Inspecting the first official UTSA football roster

Usually seen as a team-killer, the majority of the attrition UTSA has "suffered" since the release of its first official roster has been a benefit. Following the sudden and mysterious departure of starting offensive tackle Drew Phillips, only 36% of those 69 players are still on the roster. Sure, the losses of dudes like Phillips and Marlon Smith hurt, but the overwhelming majority of losses are non-DI talent from the likes of undersized and slow walk-ons. Comparing walk-ons from two years ago to legitimate DI athletes like Aaron Grub and Jerry Bynum is pretty hard to do. Additionally, many of the players that have been dismissed were trouble-makers or suffered from poor attitudes. Team chemistry is always important, but incredibly more-so on a fragile start-up program.

Most interesting to me is some of the insane size changes these guys have seen. Defensive tackle Richard Burge has gone from 235 pounds to 275! Crosby Adams added an inch of height and 15 pounds. Cole Hubble is up 20 pounds. 25 pounds for Earon Holmes. The list goes on and on.

There were quite a few noticable position changes on the most current roster. Walk-on Cade Laufer has moved from QB to TE. Baylor transfer Robert Singletary will wisely try to see the field at defensive end next year. All-district Houston running back Jerry Bynum will join the Roadrunners as a wide receiver.

Side note: Noticed Jeremy Hall is missing from the roster and depth chart. Judging from his Twitter account, he still seems to be active on the team. If I were to guess he needs to pass a summer class to regain eligibility before he can get back on to the field, and that may be the case for several player. Hall's absence is good news for new comers like Maurice Poullard, Ja'len James, and Tre Rosser. Walk-on CB Godwin Wyche is also off the roster. Not sure if he's still playing or not. Those are precious reps for guys that need to prove their worth before the season starts.

Sit tight for another two weeks until summer classes end, and pray Drew Phillips is a temporary academic casualty.

Side note deux: Pfleugerville Connally LB Michael Egwuagu plans to commit to UTSA next week. Hat tip to Javi on that one.

Side note trois: PODCAST COMING BACK TOMORROW MAYBE


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Summer Walk-Ons

In today's latest reminder that college football has no off season, UTSA has recently released an updated roster for us nerds to devour. I've been preaching the team's advancements in the realm of strength and conditioning for months, and now we have hard evidence that I'm not crazy. Also that I'm really good at judging guys' bodies ;)  

'murica. happy early fourth o' july.

David Morgan is up to 240, Josh Walker down to an athletic but under-sized 260, Cody Harris is suddenly up to 300, and Kurfehs is down to 215 to point out a few of the most notable changes. Walker will get his weight back up-- he needed to slim down in order to get his footwork quicker and shift his body type to a more athletic stature. Look for him to play at 280 this season then max out around 290 in the future. Harris is now a picturesque FBS offensive lineman with his long arms at 6'5". The 300 pounds behind those long arms will pack a punch at the line of scrimmage. I'm hoping Kurfehs's drop in size will keep him healthy and mobile. He probably put on too much weight coming out of O'Connor where he was a scrawny corner back just a few years back.

The updated roster is available here if you'd like to really get a sense of how much bigger this team is. From a physical stand point, there's not much difference in size from this roster to other low-tier FBS programs. Don't forget the guys still have another whole month to bulk up before they report to camp. Give Coach Dudley a damn raise and buy more MET-Rx..

While there were a couple of unfortunate defections from the team in Malcolm Scott, Marlon Smith, and possibly Mason Russell, UTSA was able to land some pretty good talent in this class of walk-ons. The first to catch my eye was Christian Wood. After losing one converted basketball player in Marlon Smith, I guess UTSA felt they needed another. Wood transfers from Southwestern Assembiles of God where he had signed an NLI for their basketball squad. Side note: Why doesn't this school roll with the SWAGU acronym? Grammatically incorrect, but c'mon man!

An athletic 6'3" linebacker, Wood garnered every reward a 3A basketball player can get, including Mr. Basketball in Texas. While we'll have to wait a few months to see if Wood's hardcourt skills can bring value to the gridiron, Wood received high praise from Refugio head coach Jason Herring whom I consider one of the best small-school coaches in Texas. After playing Halletsville in 2010, Herring told the Victoria Advocate "The best thing I like about [Woods] is the kind of kid he is. He's one of the best we've ever tried to defend. We tried about five different kids on him. He kept making plays. He was also all over the field at linebacker. We've played him for three years and he's very hard to block. He's very active. He shows up and he plays hard".

Next up is Brent Swanson, a 6'0", 280 pound lineman from Corpus Christi Carroll. Brent played guard his senior year but also trained at center. Swanson has impressive size and power, but is much too slow for FBS play. He's a project that could pay dividends with hard work in the weight lifting and nutrition department.

UTSA has done a pretty good job of scoping out talent from up I-35 in New Braunfels, with four NB kids on the roster. The latest to suit up is Gage Hadlock, a 5'11", 190 lbs safety that also took reps at wide receiver at Canyon last year. After giving his tape a brief look, I haven't decided if I like him more as a free or strong safety, but he definitely fits the hard-hitting safety precedent that the program has set with Triston Wade, Nic Johnston, and Cody Berry.

While some of the other walk-ons have already been written about, Codie Brooks is the crown jewel of the latest batch of walk-ons that fans haven't already been made aware of. At 6'1", 240 lbs., Codie Brooks has the strength and modest agility to become an FBS strong side defensive end. Brooks was a menace at Seguin the past two years. From watching some tape on him, I think Brooks has a really, really high ceiling after DI weight lifting and technique coaching enter the picture. A lesser version of recent signee Brendon Brinkmann, if you will. My biggest take-away from checking out all of these new walk-ons is that they're all hard workers and high characters kids. The silent killer asset for any good football program.

UTSA lands post-season accolades

UTSA had six players named to College Sports Madness' 2011 FCS Independent All-Conference Team. In a move sure to make many Internet denizens insane, QB Eric Soza was named Offensive Player of the Year.

Making the cut:

QB: Eric Soza
KR: Kenny Harrison
OL: Scott Inskeep
DL: Marlon Smith
LB: Brandon Reeves
DB: Mark Waters