2020 UTSA Football
Media Availability Quotes
Aug. 5, 2020
Head Coach Jeff Traylor
On how it feels to be able to work directly with the team after being away from them for months …
"It's just nice. We were in there just now going over our install and at least they know our verbiage and the signals and how to get lined up. It's sure as heck better than it was, obviously. We don't feel comfortable or good by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a lot better than it was."
On how the team has been able to focus on conditioning during the layoff …
"We're really pleased with that just because of (strength & conditioning coach) Ryan Filo and his staff and how organized they have been. It started out where we couldn't have any more than eight in the weight room because by the time you put two coaches in there, that's 10. You can imagine how many hours a day Ryan Filo and his group were working to get 99 players taken care of, in groups of 10. You can just do the math and know how hard that was on Ryan. Then we got to increase the groups to a little bit larger, and a little bit larger.
"Our kids have been such an inspiration. They're all in there with their masks on, strength coaches with their masks on. As usual, my kids have inspired me. I wear a mask more than I ever thought I would. When I work out, I wear mine in there, just because they are doing it. It's for protection as well. Our kids are in as good of shape as they can be and their mentality – the volunteer workouts, very few were missed the entire summer. (Their) mindsets have been fantastic and it's just a joy to be around them every day."
On how the coaches approach so many unknowns …
"The hardest part is we don't know exactly when we are going to play. What if a game jumps up on Aug. 29? What if we don't play until Sept. 12? That's the hardest part is how much to lean on them right now. That's been the hardest part to be very honest with you. The second hardest part is, for example for breakfast, only half of them can be in there at one time, so you've got to double schedule breakfast, double schedule lunch, supper, meeting time because we all can't be in the building at the same time. Kind of like it's been – seems like 2020 started 20 years ago, it's just the way this year has been – but we're so grateful. We remind our kids every day we're not going to have a (bad) mindset, we're going to be grateful for each day. We're not going to worry about tomorrow at all and we're going to have a great day today. Our kids have really bought into that and we're living that. That's the hardest obstacle right now."
On the effort and attentiveness of the team …
"I'm very thrilled with their efforts. This week's culture pillar is 'perfect effort.' Each week is a different pillar for us. We've not gone out there yet and had perfect execution and we've gone against air most of the time. You don't want to every have penalties but you sure don't want to have penalties before the snap or after the snap, and that's where we are going to have to clean up. We have to be simple but we can't be predictable. That's a fine line. Obviously, the better your players are the more simple you can be because you're going to have more success. We're got to get all that ironed out. I couldn't ask for a better group of kids to go do this with. They are extremely excited. I cannot tell you how proud I am of how well they've handled all of this. With all that is going on in the country, our kids are fired up to be here, buying into what we're doing, and we have nothing but positives to say about our kids."
On if they will do offense/defense meetings via Zoom …
"We've done all Zoom until now. We'll change starting tomorrow when they report. We'll have social distancing, masks, we'll be spread out. Team meeting will be on the field. While the offense is in the building – spread out – the defense will be doing something else. And when the defense is in here, the offense will be outside. We're going to start meeting with our players – obviously with six feet and masks – but we're using our entire building for just the offense. And using the entire building for just the defense. They are not in here at the same time. (Athletic trainers) Dan Bellamy and Nik Turner have done a fantastic job of outlining all that for us of where we are supposed to be. When we get done here, we're going to meet one more time just to make sure we're all practicing social distancing."
On the challenges faced over the last few months …
"It's a great question. Something we talk about all the time. It's part of our culture pillars again. You have to be where your feet are. It goes into mental toughness. It's easy to say but it's hard to live. It has brought up our level of awareness of how grateful we are to just have today. I know there are a lot of unknowns but there are in life as well. These are very teachable moments. We feel very confident that if we take care of UTSA, if we bubble ourselves, and we can take care of our team, then there is going to be someone wanting to play. I know Dr. (Lisa) Campos and our administration are working hard on trying to get us to a 12-game schedule but we've know we've got 10 right now. Do you every really know? This year has reminded all of us that none of us really know anything until we get up the next day and see what has happened. Our kids have handled it. They're excited to be here every day and that's all we can do right now."
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