SAN ANTONIO — It's almost August, which means college football season is almost here. But before teams gather for their first practices of fall camp, coaches and players around the country face the media at their conference's annual media days.
It was UTSA's turn in the spotlight at the Conference USA media days on Thursday. The team is looking for bigger and better things. Coming into the 2019 season, coach Frank Wilson feels like his team is in a good spot.
There's room for improvement from last year, when the Roadrunners were 3-9 overall, with a 2-6 mark in conference play. However, they have more experience on the offensive line, great depth at running back and a healthy competition at the quarterback spot. Coach Wilson said it's too early to name a starting QB.
"We have quality guys that are all vying for a position, and, in reality, we had them live in scrimmages in the spring on three occasions," he said. "Probably not enough to declare a guy just yet, but it'll happen. We'll have split practices the first week in fall camp, and let them really get after each other to separate themselves."
Meanwhile, the UIW Cardinals were a big deal at the Southlnd Conference media days in Houston. Last season, the Cardinals were 6-5 overall, but 6-2 in conference play, winning their first Southland Conference title. They return 17 starters from that bunch, so the expectations for year two under coach Eric Morris are sky high.
Morris talked about those expectations and said one of the hardest things to do in college football is to continue success from year to another.
"I think our culture is getting better and better and I think we continue to stress the little things and mental toughness," he said. "Last year, I stood up here and I think we were picked second to last. None of that stuff matters. What matters is if we're going to go back to work the way we did last year as a team. So having success is a great thing, but finding out a way to sustain it is super hard."
The Roadrunners and Cardinals meet in the Alamodome to kick off the season on Saturday, August 31. UTSA, as the team in the higher division, is expected to win, but UIW will be motivated to topple their San Antonio rival.