San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
’Runners groom next defensive line leaders
When UTSA defensive tackle Brandon Brown arrived on campus last spring, he was immediately drawn to the mentorship of fifthyear senior Jaylon Haynes.
Roadrunners coach Jeff Traylor describes them both as “old souls” who teammates look up to. They aren’t the most vocal players on the field, but when they speak, they demand attention.
Haynes earned the nickname “Bull” with the Roadrunners, and as he moves on from the program this year, Traylor has taken to calling Brown “Young Bull.”
Brown said he and Haynes have similar personalities, focused on staying out of trouble and handling their business. He noted with a smile that the only difference between the lines is that Haynes “can get a little too fancy sometimes” compared to Brown’s more “gritty” approach.
“Everything I put on the field or in film, I pretty much learned it from him and did it exactly how he told us to,” Brown said. “I’m going to fill Bull’s shoes, for sure.”
As UTSA wraps up a second week of spring practice Saturday, one of the main focuses continues to be finding new leadership in the defensive front seven following the departures of pass-rushing outside linebackers Charles Wiley and Clarence Hicks as well as Haynes and Lorenzo Dantzler on the line.
Traylor wants the Roadrunners to rotate through three units in the trenches, and he stressed to the group this week the importance of emerging through the spring.
“I promised those kids when I
recruited them that I was going to play them, and we’ve done that since we’ve been here,” Traylor said. “We’re deep, and we play
kids. That’s always, ideally, the goal. Now, we lost a lot of really good leaders, and that’s where we have to get stepped up.”
Traylor highlighted Brown as a “great young man” and one of those willing leaders. Entering the program last year as a sophomore transfer from Tulane, Brown steadily increased his snap counts through the season, with all seven of his starts coming in UTSA’s final eight games.
Since the end of the year, Brown said he’s been refining his passrush moves to add to his acumen stuffing the run.
“I was getting my feet wet (last season),” Brown said. “This year, I’m really looking to make a name for myself, and I put in the work to.”
As he looks toward his junior season in the fall, Asyrus Simon said he’s also been working to grow his role as a leader on the defensive line.
Traylor saw flashes of that potential last season and described Simon as someone who “has always been different” — mature, intelligent, trusting and raised by a “great family.”
Though Traylor said the Roadrunners are yet to experiment with shifting the 6-foot-4, 265pounder to outside linebacker, Simon said he’s been working to develop his skills dropping into pass coverage in the flat in case the need arises.
He added that he feels like he’s “just a leader naturally,” comfortable being a central voice in the defensive line room.
“I want to be a bell cow for the defense and the team, as well,” Simon said. “I just want to be a role model for the younger guys coming up to look at me and be like, ‘Oh, I want to be exactly how he’s doing.’”
Before making 26 tackles and emerging as a starter late last season, Simon had a quiet freshman year in 2020, playing in just two games because of an irregular heartbeat.
Traylor said the condition is something the Roadrunners have monitored since Simon’s first days on campus. Simon said he hasn’t had any issues since last year’s fall camp, adding that managing any issues that arise only requires communicating with coaches and taking time to rest.
“When I tell them something is going on with me, they’ll sit me down and say I’m done for the rest of practice,” Simon said. “They do a good job of managing and watching me, but I’m good. I’m great. I’m ready to go.”
At outside linebacker, Traylor highlighted Jimmori Robinson, who played three games last year as a JUCO transfer, and pointed to the potential of redshirt freshmen Trey Moore from Smithson Valley and Caleb Lewis from Steele.
The Roadrunners are also experimenting with shifting 6-2, 255pound defensive lineman Trumane Bell to the position — a move Traylor said Bell is apt for because of his football IQ. Bell was one of UTSA’s most efficient pass rushers last season, ranking second on the team with five sacks in a rotational role.
“We want to find out in the spring. We don’t want to find out in the Houston game,” Traylor said. “We’re really turning the heat up and trying to expose those guys as much as possible, so when we get in the game, it’ll be a little easier.”