UTSA Football Media Roundtable
Nov. 8, 2021
Head Coach Jeff Traylor
On his takeaways from the game against UTEP …
"Our ability to come out and score so quick was huge. I thought it was an unbelievably designed play by Coach (Barry) Lunney. Our kids executed it so well. It was just good. They only allowed 90 yards a game on the run, and our goal was to double them up. We got 75 yards on that one play. I thought that was huge. Defensively, we came out strong early. We didn't finish the game the exact way that we wanted to, but you have to give UTEP a lot of credit. Special teams wise, the kick by Hunter (Duplessis), his seven touchbacks, all of his extra points and the big tackle by Rashad Wisdom on the kickoff were all very big plays in the ball game."
On his reflection on being 9-0 on the season …
"I start off every Sunday morning in my journal with quiet time. I would be lying if I did not say this has been surreal, a dream. I appreciate how it has been mentioned to our fanbase to enjoy these moments. These are special moments. We will look back in time one day and think, 'Wow, that was an incredible ride.' I hope we have many more of those in front of us. To be undefeated, there are four of us left in the country, with such a new program, I am so thrilled for my kids, my players. It makes me feel so good for them. They are the ones that deserve all of this. I am so happy for them."
On the importance of the single-digit number players …
"I want y'all to ask my guys, 'Who is the most important coach in your life?' Every one of them will say that they are the most important coach in their lives. I am not the most important coach in their life. They are the only ones that really know what they are doing when they are alone. They are the only ones that can look in that mirror. The only man that really matters is the man in the mirror. Our players will take care of that. If they don't, we will not play well on Saturday. I have not yet seen us not show up. I would be willing to argue and debate that at any moment in our 12 games last year and our nine game this year, in 21 games, we showed up every single one of them. Were we perfect? Heck no. Your head coach is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Your players are not perfect, but I promise you that we always give perfect effort."
On what they are going to prepare for against Southern Miss …
"They have great tradition. I am very impressed with how hard they play. It is new. You have a new program with a new coach coming in there. There is a lot of tradition and they have a lot of athletes."
