Lunney will coach bowl with Traylor out
When UTSA offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. is calling a game on a typical Saturday, head coach Jeff Traylor pops into his headset to offer situational advice.
Lunney said he often has free rein with play selection, but Traylor picks up on elements Lunney might not be in tune with. Maybe the scenario sets up well to attempt a fourth-down conversion, so Traylor will tell Lunney to keep that in mind on his third-down call. Perhaps UTSA’S players are getting tired and need to slow the pace, or maybe the defense is showing signs of fatigue and looks prone to a deep shot.
After Traylor tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday and confirmed the result with a second positive test Thursday, Lunney learned he will be both interim head coach and offensive coordinator when UTSA faces No. 19 Louisiana-lafayette in the First Responder Bowl at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Dallas.
On top of his usual focus on X’s and O’s, Lunney is preparing to fill
Traylor’s role as the extra voice in his ear, mindful of aspects like timeout management and twopoint conversions that fall to him as Traylor is unable to travel with the team. Through Traylor tweeted Thursday afternoon that he feels “totally fine,” he remains in self-isolation as part of UTSA’S COVID-19 protocol.
“There are just going to be a handful of times that maybe I have to take that coordinator hat off and be the head coach, and certainly I have to think through all of those,” Lunney said. “I’m trying to play that out in my mind, and talking it through with coach.”
Working with Traylor the past two seasons at Arkansas and during their first year at UTSA this season, Lunney said hehas a “pretty strong understanding” of Traylor’s expectations, including how aggressively to approach certain game situations.
“He trusts us to take what he has laid out before, and let’s just get it to the finish line for these next three days, and get our team to hopefully go play the best they possibly can on Saturday,” Lunney said.
Lunney has experience stepping into an interim role, taking charge at Arkansas last year after coach Chad Morris was fired and leading the team through losses to LSU and Missouri to close the season.
But the situation at UTSA has little in common, Lunney said. Arkansas still had
both coordinators in place, saving Lunney part of the juggling act he now faces. Arkansas was also struggling through a 2-10 season, leading to a much different approach than with 7-4 UTSA, where Lunney said he aims to be “an extension” of Traylor.
One element that will carry over, Lunney said, is a sense of the atmosphere on the sideline as a college head coach.
“That experience last year, no doubt, is giving me confidence and being comfortable about what faces me on Saturday,” Lunney said.
Lunney also navigated a mumps outbreak as the interim at Arkansas, pulling two starters off the bus before the trip to LSU and being without six or eight significant contributors against Missouri. He said the experience was a “sneak peek” at the challenges programs across the country have faced due to COVID-19
this year.
Lunney said UTSA is in “pretty decent shape” on offense, while acting defensive coordinator Jess Loepp said COVID-19 tests have created challenges for depth at some positions on defense.
During the past week, 14 students and six staff in the UTSA athletic department have tested positive for COVID-19, per the university’s data. The uptick in positive tests hasn’t changed the team’s intent to play in the First Responder Bowl, which Lunney said serves as a reward for pushing through the difficulties of 2020 and stands a “symbolic representation of our resiliency.”
Lunney said the news of Traylor’s test was a “pretty big blow” to the players, but the group “bounced back” at Thursday’s practice. Operations were mostly normal Thursday, Lunney said, and UTSA hasn’t altered plans for Friday, which includes a walkthrough, a bus trip to Dallas, and meetings at the team hotel.
Despite the interim head coach tag, Lunney said he does not intend to play a role in defensive operations Saturday. Traylor is expected to remain involved in meetings through Zoom, with UTSA director of operations Kevin Brown serving as his eyes and ears in other settings. Lunney and Loepp said they anticipate being in contact with Traylor until the team takes the field for Saturday’s kickoff.
The players have adopted a mentality of wanting “to go win for coach Traylor,” Loepp said, and Lunney said the most significant disadvantage will be missing the energy Traylor’s presence provides.
“His leadership, and the way our players trust in him and believe in him,” Lunney said. “We’re just going to try to do the best from the onthe-field stuff, just to make sure it keeps going smoothly.”