The Frank Wilson era is officially underway at UTSA. Introduced as the Roadrunners' second head coach on Jan. 15, the New Orleans, La., native has brought energy, excitement and recruiting prowess to the Alamo City.
Wilson takes over a program in only its sixth year that is looking to rebound from posting just seven wins over the past two seasons combined. The former LSU associate head coach will have a potent mix of experienced veterans and promising newcomers at his disposal as he enters his first season at the helm.
The Roadrunners return 41 letterwinners, including 14 starters, from last year's team that finished 3-9 overall and posted a 3-5 ledger to finish tied for third in Conference USA's West Division.
Wilson will make his official debut as head coach on Sept. 3 against Alabama State at the Alamodome, which also marks the Roadrunners' first season opener at home since the inaugural game on the same day in 2011.
The following week, UTSA will travel to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State for the second straight season before returning home for a Friday night nationally-televised matchup against Arizona State on Sept. 16.
The Roadrunners are slated to open C-USA action at Old Dominion on Sept. 24 before entering their only bye week of the campaign.
UTSA will return to action when it hosts defending West Division champion Southern Miss on Oct. 8, the first of three home contests in four weeks. After traveling to Houston to face Rice on Oct. 15, the Birds will welcome UTEP for Homecoming on Oct. 22 and North Texas the following Saturday.
A challenging three-game stretch on the road gets underway at Middle Tennessee on Nov. 5 and is followed by the program's third visit to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech on Nov. 12.
UTSA will step out of league play to meet Texas A&M on Nov. 19 in College Station before closing the regular season at home against Charlotte on Nov. 26.
The C-USA Championship Game between the West and East Division winners is slated for Dec. 3 at the home stadium of the team with the better league winning percentage.
C-USA will have six bowl tie-ins and one secondary arrangement for 2016. Conference teams who attain bowl eligibility may be selected for the Gildan New Mexico (Dec. 17), R+L Carriers New Orleans (Dec. 17), Boca Raton (Dec. 20), Popeyes Bahamas (Dec. 23), Hawai'i (Dec. 24), Zaxby's Heart of Dallas (Dec. 27) or Camping World Independence (Dec. 26/secondary) Bowls.
Quarterbacks
UTSA has been bitten by the injury bug at the quarterback position in each of the last two seasons, as four different signal callers have started games during that span.
Dalton Sturm took over the reins after Blake Bogenschutz — who was forced to give up the sport in February due to lingering concussion-like symptoms — was injured late in the victory at UTEP. The junior from Goliad took every snap for the remaining seven contests and went on to pass for 1,354 yards and 13 touchdowns and rush for an additional 361 yards and a score.
Wilson added senior transfer Jared Johnson, who joined the program this summer, and the Grand Prairie native is expected to challenge for the starting spot. In his three seasons at Sam Houston State, Johnson — the 2015 Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year — piled up 5,352 passing yards, 1,601 yards on the ground and 50 total touchdowns.
A pair of redshirt freshmen — Manny Harris and Jaylon Henderson — will provide depth.
Harris was an all-state performer at Copperas Cove High School, where he broke many of 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III's school records.
Henderson was a two-time all-district selection at Kingwood Park High School.
Running Backs
UTSA welcomes back one of the league's top running backs in senior Jarveon Williams. The Converse Judson High School product became the first Roadrunner to top 1,000 yards in a season when he rushed for 1,042 and eight touchdowns on 173 carries (6.0 avg.) in 11 contests last fall. The preseason all-conference pick netted four 100-yard games, including a school-record 186-yard performance in the overtime win at Charlotte, en route to earning honorable mention all-conference accolades.
Jalen Rhodes is a speedy backup at tailback. The sophomore from Rowlett rushed for 242 yards and three scores in his debut campaign.
Tyrell Clay, a junior from Corpus Christi, and Corbin White (5-10, 245), a senior from Nettleton, Miss., will add depth at the primary ball-carrying position.
Blake Dean, a senior from Temple, and Halen Steward (5-10, 190), a sophomore from St. Augustine, Fla., are slated to see the most snaps at the fullback spot.
Wide Receivers
Another skill position where UTSA is projected to be in good hands is at wide receiver.
Kerry Thomas Jr. and JaBryce Taylor combined for 81 catches, 1,013 yards and seven touchdowns as two of the team's top targets a season ago.
Thomas Jr., a junior from College Station, hauled in a program-record 52 receptions for 541 yards and four scores en route to being named honorable mention all-conference.
Taylor, a senior from Lufkin, emerged as the Roadrunners' top deep threat last fall with 472 yards and three TDs on 29 catches (16.3 avg.).
Depth will come from veterans Aron Taylor, Brady Jones and Greg Campbell Jr., along with newcomers Dannon Cavil, a junior transfer from Oklahoma, and Marquez McNair, a junior college transfer who is the nephew of the late Steve McNair.
Tight Ends
UTSA will have a huge void to fill at tight end with the departure of David Morgan II, the program's first-ever NFL Draft pick. He caught 45 passes for 566 yards and five touchdowns en route to garnering second-team All-America and all-conference accolades last year.
