I found the following answers that Brown gave to questions posed to him to be pretty informative. They are stated at the bottom of today's edition of Hickey's newsletter (in the final thoughts section):
http://www.goutsa.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209284955&DB_OEM_ID=13100
How can you compete in 2015 after graduating 36 seniors?
"This is nothing new to us. We had very few seniors and went 8-4 in 2012 and 7-5 in 2013. We faced more of a challenge with inexperience and numbers those two seasons than we will next season.
"We will be younger in 2015 but will have a chance to be more talented. We have been recruiting to a Division I school for three years now."
How can you replace 36 seniors when the NCAA only allows 25 new scholarships each year?
"We will have transfers, grayshirts and early enrollees on campus for the second semester. These do not count against the 25 new scholarships for next year. We plan to sign a full class of 25 scholarship players on Feb. 4 who will enroll this summer."
How many returning starters and lettermen will you have next season?
"We'll have four returning starters and 17 returning lettermen on offense. And we'll have four returning starters and 15 returning lettermen on defense."
Did you have many redshirted players this past season who will be playing in 2015?
"Jalen Rhodes (RB/Rowlett, Texas) originally committed to Texas Tech and then signed here. He was injured last season but will be ready this spring. Kevin Strong (DT/Cleveland, Texas) and Stanley Dye (CB/Orange Park, Fla.) are both really good players who redshirted as freshmen last year. Also, Austin Jupe (S/San Antonio East Central HS) transferred here last fall from Baylor and can play this season."
Were there any injured players who missed 2014 who will be ready this spring?
"Blake Bogenschutz (QB/Carthage, Texas) played in a few games but got his freshman eligibility back through a medical redshirt, similar to what happened with Stanley Dye. Cody Cole (OG/Fort Myers, Fla.), David Anzaldua (OT/Edinburg, Texas) and Justyn Eddins (DE/Newhall, Calif.) missed last season due to injuries. All four of these players should be ready for spring practice in March."
How have you been received on the recruiting trail this year?
"Great! The nationally televised weeknight games against Houston, Arizona and Southern Miss gave us tremendous credibility. The different uniforms and helmet combinations also are a big sale.
"We are beating mid-major Division I programs and competing with the Power Five conferences for players.
"We have a lot to sell - San Antonio, the Alamodome, The River Walk, Conference USA, Larry Coker - and local coaches appreciate that we're competing with local players."
What is your assessment of the 2015 schedule?
"For the fans, our non-conference schedule is one of the best in the country. It doesn't get much better than Arizona (10-4 in 2014), Kansas State (9-4), Oklahoma State (7-6) and Colorado State (10-3), who all played in bowl games this year.
"Since the beginning of our program, we have not been afraid to see how we stack up against the best competition in the country. We don't mind being the underdogs. In fact we play better that way.
"That's the level we aspire to get to, so we can see how we're stacking up."
Why should fans be excited about the 2015 Roadrunners football season?
"We'll have a lot of young players and transfers who are more equipped to play in Conference USA and against top-flight non-conference opponents.
"We have a good, young quarterback coming back in Blake Bogenschutz. He reminds us a lot of Eric Soza. Plus, Austin Robinson was thrown into the fire last season, but he gained a lot of valuable experience in the process.
"And we're recruiting as good, or better, than our competition in Conference USA. We have a lot of good players."
http://www.goutsa.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=209284955&DB_OEM_ID=13100
How can you compete in 2015 after graduating 36 seniors?
"This is nothing new to us. We had very few seniors and went 8-4 in 2012 and 7-5 in 2013. We faced more of a challenge with inexperience and numbers those two seasons than we will next season.
"We will be younger in 2015 but will have a chance to be more talented. We have been recruiting to a Division I school for three years now."
How can you replace 36 seniors when the NCAA only allows 25 new scholarships each year?
"We will have transfers, grayshirts and early enrollees on campus for the second semester. These do not count against the 25 new scholarships for next year. We plan to sign a full class of 25 scholarship players on Feb. 4 who will enroll this summer."
How many returning starters and lettermen will you have next season?
"We'll have four returning starters and 17 returning lettermen on offense. And we'll have four returning starters and 15 returning lettermen on defense."
Did you have many redshirted players this past season who will be playing in 2015?
"Jalen Rhodes (RB/Rowlett, Texas) originally committed to Texas Tech and then signed here. He was injured last season but will be ready this spring. Kevin Strong (DT/Cleveland, Texas) and Stanley Dye (CB/Orange Park, Fla.) are both really good players who redshirted as freshmen last year. Also, Austin Jupe (S/San Antonio East Central HS) transferred here last fall from Baylor and can play this season."
Were there any injured players who missed 2014 who will be ready this spring?
"Blake Bogenschutz (QB/Carthage, Texas) played in a few games but got his freshman eligibility back through a medical redshirt, similar to what happened with Stanley Dye. Cody Cole (OG/Fort Myers, Fla.), David Anzaldua (OT/Edinburg, Texas) and Justyn Eddins (DE/Newhall, Calif.) missed last season due to injuries. All four of these players should be ready for spring practice in March."
How have you been received on the recruiting trail this year?
"Great! The nationally televised weeknight games against Houston, Arizona and Southern Miss gave us tremendous credibility. The different uniforms and helmet combinations also are a big sale.
"We are beating mid-major Division I programs and competing with the Power Five conferences for players.
"We have a lot to sell - San Antonio, the Alamodome, The River Walk, Conference USA, Larry Coker - and local coaches appreciate that we're competing with local players."
What is your assessment of the 2015 schedule?
"For the fans, our non-conference schedule is one of the best in the country. It doesn't get much better than Arizona (10-4 in 2014), Kansas State (9-4), Oklahoma State (7-6) and Colorado State (10-3), who all played in bowl games this year.
"Since the beginning of our program, we have not been afraid to see how we stack up against the best competition in the country. We don't mind being the underdogs. In fact we play better that way.
"That's the level we aspire to get to, so we can see how we're stacking up."
Why should fans be excited about the 2015 Roadrunners football season?
"We'll have a lot of young players and transfers who are more equipped to play in Conference USA and against top-flight non-conference opponents.
"We have a good, young quarterback coming back in Blake Bogenschutz. He reminds us a lot of Eric Soza. Plus, Austin Robinson was thrown into the fire last season, but he gained a lot of valuable experience in the process.
"And we're recruiting as good, or better, than our competition in Conference USA. We have a lot of good players."
