Okay, the offensive line. I couldn't get a straight answer, but it may be time to panic on Juan Perez's health. That obviously changes so much. If Perez isn't healthy, the OL would be, from left to right, Darragh, McKinney, Cavanaugh, Pratt, Gray. If he is, the OL would be, from left to right, Darragh, McKinney, Perez, Cavanaugh, Gray. Darragh and McKinney continue to get rave reviews. Blitz pickup is where the group has struggled most in camp, which is not good news because Arizona does a lot of blitzing out of multiple fronts.
- Defensive line, specifically at defensive tackle is banged up. There is concern that Vontrell King-Williams can play a lot of snaps right now even if he is healthy. Kevin Strong is also struggling with minor injury stuff. That has opened up an opportunity for Baylen Baker and T.J. King. Both should travel to Arizona. At defensive end, Josiah Tauaefa is expected to get a lot of snaps. There is concern about the depth at defensive end.
- Linebacker is thin, but the top-line guys are really good. We all know about Drew Douglas, but Marcos Curry's athleticism was mentioned multiple times. I'm told La'Kel Bass was the best player not currently starting, so Hawk is in good hands. No real answer on what will happen at Mike if Drew Douglas goes down. "I don't even want to think about it," I was told.
- There is real excitement about the secondary, but the major concern is free safety Nate Gaines. Not because he isn't talented, but because he may not be ready to be the quarterback of the secondary. He takes too many chances and needs to work on trusting the scheme. Mauricio Sanchez and Michael Egwuagu were called the "heart beat" of our defense. Sanchez provides stoic leadership because of his experience and Eg brings an attitude the young players have bought into. In a surprise, I was told Stanley Dye has had the best camp at cornerback. That included Bennett Okotcha. He'll play a lot in the slot in nickel.
- I didn't get much about special teams. Mostly because I forgot to ask.
