UTSA Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up

Strengths & Question Marks

The main strength for UTSA is experience. The Roadrunners will have 38 seniors on the roster in 2014, which is the most in the nation. UTSA has to replace Eric Soza at quarterback, but the team will have nine starters returning on offense and 10 on defense. The first few years of suffering through the growing pains of starting a program from scratch are starting to pay off as the founding fathers of the program become elder statesmen.

In terms of tangible strengths, UTSA’s defense line will be as good as any in Conference USA. The defensive end and tackle position can boast five-man rotations. Codie Brooks and Robert Singletary proved to be pass-rushing threats in 2013 and that position gets even better with the return of Jason Neill from injury. Ashaad Mabry is one of the best defensive tackles no one has ever heard of and Brian Price is an emerging star. The UTSA offensive line will also be a strength as all five starters return from a unit that wasn’t called for a holding penalty all of last season.

The biggest question mark is quarterback but incumbent starter Tucker Carter, a senior with a high school state championship and JUCO experience, had a solid spring is expected to be the clear starter in 2014 if no new faces are added to the position by the time fall camp arrives. The main question at quarterback is depth. The Roadrunners lack any type of experience at quarterback behind Carter.

The Rover safety position in UTSA’s 4-2-5 defense is the lone question mark on defense. Brian King, Mauricio Sanchez and Chase Dahlquist will battle it out at that position.

Breakout Players

With so many starters and players in the two-deep returning from last year’s team it is hard to expect many fresh faces to steal playing time and make large impacts. Unless we count Tucker Carter, the expected starter at quarterback, as a potential breakout player it is hard to see where many new players earn snaps.

Jason Neill at defensive end missed last season and was one of the best players on the team in the spring. Safety Mauricio Sanchez also missed last season and is expected to compete for a starting spot. Both of those players have been on campus for a while and wouldn’t be considered breakout players by those close to the program. Sophomore Jarveon Williams has a chance to breakout at running back because of his ability to make big plays and wide receiver Josiah Monroe had an impressive spring in a crowded wide receiver rotation.

Position Grades

QB: B-

Tucker Carter had his issues with consistency but his skill set may open up the UTSA offense because of his ability to push the ball down the field in the vertical passing game. The offense has been condensed in the first few years of program history and Carter can change that with his strong arm. He has experience at the JUCO level and has taken to the leadership role. Redshirt freshman Austin Robinson continues to improve but may not be quite ready to lead the team if Carter gets injured. A transfer would really help the depth at this position.

RB: B-

The issue at this position is as much about depth as anything. David Glasco’s presence keeps this position from getting a much lower grade. He may get the first 1,000 yard season in program history. Jarveon Williams has a ton of talent but is still learning the position. Brandon Armstrong is a great change of pace back but not an every-down guy. There are a lot of question marks here after Glasco.

WR: B

Brandon Freeman had a great spring and Kam Jones remains this team’s best weapon. There are a lot of bodies but there isn’t an option that scares defenses and forces double-teams. UTSA has a new position coach that is stressing fundamentals, so that may help this group take the next step. Josiah Monroe played well at slot receiver all spring.

TE: B-

Tight end was one of the few positions that lost a starter from 2013, but Cole Hubble returns and he has a lot of experience. He isn’t the blocker that the graduated Jeremiah Moeller was, but he is a better weapon in the passing game. If, and it is a big if, UTSA can keep David Morgan healthy this could be a productive position.

OL: A

The UTSA offensive line returns all five starters from last season and the group has over 120 combined starts under their belt entering the season. This unit should be solid and the leaders of the offense. With a new quarterback and question marks at running back the big guys need to be.

DL: A

The defensive line is the best position unit on this team. Not only is there individual talent but there is a ton of depth. UTSA can rotate at defensive end and defensive tackle without a drop off in production and that is priceless when going up against modern offenses that run as many plays as possible.

LB: B

The biggest loss for the UTSA defense was Steven Kurfehs. Jens Jeters is expected to fill his shoes. If Jeters is up to the task this is a really good group of linebackers. The Roadrunners only play two linebackers at a time and Drew Douglas returns to start in the middle. Blake Terry and Dalton Miller provide depth.

DB: B-

Triston Wade is still the man at free safety. Nic Johnston and Michael Egwuagu complement each other very well at Dawg safety, a hybrid safety-linebacker position in the 4-2-5. The question mark is at the other deep safety spot. If that can be figured out this should be a strong unit because the cornerback position is much improved. That group is led by Bennett Okotcha.

ST: C+

Sean Ianno has been a consistent and mostly reliable field goal kicker but punting has been inconsistent for most of the program’s history. Kenny Harrison was one of the best punt return men in the nation in 2012 but didn’t get many attempts last season. The kickoff return team didn’t do much to speak of and the coverage units were prone to giving up big plays.

2014 Expectations

It is unfair to put the expectations of a whole team on one player but the easiest way to predict the fortunes of UTSA in 2014 is to know how Tucker Carter will do at replacing Eric Soza, who is the only quarterback the Roadrunners really know. If Carter can be as good or better than Soza then UTSA has a real chance to win the Western Division of CUSA.

UTSA almost did so last year and this team should be collectively better just by having another year under everyone’s belt. This is an experienced team with a lot of players that have worked five years for this moment. UTSA is completely bowl eligible for the first time in program history and not getting to one would be a disappointment for a program that has won 15 games in the last two seasons.

It will be hard to start strong in 2014 with a three-game stretch to start the season that includes road games against Houston and Oklahoma State sandwiched around a home game against Arizona. Even if UTSA starts 0-3 it should be able to compete with everyone else on the schedule.

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Mike Craven, publisher of InsideUTSA.com (Rivals/Yahoo) provided the information for our UTSA 2014 Spring Wrap Up.  For more UTSA football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Mike on Twitter @InsideUTSA  and on Facebook.

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