Football Notebook: Explosiveness, physicality a spring highlightFootball Notebook: Explosiveness, physicality a spring highlight
Football

Football Notebook: Explosiveness, physicality a spring highlight

SAN ANTONIO -- UTSA football held its 10th full team practice on Monday morning at the UTSA Practice Fields.
 
The Roadrunners had their 10th practice on Monday, two days after going through their second full scrimmage of the spring practice season. The team will also practice on April 10, 13, 17 and 19.
 
The spring practice season will conclude with the ninth annual UTSA Football Fiesta Spring Game, which will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Dub Farris Athletic Complex (8400 North Loop 1604 W). Admission and parking are free.
 
The Roadrunners will open the 2019 season on Saturday, Aug. 31, against UIW at the Alamodome. 
 
Season tickets are on sale now by calling or texting 210-458-UTSA (8872) or visiting goUTSA.com/tickets.
 

Explosive plays, physicality highlight scrimmage
A key to any successful offensive attack is an ability to explode for big chunks of yardage on any touch. During Saturday's scrimmage, UTSA's offense accounted for 12 explosive plays that accumulated nearly 300 yards. 
 
"Going into the scrimmage and going into the spring one of the things we really wanted to improve on was explosive plays," UTSA head coach Frank Wilson said. "It's an area that we lacked a year ago and as we continue to study the cutting edge of what's out there in pro football and football in general; our constant (coaching) evaluation and our professional development with teams like Kansas City, with teams like the Rams, it's allowing us to have the diversity that we need to get the very most out of our personnel. To have double-digit explosive plays on Saturday was really positive for our football team." 
 
In the last three seasons, UTSA had 188 total plays of 20 or more yards, including 90 in 2016 (13 games) and 58 in 11 contests the following season.
 
"We came back today and the defense answered and was able to fit some of those runs and defend some of those passes," Wilson said about the defensive response to Saturday's explosive plays. "We finished up the practice with an opportunity to go into the last few minutes with no timeouts remaining and you have to find a way to win a football game, all things that could come up leading into Saturday's scrimmage. Wednesday is going to be a day where we are going to focus on four-minute drills. Just touching on every aspect of the game is our intention."
 
The ability to create, and enhance, explosive plays is a commitment to a physical approach at the line of scrimmage and down the field among the skill players. 
 
"When you have explosive plays, it's because what's happening up front with the big men but probably more importantly what happens down the field with those skills guys, that allows those 20-yard runs to be 60-yard touchdowns," Wilson said. "Just physicality from all over the field. Including the interior but at all edges of our football team."
 
The offensive line is developing into a strength of the team and returns five players with starting experience from 2018, including Kevin Davis, Treyvion Shannon, Josh Dunlop, Jalyn Galmore and Spencer Burford.
 
"Just the mentality, the culture (on physicality) is what you try to establish," Wilson said. "Bird Cage and the Runner Drill. Those are the things that are in our DNA that teaches us how to play the game the way this game is meant to be played. If we continue to do those things it pours into our DNA as a program."
 
While the offensive line standouts have been key to establishing that physicality, senior running back Halen Steward and junior college transfer tight end Leroy Watson have opened eyes with their toughness. 

 
"Treyvion Shannon has been very physical in his style of play," Wilson said. "Josh Dunlop had a very, very physical game on Saturday. Spencer Burford is showing the physicality that we desire. Halen Steward is probably one of our tougher guys. And probably our most dominant guy, play in and play out, is the emergence of Leroy Watson. A dominant football player that shows us the physicality that we choose to exemplify."

 
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