UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor is known for unique idioms that his players refer to as “Traylorisms”. The East Texas native and former state champion head coach of the Gilmer Buckeyes never runs out of clever, and profound, ways of communicating a message. He credits it to his experience growing up around farm animals as a kid. The 2021 team heard the phrase “Don’t eat the cheese” to remind them not to take the bait as expectations rose during an 11-0 run to start the season, one that ended at 12-2 with the program’s first-ever conference championship in football. 

“It was a dream season,” UTSA safety Rashad Wisdom said. “We knew we had a special group early in the summer. We stuck together and did something no one has done here at UTSA. We’re proud of that legacy.” 

The 2022 motto is “Bull don’t care”. A bull doesn’t care if the rider strapped to his back is an amateur or a world champion. That bull doesn’t care if a million dollars is on the ride or if it’s just for practice. That bull doesn’t care about your past, or even your future. The bull only cares about the task at hand: bucking the person off his back. That’s how Traylor wants his team to approach being the current conference champions. Traylor wants the Roadrunners to be the bull, not the rider. 

Expectations are suddenly high at UTSA. The program wasn’t founded until 2011. The Roadrunners were 45-61 in the nine years prior to Traylor’s arrival. UTSA reached one bowl during that span, the New Mexico Bowl back in 2016. The team was 7-17 in the two years prior to hiring Traylor, a man UTSA passed up for Frank Wilson after Larry Coker retired after the 2015 season. 

Traylor immediately improved the fortunes of the program. UTSA went 7-5 in a pandemic-altered 2020, which tied the school record for most wins in a season despite not having spring practice in his first year in charge. The Roadrunners made more history in 2021 by winning Conference USA and reaching a bowl game for the second consecutive year. UTSA broke 60 school, team, and individual records during the 2021 season and was ranked as high as 15th by the AP. 

“We’ve made some unbelievable strides in the two years I’ve been here on and off the field to put us in a position to have this type of success,” Traylor said. “This is a player’s game. I’m just here to keep us on the tracks. Our expectations are high because our belief is high. We’re trying to set our dreams so high that our prayer life has to match it.”

That success made Traylor a hot commodity. He spurned an opportunity to take over the Texas Tech program with UTSA extending him for 10 years at the tune of $28 million dollars. It was also announced that the Roadrunners would join North Texas and Rice in a move to the American Athletic Conference by at least 2024. 

But none of that matters in 2022. The bull doesn’t care. And the ride will be the hardest in school history with the Roadrunners set to host Houston and travel to Army and Texas in the first three weeks of the season. Losing more games in September of 2022 than the whole of 2021 is a real possibility for UTSA, even if the Roadrunners are an improved squad from last year. A Conference USA championship feels like a yearly goal until UTSA moves to greener pastures.

The Roadrunners return eight starters on offense and five on defense. The losses will sting with running back Sincere McCormick, offensive tackle Spencer Burford, and outside linebacker Clarence Hicks vying for spots in the NFL. UTSA also lost speedy cornerback Tariq Woolen and place kicker Hunter Duplessis. 

Again, bull don’t care. Traylor, and his players, are more concerned with the players still on campus rather than the ones exiting. 

“Players come and go,” UTSA quarterback Frank Harris said. “We’re going to miss Sincere and the guys who left, and we wish them the best at the next level, but it’s up to the people here to replace that production and go win football games.”

The Ceiling
UTSA repeats as Conference USA champion behind a high-powered passing attack led by quarterback Frank Harris and wide receiver Zakhari Franklin.  

The Floor
An 0-3 start to the out-of-conference schedule snowballs on the Roadrunners as the program reverts to the mean after two dream seasons. 

Game of Year
UTSA vs. Houston — September 3
UTSA hosts Houston in the season opener of the 2022 season. The two teams combined for a 24-4 record in 2021 and each team returns more starters than it lost. This Week 1 showdown might be the Game of the Year at the G5 level. The winner earns momentum and a resumé builder for future rankings. 

OFFENSIVE BREAKDOWN 

UTSA could improve offensively in 2022 despite the loss of two All-Americans in running back Sincere McCormick and offensive tackle Spencer Burford. The reason for optimism rests on the arm, and legs, of super senior Frank Harris (3,177 yards, 27 TDs, 6 INTs), who was a second-team All-Conference USA selection and led the Roadrunners to their first conference championship in 2021.

UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor, who took over prior to the 2020 season, says Harris is the most improved player he’s ever coached. 

“This past year it started to slow down for me,” Harris said. “I started to understand a lot more of the playbook and of what to see from the defense. I expect that to keep growing and to build on the success of last year.” 

Harris isn’t the only reason for offensive optimism. UTSA returns eight starters, including a trio of star wide receivers and four of its five best offensive linemen. UTSA averaged 36.9 points and was 57 of 63 in the red zone a season ago. The Roadrunners return 87 percent of the offensive production from 2021, per ESPN’s Bill Connelly. That’s fourth best in Texas and 12th in the country. 

UTSA boasts the best trio of returning wide receivers in the state of Texas, and maybe the country. Zakhari Franklin (81, 1,027 yards, 12 TDs), Joshua Cephus (71, 819 yards, 6 TDs), and De’Corian Clark were one of only three trios in the country to catch at least 50 passes, gain at least 750 receiving yards, and score at least six touchdowns each as individuals. The group was coached by Will Stein, who was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in the offseason. 

