’Runners relaxed before bowl
As UTSA returned to the practice field Monday, coach Jeff Traylor said he “came in kind of hot and angry,” expecting the Roadrunners to look rusty or satisfied from their success.
Traylor spent much of last week on recruiting trips, leaving the players time for finals, strength and conditioning training, and basking in the glow of the program’s first Conference USA championship, won 49-41 against Western Kentucky on Dec. 3.
But rather than find a group that had been reading its press clippings or lapsing on the season-long directive of “don’t eat the cheese,” Traylor said he detected only a mature team ready to refocus for Tuesday’s Frisco Bowl matchup against No. 24 San Diego State.
“I was trying to catch them doing something wrong, and I kept catching them doing something right,” Traylor said. “There are a lot of things to be happy about, but they flew around like champions.”
With the fall semester wrapped up, linebacker Clarence Hicks said the players have increased time on their hands, leading the group to “focus 10 times more.”
Traylor said the Roadrunners are “in really good shape” from an injury standpoint, and no one on the roster is projected to forgo the bowl to get a jump on pro aspirations.
Though the coaches will have to do some juggling with the start of the early signing period Wednesday, UTSA is planning to practice Monday through Thursday this week before traveling to Frisco on Friday.
“I feel like we went back out there without missing a beat and picked right back up where we left off,” safety Rashad Wisdom said. “I feel like that’s a sign of a mature team, and I feel like this will be a good week of practice for us.”
Last week was a chance to refresh mentally and rehab physically, Wisdom said, priming the Roadrunners for a final push.
UTSA’S offensive line “probably needed that week off more than anybody,” Traylor said, rotating through eight players in the CUSA title game after “just surviving” through the year.
Wisdom also found time to look back at the latest notch in UTSA’S historic run, appreciating the program’s first championship.
“That’s not an easy task, something that has never been done here, so I definitely had to let it sink in for me and know that I’m a champion,” Wisdom said. “But that time is gone. Now, we’re looking toward the bowl.”
Others took a more businesslike approach last week, with Hicks saying he won’t “really celebrate until the season is all the way over.”
Harris said he spent more time looking for mistakes on film than basking in the highlights, but he also took the opportunity to “get away from the game some,” watching television or spending time with friends and family.
“Coach Traylor does a great job of taking care of us, whether it’s mentally or physically,” Harris said. “He listens to us, and he
wants us to be excited to come back out here.”
The Roadrunners are also mixing in the levity of a typical bowl week experience, taking a team trip to the San Antonio Zoo following Tuesday afternoon’s practice.
Traylor credited zoo president and CEO Tim Morrow for sponsoring the outing and said he’s “never seen some kids so excited.”
The locker room on Tuesday felt like a group of children preparing for a field trip, Traylor said, with arguments about whether to prioritize snakes, alligators or lions.
“I love the zoo,” Hicks said. “I love animals. I’ve been meaning to go to the zoo for a minute down here, so for free, why not?”
UTSA has a few other recreational activities planned for this week, Traylor said, with another program supporter funding a trip to Andretti’s Indoor Karting and Games.
While some coaches treat bowl week with the intensity of fall camp and others approach it as a celebration of the season, Traylor said he’s aiming to “make it be the best of both worlds.”
With festivities around last year’s trip to the First Responder Bowl stifled by the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the Roadrunners are enjoying the typical bowl experience for the first time.
“These are supposed to be rewarding. That’s why bowls were made,” Traylor said. “They didn’t get to do anything last year, really. We’re trying to make this a fun experience, because it’s pretty much the same team for the last two seasons, and we want them to have a good time.”