Trevor Stevens, a senior from Friendswood who has seen action in 33 career contests, earned the starting job coming out of spring practice.
Senior transfer Jordan Jones and junior transfer Shaq Williams also are expected to play key roles at the position this fall.
Offensive Linemen
The big guys up front helped pave the way for UTSA's first 1,000-yard rusher last fall, and more than half of that group is back this year.
At center, Juan Perez-Isidoro returns with 16 career games under his belt. The junior has graded out at 92 and 88 percent in his last two seasons, respectively.
At left tackle, Reed Darragh, a junior from Buda, is back after recording 46 knockdowns and grading out at 93 percent in his team-leading 862 snaps in 2015.
The other returning starter along the line is right guard Kyle McKinney. The junior from Boerne graded out at 91 percent and had 26 knockdowns in 10 games last fall.
Austin Pratt is slated to start at left guard. The senior from Sealy finished second on the squad with 48 knockdowns in 11 contests — seven starts — last year.
Clayton Woods, a sophomore from Highland Park, and Stefan Beard, a junior transfer from Chicago, will provide depth at guard.
At right tackle, senior LSU transfer Jevonte Domond is pegged to earn the starting nod.
Depth at tackle will come from senior Gabriel Casillas.
Defensive Linemen
Despite losing a pair of defensive linemen who signed NFL free-agent contracts, UTSA returns a plethora of experience this year.
At one end, Marcus Davenport is back after a sophomore campaign that saw him register 49 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, four quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles. The San Antonio Stevens High School product earned honorable mention all-conference accolades and is a preseason all-league selection this year.
At the other end, Kevin Strong Jr. enjoyed a breakout season in 2015, as the sophomore from Cleveland, Texas, posted 31 stops, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and a pair of pass breakups.
Depth on the edge is expected to come from Romario Napoles and Ben Kane.
Inside, Baylen Baker, a redshirt freshman from Abilene, has the upper hand at defensive tackle, with Vontrell King-Williams also in the mix.
At the other interior spot, Jonathan Tuiolosega is back for his senior season after turning in 29 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, last fall. He will be backed up by King Newton, a redshirt freshman from Southlake Carroll High School and the son of former NFL All-Pro Nate Newton.
Linebackers
The Roadrunners employ two linebackers in their base alignment and must fill the void left by Drew Douglas, who finished his career as UTSA's second all-time leading tackler (242).
Josiah Tauaefa, a redshirt freshman from Lake Dallas High School, caught the coaches' eyes in spring practice and has earned his way to the top of the depth chart at middle linebacker.
La'Kel Bass, a junior transfer who redshirted last fall, is slated to start at the other linebacker spot.
Ronnie Feist, a senior transfer from LSU who joined the team this summer, and Marcos Curry, a junior who recorded 74 tackles last season, will push for playing time.
Defensive Backs
The Roadrunners use five defensive backs — three safeties and two cornerbacks — in their base set.
Two of the three starters at safety last fall are back in the form of senior strong safety Michael Egwuagu and junior free safety Nate Gaines.
Egwuagu, a preseason all-conference choice, tallied 62 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups and three interceptions on his way to honorable mention all-conference laurels last season.
Gaines, a Mesquite native, posted 76 stops, six PBUs and three picks last year despite missing a pair of contests.
The sophomore duo of C.J. Levine and Carl Austin III are expected to provide depth at those two positions, respectively.
At the other strong safety spot, junior Chase Dahlquist is back from a redshirt season and expected to take over for Duke Wheeler, who set a program record with 62 solo tackles last fall. He will be pushed by Justin Chavez, a junior from Irving.
UTSA will need to replace both starting cornerbacks from a year ago, including all-conference performer Bennett Okotcha.
A quartet of players in juniors N'Keal Bailey and Aneas Henricks and sophomores JaColbie Butler and Stanley Dye Jr. all will compete for playing time along with late signee Devron Davis, a prized junior college transfer from Stockton, Calif.
Special Teams
UTSA returns both kickers, an experienced returner and its deep snapper this fall.
Place-kicker Daniel Portillo drilled 10 field goals, including a long of 51, and made 27-of-32 extra-point attempts last season. The Pflugerville native also handled most kickoff duties and enters his junior campaign with 19 career touchbacks.
Victor Falcon saw brief action as a walk-on freshman in 2015, booting nine touchbacks on 15 tries.
Punter Yannis Routsas averaged 39.0 yards on 63 punts, including a long of 62, in his freshman season in 2015. He will be backed up by Portillo, who averaged 37.2 yards on four punts last year.
Matt Bayliss, a junior from Tulsa, Okla., served as deep snapper in all 12 contests last fall and will be backed up by Clayton Woods.
Brett Winnegan showed flashes of being a dangerous return man as a freshman last year. The Pearland native set a school record with 36 kickoff returns and 747 yards, including a long of 36. He also is penciled in to handle punt returns.
