Conference USA Preview: UTSA Roadrunners

University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners

Last Year: 3-9 (3-5)/ 3rd West

Close games really set the tone for UTSA in 2015. Yes, 9 losses are a lot, but 4 of those losses were by less than 5 points, 3 were less than 3. Larry Coker resigned at the end of the season, and the Roadrunners will head into 2016 with Frank Wilson. Wilson comes from LSU where he was an assistant coach/ running backs coach.

Players to Watch

RB Jarveon Williams

WR Kerry Thomas Jr.

S Michael Egwuagu

 

The Roadrunners return 14 starters (7 Off, 5 Def, 2 SP) including the conference’s 4th leading rusher in Jarveon Williams. Williams became the 1st 1,000-yard rusher (1,042 yards) in the program’s 5 year history. In his 11 games, Williams scored 8 times averaging 6-yards/carry. WR Kerry Thomas hopes to build on a very productive 2015, in which, he broke a school-record 52 passes for 541 yards and 4 TDs. QB Dalton Sturm started 7 games last year for the Roadrunners. Sturm threw 13 TDs, but his stats weren’t that impressive overall. 

 
Only 5 starters return on a defense that was, well, exposed, last year. DE Marcus Davenport and S Michael Egwuagu received All-Conference USA mentions in 2015. Egwuagu was 2nd on the team with 3 interceptions, 2 of which HE RETURNED TO THE HOUSE (Cookies). Thanks to graduation, he becomes the #1 CB on a bottom of the barrel pass defense.

Total Offense	98th/9th (362.2)	Total Defense	102nd/11th (443.7)
Passing Offense	96th/11th (193.4)	Passing Defense	117th/13th (275.2)
Rushing Offense	68th/4th (168.8)	Rushing Defense	68th/8th (168.5)
Scoring Offense	103rd/9th (22.6)	Scoring Defense	101st/9th (33.8)

Big Games in 2016

Sep 17       Arizona State

Oct 22        UTEP

Oct 29        North Texas

Prediction:
5-7 (4-4)/4th West

Hosting a P5 team is big for the Roadrunners in terms of recruiting, and if somehow they can make it a game, program changing. They’ll look to avenge the loss to the Mean Green. That was the only win for North Texas last year….embarrassing. The problem with UTSA is their conference. Conference USA has offenses that like to throw the ball, and throw it a lot. The weakness of UTSA? Pass defense. Egwuagu is a fantastic player, but he’s one guy in a secondary that lost 2 CB starters, SS starter, and 2 DL starters. This team has a long way to go, but improving over last year will be big for the new HC.