UIW defense is finally earning respect
As Incarnate Word defensive back Brandon Richard looked around at the Benson Stadium crowd during Saturday’s win against Texas A&mcommerce, he picked out at least 20 people he knew from the San Antonio area who he’d never noticed at a game before.
Growing up in the city and playing at San Antonio Christian before arriving at UIW in 2018, Richard recalled the days when the Cardinals athletics program felt invisible and the university was “really known as a school to get a pretty good degree.”
But as UIW football surged to national prominence, Richard began spotting a new type of reaction when he told people he played for the program.
“It started probably when I first got here my freshman year, and now it’s totally different,” Richard said. “People are actually excited about UIW football, and people are excited about what we have going on here in this city, which, San Antonio has a lot going on.”
Prior to Richard’s first season, UIW had never won a conference championship or competed in the FCS playoffs. And while the Cardinals have done so three times during Richard’s tenure and are chasing a fourth mark in each category this year, UIW had still never fielded a defense that garnered the same respect and recognition as the high-flying offense.
For the first time in Richard’s career, that perception has started to change. The long-struggling UIW defense stands sixth in the FCS in total yards allowed at 274.2 per game, proving to be a driving force as the Cardinals (5-1, 2-0 Southland) have jumped to No. 5 in the national rankings.
“It’s nice, but recognition doesn’t really drive us at the end of the day,” Richard said. “What drives us is we want to be great. Internal drive. It’s nice that we’re getting credit, but we just want to keep playing better. We still have a long way to go.”
In four years under coach Eric Morris, from 2018-21, UIW ranked no higher than 95th nationally in total defense. When G.J. Kinne took the helm for 2022, the group bumped up to No. 52 nationally, helping spur a record-setting 12-2 season with a run to the FCS semifinals.
With Clint Killough at the wheel for 2023, UIW for the first time boasts a defense that could be considered elite. Veteran defensive coordinator Jim Gush took over the unit and put an emphasis on fundamentals and communication, putting the group in a four-man defensive front.
The Cardinals first moved to a four-down look last season after often playing with three linemen and a third safety under Morris, and Killough said the shift allows UIW to better control the line of scrimmage and generate pressure with two edge rushers.
UIW ranks tied for 50th in the country with two sacks per game, posting 7.7 tackles for loss per game to rank ninth in the FCS.
“We have good players, playing violently, and being strong,” Killough said. “We move the front a ton, and it’s really hard for those offensive linemen.”
Richard is the only defender on the roster who started more than half of last season’s games, but the Cardinals have been bolstered by a range of both returning and incoming pieces.
Defensive end Steven Parker, who joined UIW last season as a transfer from Kansas, raised “his maturity level and attention to detail” off the field, Killough said, allowing him to emerge as the FCS leader with 2.3 tackles for loss per game while ranking tied for fifth with 61⁄2 sacks.
Leading tackler Tylan Foster was an “answered prayer” when he transferred to UIW in June from his JUCO stop at College of the Canyons, Killough said, battling through “some confidence things” as he transitioned from a nickel role to an interior linebacker spot through preseason camp.
His 5-foot-11 frame scared off many potential recruiters, Foster said, leaving UIW as his only offer. A Houston native, Foster said UIW was one of just two college camps he attended in high school. Though the surroundings were somewhat familiar, Foster said acclimating to the defense on a condensed timeline proved challenging.
“At first, this was the most frustrating learning process I’ve ever had, but man, I just stayed to it, learning piece by piece. One day, it just clicked for me,” Foster said. “Most people didn’t think I could play at this level, so to come in and be dominant and play the way I have, I can’t complain.” UIW has thrived on what the group calls the “money down,” Foster said, holding opponents to the fourth-lowest rate of third-down conversions nationally at 25.6 percent.
The Cardinals moved back into the top five of the FCS rankings for the first time in 2023 this week, and Foster said the defense should only continue to improve as UIW travels to face Mcneese State at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“Through the season, it’s been growing every game. We’ve been getting better and better every game,” Foster said. “Everyone is new to the scheme, so I feel like everyone is picking up the pieces more and more, and everyone is learning how to do their job to the best of their abilities to make everything flow perfectly.”