SAN ANTONIO — UTSA officially will usher in the Frank Wilson era on Saturday night when it hosts Alabama State in the 2016 season opener.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Alamodome and it will mark the Roadrunners' first season opener at home since their inaugural 2011 campaign, which coincidentally also took place on a Sept. 3.
The contest will end a streak of 38 consecutive games against Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents for UTSA, which only is in its sixth season of play.
The Roadrunners return 41 letterwinners from last year's squad, including 14 starters (seven offense/five defense/two kickers). Saturday will mark the 59th all-time game in program history, the 31st of which that will be played at the friendly confines of the Alamodome.
TUNING IN: Saturday's game will be broadcast live locally in the Alamo City on KMYS-CW 35. Don Harris (play-by-play), Chuck Miketinac (analyst) and Hector Ledesma (sidelines) will call all the action in what will be the first of five local telecasts for the Roadrunners this season. The contest also can be heard live in San Antonio on Ticket 760 AM. Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Jay Riley (analyst) will handle the call. The pregame show will begin at 4 p.m. and there will be a 45-minute postgame show. The broadcast also can be heard live here or on your mobile device with the free iHeartRadio app.
SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE: Alabama State is coming off a 2015 season that saw it post a 6–5 overall record and 5–4 mark in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play. The Hornets are led by second-year head coach Brian Jenkins, who owns a career ledger of 52-19 (.732) in six seasons on the sidelines. Alabama State returns 43 letterwinners from last year's squad, including 17 starters.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the first meeting between the Roadrunners and Hornets.
SEASON-OPENER SUCCESS: UTSA saw its four-game winning streak in season openers come to an end with last year's 42-32 loss at Arizona. The Roadrunners previously had won all four of their lid-lifters dating back to its inaugural 2011 campaign. UTSA downed Northeastern (Okla.) State at the Alamodome by a score of 31-3 in the program's first-ever game back on Sept. 3, 2011. The next three years saw the Roadrunners open the fall on the road. The Birds picked up their first-ever Football Bowl Subdivision and road victory with a come-from-behind 33-31 triumph at South Alabama on Sept. 1, 2012. UTSA then outlasted New Mexico by a count of 21-13 on Aug. 31 in its 2013 opener and two years ago saw the Roadrunners stun Houston by a score of 27-7 on Aug. 29 in the first-ever game at brand-new TDECU Stadium.
All-Time Season Openers
Date— Opponent — Score
Sept. 3, 2011 — Northeastern (Okla.) State — W, 31-3
Sept. 1, 2012 — at South Alabama — W, 33-31
Aug. 31, 2013 — at New Mexico — W, 21-13
Aug. 29, 2014 — at Houston — W, 27-7
Sept. 3, 2015 — at Arizona — L, 32-42
HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday will mark UTSA's first season opener at home since its inaugural 2011 campaign, which coincidentally also took place on a Sept. 3. The Roadrunners downed Northeastern (Okla.) State by a score of 31-3 that afternoon.
FBS STREAK TO COME TO AN END: Saturday's game against Alabama State, which competes in the Football Championship Subdivision, will end a streak of 38 consecutive FBS opponents for the Roadrunners. UTSA last played a non-FBS foe back on Nov. 10, 2012, when it downed McNeese State by a score of 31-24. The Roadrunners were in their first and only season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference that season.
THREE ROADRUNNERS LAND ON PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM: Senior S Michael Egwuagu, senior RB Jarveon Williams and junior DE Marcus Davenport were named preseason All-Conference USA in a vote by the league's head coaches, the conference office announced on July 20 prior to its annual season kickoff event in Dallas. Egwuagu appeared in all 12 games (11 starts) last fall and registered 62 tackles (37 solos/25 assists), including 3.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks, as well as placing second on the squad with three interceptions and he added eight pass breakups. Meanwhile, Williams is coming off a junior campaign that saw him become the first 1,000-yard rusher in program history. The team captain played in the first 11 games (nine starts) before missing the season finale against Middle Tennessee. He posted school records of 1,042 yards on 173 carries (6.0 avg.) on the strength of four 100-yard games, averaged 94.7 yards per outing and also tied the program's single-season record with eight rushing touchdowns. Davenport started 11 contests but missed the Colorado State tilt due to injury a year ago. The San Antonio native recorded 49 tackles (30 solos/19 assists) and ranked second on the team with 7.5 TFLs and four sacks. He also racked up four QB hurries, three pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles.
