UTRGV football ready for tough test against UTSA
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The UTRGV Vaqueros took to the practice field this week as they prepare for the toughest matchup in their short program history.
Saturday's game against UTSA will be the first game the Vaqueros have ever played against an FBS program.
The team knows that is will be a challenge, especially with the game being on the road and serving as the season opener for the Roadrunners.
"Really it doesn't matter if were playing UTSA, UTPB, or the Green Bay Packers. We're gonna practice and prepare to win the ball game," UTRGV head coach Travis Bush said.
"I'm so excited. This means so much, it's our first FBS game, so we've got nothing but to prove ourselves this game," Vaqueros linebacker Jaiden Haygood added. "We're not a team that's just gonna go to play an FBS team and sit down and let them beat us. We're gonna go in there and show them what we do."
The game is special for a few other reasons as well, namely for some Vaqueros facing their old program. For head coach Travis Bush, there aren't many familiar faces around the building from when he was an assistant coach for the program back in the early 2010s. However, for UTRGV senior defensive lineman Anthony Santoscoy, it's a great opportunity to see his old team after being on the UTSA roster for the previous four seasons.
"Coach Traylor is a really good coach," Santoscoy said. "Him and Coach Bush have same coaching mind sets... We're ready, our coaches have preparing us all summer, even in the spring, so it's a big matchup. It's going to be the biggest crowd we see all year, so we've been preparing. We're going to play hard and fast and get after them."
The Roadrunners finished with a 7-6 record last season and have several big names on offense poised for big years, like running back Will Henderson and quarterback Owen McCown.
"They're good across the board," Bush said of the matchup. "You look at defensively, they're very similar schematically to a lot of things we do. They're sound, they're simple, but they do things well. They're well coached. They'll fly around, but definitely gonna be a lot to handle up front defensively, skill wise they're extremely long and fast, we'll see, but they're gonna be solid across the board."
Kick-off on Saturday is set for 2:30 p.m. from the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Channel 5 Sports team will have coverage from San Antonio of the matchup.
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