“It starts with how they block,” Traylor said. “They’re big receivers who can go down the field. About every sixth play, I’m saying, ‘You can’t score if you don’t try, throw it down there.’” 

The four returning senior starters along the offensive line combined for 49 starts in 2021. Ahofitu Maka, Terrell Haynes, Kevin Davis, and Makai Hart give Harris, and whichever running backs emerge from the pack, plenty of reason for confidence.

Offensive MVP: Zakhari Franklin 
Franklin, a product of Cedar Hill, holds nearly every receiving record in UTSA history and is undoubtedly the best wide receiver to ever play for the Roadrunners. 

Offensive Name to Know: TE Oscar Cardenas
Cardenas, a big-bodied tight end from the San Antonio area, caught 16 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns in 2021, including the one-yard game winner against UAB to send the Roadrunners to the Conference USA title game. The loss of Leroy Watson to graduation means Cardenas is the main man at tight end entering the 2022 campaign. The redshirt junior is a great blocker who improved as a receiver last season. 

Offensive Grades

QUARTERBACKS: A
Frank Harris returns after a second-team all-conference season in 2021 where he threw for 3,177 yards and 27 touchdowns on a school-record 66 percent completion percentage. 

RUNNING BACKS: C
UTSA faces the impossible task of replacing two-time Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year Sincere McCormick. Tye Edwards, a JUCO transfer, was highly touted. 

RECEIVERS: A+
UTSA returns three wide receivers who caught at least 50 passes, gained at least 750 yards, and scored at least five touchdowns. The unit is stacked. 

OFFENSIVE LINE: B+
The Roadrunners return four of their five starters. Those four players, all seniors, combined for 49 starts in the 2021 season alone. 

DEFENSIVE BREAKDOWN

The Roadrunners must replace six defensive starters from a 2021 unit that allowed 24.6 points per game, 3.3 yards per carry, and created 26 turnovers. UTSA’s defense also accounted for 33 sacks; departing All-American Clarence Hicks accounted for a school-record 10.5 of those. Defensive coordinator Jess Loepp also loses defensive lineman Jaylon Haynes and cornerback Woolen. 

“I know we’re missing some key pieces at important positions, but we feel really good about the guys we have back and the guys we’ve brought in,” Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor said. “We’ve really addressed the roster management. Talented depth is how you win a lot of football games.” 

Finding a replacement for Hicks at nickel and Haynes at nose tackle are the main areas of concern, as is depth in the secondary. Dadrian Taylor (44 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT) will take over for Hicks. Brandon Brown is the program’s only returning starter along the defensive line. 

The program returns 67 percent of its production from 2021, which ranks 69th in the country, per ESPN. UTSA safety Rashad Wisdom is the leader. The two-time first-team All-Conference USA selection led the Roadrunners with 88 tackles and six pass breakups. In fact, UTSA returns its top three tacklers from 2021 with linebackers Jamal Ligon and Trevor Harmanson back for senior seasons. 

“We’re focused on who is here and how we can get better for the 2022 season,” Wisdom said. “We have talented guys on this roster who were waiting their turn. The older guys like me are responsible for getting them ready for bigger roles.” 

Wisdom, a Converse Judson native, loses safety partner Antonio Parks, who was fourth on the team in tackles. The coaches feel like grad transfer Clifford Chattman, who missed 2021 with injury, could be a breakout performer. Corey Mayfield Jr. is the team’s No. 1 corner. UTSA needs another cornerback such as Ken Robinson, Xavier Spencer, or Xavier Player to take control of the other side of the field. 

UTSA’s new-look defense faces tough, and unique, tasks in the first three weeks of the season with a home game against G5 power Houston in Week 1 leads into consecutive road trips to Army and Texas. 

Defensive MVP: Rashad Wisdom 
Wisdom is the heart and soul of the defense, and maybe of the UTSA football program. He led the team in tackles in 2021. 

Defensive Name to Know: DB Clifford Chattman
Expectations were high for the grad transfer safety entering the 2021 season before an injury derailed his first campaign at UTSA. He’s taking advantage of another season and the former Texas A&M Aggie is held in high regard by those inside the program. He’ll be asked to play alongside Rashad Wisdom. Chattman’s 6-foot-5 frame and pedigree as a four-star recruit provide UTSA with optimism that the safety position might be even better than it was in 2021. 

Defensive Grades

DEFENSIVE LINE: C+
New names must emerge for UTSA up front defensively after the loss of Jaylon Haynes and Lorenzo Dantzler. Brandon Brown is the only returning starter. 

LINEBACKERS: B
The loss of Clarence Hicks looms large over the 2022 version of the UTSA defense. The return of Trevor Harmanson and Jamal Ligon provides hope. 

DEFENSIVE BACKS: B
The group must replace Tariq Woolen and Antonio Parks, but Rashad Wisdom is back at safety and the coaches feel Corey Mayfield Jr. is a potential star. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: B
UTSA returns Lucas Dean, who averaged 45.2 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside their 20 on 21 occasions. Place kicker Hunter Duplessis’ departure leaves a massive void.