FOUR 2015 ALL-CONFERENCE USA PERFORMERS RETURN THIS FALL: The Roadrunners return four All-Conference USA honorees from a year ago — Marcus Davenport (Jr., DE), Michael Egwuagu (Sr., S), Kerry Thomas Jr. (Jr., WR) and Jarveon Williams (Sr., RB). All four earned honorable mention accolades from the league's head coaches.
WILLIAMS BACK AFTER 1,000-YARD CAMPAIGN: Senior RB Jarveon Williams became the first 1,000-yard rusher in program history last fall. Williams ran for 1,042 yards and eight touchdowns on 173 carries (6.0 avg.) in his 11 games of action, which was an average of 94.7 per contest. All of those numbers were UTSA single-season records and Williams was an honorable mention All-Conference USA selection.
THOMAS RETURNS AFTER RECORD-BREAKING SOPHOMORE SEASON: Junior WR Kerry Thomas, UTSA's leading receiver from a year ago, is coming off a sophomore campaign that saw him catch a school-record 52 passes for 541 yards and four touchdowns en route to honorable mention All-Conference USA accolades.
PLENTY BACK ON DEFENSE: The Roadrunners may return just five starters on defense, but they welcome back three of their top five tacklers from the 2015 season. Junior S Nate Gaines (76), junior LB Marcos Curry (74) and senior S Michael Egwuagu (62) ranked third through fifth, respectively, last fall.
GRADUATE TRANSFERS FILL OUT ROSTER: There are five senior graduate transfers among the many new faces on UTSA's roster this fall. OT Jevonte Domond, LB Ronnie Feist and S Jordan Moore all earned degrees from LSU before coming to the Alamo City, while QB Jared Johnson and TE Jordan Jones walked across the stage at Sam Houston State and Gardner-Webb, respectively.
MORE ABOUT THIS YEAR'S ROSTER: UTSA's 117-man roster features 22 seniors, 33 juniors, 24 sophomores and 38 freshmen. Meanwhile, 89 players hail from Texas, while another six call California home. There also are four players from both Florida and Mississippi, three from Louisiana, two each from Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma and Tennessee and one from Arizona, Kansas and Missouri.
WILSON NEW MAN IN CHARGE: A new era of UTSA Football began on Jan. 15 when the Roadrunners hired Frank Wilson as their new head coach. Widely considered one of the most valuable assistant coaches in all of college football, Wilson came to the Alamo City following a successful six-year stint as the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at LSU from 2010-15, where he also served as associate head coach for his final four seasons with the Tigers. He also has been an assistant coach at Tennessee (2009), Southern Miss (2008) and Mississippi (2005-07). While at LSU, he was recognized as the nation's top assistant coach at his position in 2011. Wilson also was named the 2011 Recruiter of the Year by Rivals.com, the 2014 NFL.com Top Recruiter in College Football and the 2015 Scout.com SEC Recruiter of the Year. As the recruiting coordinator at LSU, Wilson led the Tigers to back-to-back top-five recruiting classes in 2014-15 among five total groups that ranked among the top 10 nationally. He served as the lead recruiter for a long list of prominent players and has coached or recruited 25 individuals who have made it to the National Football League.
BROADCASTING THE BIRDS: Eleven of UTSA's 12 games this fall have been selected for broadcast across six different networks. The Roadrunners, who have seen their last 36 outings appear over the airwaves, will see that streak increase to at least 46 this season, as the first 10 contests have been picked for broadcast. The Nov. 19 tilt at Texas A&M is the only game that has yet to be selected, but the Southeastern Conference typically waits until 12 days out to announce its television selections, so UTSA's streak very well could increase to 48 by the end of the fall.
UP NEXT: UTSA will open its road slate with a 3 p.m. (CT) matchup at Colorado State next Saturday, Sept. 10, in Fort Collins. Mountain West Network/Campus Insiders will broadcast the second all-time meeting between the two programs. The Rams held off the Roadrunners by a score of 33-31 last Sept. 26 at the Alamodome.
