2020 UTSA Football
Media Roundtable
Sept. 7, 2020
Head Coach Jeff Traylor
On excitement for a game week …
"I'd say it's very high. We've just done a lot to get to this point. I'm just thrilled that the kids are getting the opportunity to go out there and play. You only get 12 of these chances and this one seems more important than maybe every one we've had before just because of what the kids have been through. Obviously, I don't have to restate all they've been through, but it's been a lot."
On if he thought they'd reach a game week …
"If you remember, I told y'all on record that when Jordan — my son, (a) coach with the Saints — and I were discussing what I thought was going to happen, I said there are three entities that I felt like if they went down, they would go down swinging. It was the National Football League, the SEC and the state of Texas. It just means a lot. A lot of dads, a lot of grandfathers, great grandfathers, the relationships they have (with) their high school coach. Football means a lot. The sport has saved a lot of men and it bleeds deep into a lot of cultures, so I felt very confident those three groups would do their best to play and so far, that's been pretty true."
On watching the Texas State season opener vs. SMU last Saturday …
"They are much improved. You can tell Coach (Jake) Spavital has done a very good job with his kids. They believe in him. It was a great ballgame. I enjoyed watching it. Playmakers on both sides. They are a good football team and I know they fell short, but anybody that watched the game could tell that they are a vastly improved football team."
On if Texas State has an advantage having played a game last week …
"The definitely have the edge. They are going into their 14th game (under Coach Spavital), they had five spring practices, they had spring ball, they've just been with Coach Spavital longer than my kids have been with me. So, there is no doubt they have the edge there. I would much rather have played a game and them have scouted me than I would have not played a game and had that advantage. But yes, you are correct, they don't know exactly what we are going to do. They haven't seen us. They are not quite sure of our roster. But they are recruiting the same kids we are. They know our kids. We know their kids. It's not like they don't know. They might not know the exact plays we are going to run, or how we are going to do it, but they are going to know enough. The advantage is definitely on their part."
On if there are fundamental aspects of the game that worries him heading into this 2020 opener …
"There is just no way, with all the testing and all the stuff that has been going on, that you can really just practice full speed, live. We haven't had a lot of scrimmage situations. There has been a lot of thud and a lot of touch and tagging off. It will be interesting to see how we take care of the football. What will our conditioning be like? Those two things I think will be the biggest unknowns in the game. What is our real physical conditioning and how well we take care of the football?"
On how much depth the playbooks will have on Saturday …
"It'll be very small. We've instructed all of our coaches that I want our kids to play free Saturday and if we go down, I want it to be because we had too little offense, too little defense, too little special teams, but our kids played free, they played confident and I don't want there to be confusion. I don't want paralysis by analysis. I want my kids turned loose. So, I don't know I could give you a percentage on that but definitely, way smaller then we'd like it to be, but I just think that is what is best for our kids to be able to play free on Saturday."
On if they would add to the playbooks as the season goes on …
"We would hope to add each week. I've always said the only reason you practice is so you can go play the game and mess it up and get it all on video so you can fix it. It is just one of those. No one likes to say that, but it's the truth. It is really hard to duplicate game speed in practice. We're doing our best. Every coach in the country is doing their best to try to do that. Of all the years, I think it's harder this year than ever before."
On if the team is ready to play, in terms of preparation, on Saturday …
"I don't know that any team is every ready to play their first game. It is just one of those things you have to check off the box to get ready. We're as ready as we are going to be. I've been a head coach, now for my 16th year and I think for the 16th time in a row I've told my staff, we're probably not ready to go play football but our kids need to go play football. In order for us to take the next step, we need to go play football. I'm very open with my kids about this and transparent. It won't be beautiful Saturday, but I expect our effort to be perfect. Our strain to be long. We've got to get the game to the fourth quarter and see if we can outlast them."
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