When Frank Wilson brought Jeff Kastl from LSU as wide receivers coach, he always envisioned him eventually taking over the offense. Kastl played behind Chad Henne at Michigan barely a decade ago, and has already coached at LSU, Auburn and Michigan in his young career.

“Our last few coordinators were veteran guys who gave us a foundation,” Wilson said. “Now we have a young bright mind who I think can give us sparks just because of a youthful mind that continues to expand.”

However, Kastl has a big job ahead of him after Wilson promoted him from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator. UTSA’s offense wasn’t just bad last season – it was arguably the worst in college football. The Roadrunners ranked bottom three nationally in total offense, scoring offense, rushing offense and offensive touchdowns. Wilson opted to promote from within for the sake of continuity. That’s a gamble, especially considering that Kastl’s passing unit was the most inconsistent part of UTSA’s roster.

“The system will be similar, and a lot of the terminology will be similar,” Kastl said. “Guys will be comfortable in what we’re trying to do. Sometimes guys just need a different voice to take that next step.”

There’s no place for the UTSA offense to go but up, and it starts with quarterback play. Schertz Clemens product Frank Harris was in line to be the starter be- fore tearing his ACL last spring. Nagging injuries eventually took down opening day starter Cordale Grundy too and tested the depth of an already unproven quarterback room. Four different quarterbacks started a game in 2018.

Harris is the odds-on favorite to win the starting job but faces steady competition from incumbent Cordale Grundy and JUCO transfer Lowell Narcisse at the position. Whoever wins the job will pair with a talented running back duo. B.J. Daniels and Brendan Brady each showed flashes of potential as underclassmen and should benefit from more consistent quarterback play and four of five returning offensive linemen.

The big worry? Top receiver Greg Campbell Jr. is gone. No other returning receiver has more than 300 receiving yards at the college level. UTSA’s top 2019 recruit, Dywan Griffin, might be able to help. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get on campus until summer.