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Cougars hold off shaky Roadrunners in San Antonio, win 23-21
Season One Week One - Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)
UTSA Roadrunners (0-0) vs Houston Cougars (0-0)


gotta stop using the print screen feature to take screenshots and then losing them....[/b]

Roadrunners claw back to fall short against Houston.
UTSA hosted Houston with high hopes as they squared off with the Cougars. Unfortunately, the Roadrunners made too many mistakes throughout the game, helping the Cougars overcome the Roadrunners.

Things started out great for the Roadrunners with a perfect five for five passing drive from QB Frank Harris. Harris led the Roadrunners down the field, finishing the drive and opening quarter with a 20 yard pitch play to HB Trelon Smith for a TD.

The Cougars were able to completely reverse the momentum in the second quarter, quickly scoring three times and taking a 21-7 lead.

Freshly promoted UTSA OC Will Stein's offense led a threatening comeback effort. WR Zahkari Franklin was QB Frank Harris's go-to receiver all-night, shattering UTSA's and his own record for receiving yards in a game. Franklin's previous career best and record for a game was 155 yards, which broke Kerry Thomas Jr. (2014-2017) record of 145 yards in a game. Franklin surpassed both records today by racking up 191 receiving yards

QB Frank Harris was responsible for UTSA's three turnovers. In the second quarter, Harris threw a interception in the redzone. On the following drive, Harris fumbled the ball while attempting to scramble out of the pocket. During UTSA's unsuccessful comeback effort in the fourth quarter, Harris gave up a sack while attempting to scramble out of the pocket again, subsequently awarding the Cougars with a safety with three minutes to go.

UTSA's comeback effort was valiant. Harris returned to first quarter form, capping the drive off with a 16 yard TD pass to TE Oscar Cardenas. UTSA's defense was able to earn Stein's offense one last drive starting roughly thirty five yards outside of field goal range. Ten yards outside of field goal range, no timeouts with less than six seconds to go, Harris heaved the ball down the sideline through a heavy rush to Zahkari Franklin, who's out stretched arms were no where close to Harris's overthrown attempt.

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HOU - 0 / 21 / 0 / 2 // 23
UTSA - 7 / 0 / 7 / 7 // 21
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Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
0:00 TD (UTSA) T. Smith, 20 yard rush

Quarter 2
2:19 TD (HOU) J. Manjack IV, 9 yard pass from C. Tune
0:51 TD (HOU) C. Jackson, 6 yard pass from C. Tune
0:00 TD (HOU) B. Campbell, 76 yard rush

Quarter 3
4:28 TD (UTSA) Z. Franklin, 22 yard pass from F. Harris

Quarter 4
3:10 SAFETY (HOU) Houston force safety
1:35 TD (UTSA) O. Cardenas, 16 yard pass from F. Harris

UTSA Roadrunners (0-1)
16 first downs, 361 offensive yards, 46 rushing yards, 315 passing yards, 5-9 (55%) 3rd%

QB Frank Harris, Senior (RS): 16 of 30, 315 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, interception, fumble, safety
HB Brenden Brady, Senior: 10 rushes, 38 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 27 receiving yards
HB Trelon Smith, Senior (RS): 2 rushes, 27 rushing yards, touchdown
WR Zakhari Franklin, Senior: 7 receptions, 191 receiving yards, touchdown -**
TE Oscar Cardenas, Junior (RS): reception, 16 receiving yards, touchdown

** -- Current record as of now for receiving yards in a game.

Houston Cougars (0-1)
14 first downs, 305 offensive yards, 142 rushing yards, 163 passing yards, 8-16 (50%) 3rd%

QB Clayton Tune, Senior (RS): 17 of 29, 163 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 11 rushes, 23 rushing yards
HB Brandon Campbell, Freshman (RS): 20 rushes, 119 rushing yards, touchdown, recepiton
WR Joseph Manjack IV, Sophomore: 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards, touchdown
WR Nathaniel Dell, Junior (RS): 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards
CB Alex Hogan, Junior (RS): 6 tackles, sack, tackle for loss
LE Nelson Ceasar, Sophomore (RS): 3 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks

Next Week: at Army

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UTSA hopes to reload offense with help of Stein connections
Despite starting the season with a losing record, Jeff Traylor and staff have the best football team UTSA has fielded in program history. We are only one game into the season, so we are still weeks and several games away from seeing players like Frank Harris and Zahkari Franklinn step on the field with UTSA for the final time. Franklin and Harris are not alone. Every starter, outside of TE Oscar Cardenas, have commenced their final year of eligibility. Outside of the starting squad, the experience across the bench for the Roadrunners is lacking. Many positions, like wide receiver, are filled top to bottom almost entirely with seniors. Seven of the UTSA's active wide receivers are seniors.

Traylor and the Roadrunners will be have to work extensively this season and next summer to find quality players that the state's more popular and established football programs overlook. Not to mention the challenge of competing with out-of-state programs flooding the state looking through Texas's talented high school football prospect pool.

OC Will Stein will undeniably be a powerful asset in UTSA's pursuit of these goals. Stein's years of experience recruiting in the state while with the Texas Longhorns and then briefly coaching high school football makes him a familiar face at almost any high school game in Texas. Stein, being one of the youngest and brightest up-and-coming coordinators in college football, is a big selling point for recruits seeking to play under fresh but experienced coaching.

There has yet to be any signs of UTSA offering any scholarships at this point, however, that is pretty much guaranteed to change in the coming weeks. Despite the lack of offers, there are some players UTSA are clearly hoping to add to what might be it's most important recruiting class yet.

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WR Ron Tyree -- 6'1", 187lbs -- Houston, TX -- #421 Overall, #56 Texas , #72 WR -- ***
UTSA clearly has a need to reload at the WR position. As it stands today, next season more than an injury or two at the position could lead to major issues regarding who to play at receiver. Tyree is an pure athlete. He could probably outrun anyone on UTSA's team right now. His ability to make highlight plays after the catch and through traffic will likely force a coaching staff to consider a position change to halfback, another area of need for the Roadrunners. Tyree is prone to dropping the ball while he is open, something he will have to improve if he has to make a case to stay at the receiver position. He could easily develop into a major threat at receiver. Tyree is currently considering Rice, SMU, Texas State, Texas Tech, UTEP, and UTSA, currently holding offers from UTEP and SMU.

WR Sean Mangum -- 6'4", 209lbs -- Robinson, TX -- #1050 Overall, #167 WR -- ***
More ammo to add to the WR position. Traylor and Stein have been said to prefer as much height as possible on offense, which can unfortunately lead to a loss of speed. That isn't the case with Sean Mangum. Standing at 6'4", Mangum doesn't trail too far behind Tyree when it comes to speed. Like Tyree, Mangum is a physically gifted athlete. However, Mangum plays on a lower level of Texas High School football which limits his exposure to D1 level talent, perhaps keeping Mangum from consideration for the Texas HS Top 100. Mangum is very raw skill wise and has not faced a lot of the competition the highly-touted SEC recruits in the state have faced. Mangum will need a lot more work to get to the level Tyree is at now, but the speed and height combination is one UTSA refuses to overlook. UTSA is currently considered a favorite for Mangum. He is received interest from Fresno State, Louisiana-Layfette, SMU, and Texas Tech.

QB Jonathan Phillips -- 6'1", 190lbs -- Grapevine, TX -- #515 Overall, #69 Texas, #29 QB -- ***
UTSA is currently led by senior QB Frank Harris, who will be remembered as one of the first and best quarterbacks in UTSA's football history. Harris is leaving behind big shoes to fill. UTSA will likely turn to underclassmen Eddie Lee Marburger or Cam Peters in wake of Harris's departure. As things currently look from the scrimmages and sources from practice, the road ahead may be rough if UTSA can't find a steal in the transfer portal or while recruiting. That's where Jonathan Phillips comes in. Phillips is a Texas high school football star, leading his team to multiple state championships. As a scrambler, Phillips isn't the fastest guy leading the huddle, but he makes up for it by being a better passer than most scramblers at his age. There are questions regarding how well Phillips's skill will transfer over from high school to college. A few bad games in front of big-time scouts and coaches has cause Phillips to slide down the rankings, previously being rated as high as 174th overall. It seems the bigger programs that were originally interested, like TCU and Miami (FL), have pulled out of the race of Phillips in hopes that he can showcase his skills at a JUCO or smaller school. UTEP is currently the favorite for Phillips, however, UTSA, New Mexico State, and Nevada have all continued to express interest despite Phillip's drop in rankings.

HB Gary Russell -- 6'1", 200lbs -- Orange, TX -- #651 Overall , #90 Texas, #63 HB -- ***
As mentioned, the Roadrunners have multiple positions of need on the offensive side of the ball this recruiting season. The two primary running backs on UTSA's roster, Brenden Brady and Trelon Smith, are both seniors. Their replacements, Tye Edwards and Julon Wiliams, are both currently juniors meaning UTSA needs to focus on this position almost as much as receiver. Gary Russell is the first halfback Stein has reached out to. Russell, while tall for his position, is slightly less than average when it comes to athleticism when compared to other halfbacks. At times, Russell can start playing like he is in a game of NFL street. Sometimes to his benefit, sometimes to his demise. Russell is bad about going for the flashy play instead of the conservative one. Unlike the other targets mentioned, many crystal ball predictions and futuretracks have come in expecting Russell to sign with the Roadrunners. It seems UTSA has this one wrapped up, they just need to send the scholarship offer.

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Top 100 Commitments
C Craig Ryan -- 6'5", 267lbs -- Stephenville, TX -- #49 Overall, #5 Texas, #1 C -- **** -- COMMITTED TO TEXAS A&M

Texas (Top 50) Commitments
C Craig Ryan -- 6'5", 267lbs -- Stephenville, TX -- #49 Overall, #5 Texas, #1 C -- **** -- COMMITTED TO TEXAS A&M