Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Successful signing day spells good news for UTSA football

Successful+signing+day+spells+good+news+for+UTSA+football

On February 1, National Signing Day, Head Coach Frank Wilson and the squad finished the recruiting season having one of the top recruiting classes in the conference.

The Roadrunners added 23 new recruits this year. That’s up from last year, when the team added 17 recruits during the offseason. The new recruits join an improving team that went 6-7 during the regular season, ranked second in the C-USA-West, and made the universities first bowl game – the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

A few of the new recruits have already begun attending classes for the spring 2017 semester. Quarterback Bryce Rivers (Stevens – San Antonio, TX), offensive tackle Josh Dunlap (Dodge City C.C. – Dodge City, KS), and tight end Robert Ursua (Palomar College – San Marcos, CA) began the spring semester on campus.

Other recruits have signed letters of intent, and will be joining the rest of the team after the spring semester.

  • Cornerback Samuel Barnes (George Ranch – Richmond, TX),
  • Defensive tackle Jaylon Harris (Wharton – Wharton, TX),
  • Cornerback Tay’lor Perry (Crosby – Crosby, TX),
  • Quarterback Frank Harris (Clemens – Schertz, TX),
  • Running back B.J. Daniels Palm – Melbourne, FL),
  • Cornerback Javontavious Mosly (Tyler – Tyler, TX),
  • Tight end Chance McLeod (Victoria East – Victoria, TX),
  • Wide receiver Tariq Woolen (Arlington Heights – Fort Worth, TX),
  • Defensive tackle Morris Joseph (West Orange-Stark, Orange, TX),
  • Linebacker Demarco Guidry (La Marque – La Marque, TX),
  • Cornerback Vance Vallair (Beaumont Central – Beaumont, TX),
  • Running back/cornerback Dadrian Taylor (Shiner – Shiner, TX),
  • Offensive tackle Kevin Davis (Angleton – Angleton, TX),
  • Offensive tackle Dominic Pastucci (Hendrickson – Pflugerville, TX),
  • Linebacker Donovan Perkins (Zachary – Zachary, LA),
  • Wide receiver/defensive end Robert Fuentes (Southwest – San Antonio, TX),
  • Offensive tackle Keeyon Smart (Kilgore J.C. – Kilgore, TX),
  • Tight end Michael Golf (Johnson – San Antonio),
  • Safety Jay Jay Smith (Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. – Perkinston, MS),
  • Cornerback Michael Moore (Palomar College – San Marcos, CA).

The class of 2017 recruiting class is made up of 12 offensive players: two quarterbacks, four offensive tackles, three tight ends, one running back and one wide receiver.

Bryce Rivers finished his high school career having thrown for 6097 yards and 56 touchdowns. The two time all-district pitcher and first baseman decided to skip his senior baseball season to begin his college football career early.

Frank Harris completed high school with a total of 6702 passing yards and 65 passing touchdowns, and 4117 rushing yards and 62 rushing touch downs. Tariq Woolen led his team with 31 catches, 536 receiving yards, and touchdowns during his senior season. During his senior year running back B.J. Daniels led his county in rushing yards with 1,704 and ran for 25 touchdowns.

11 recruits are defensive players: two linebackers, five cornerbacks, 1 safety and two defensive tackles. After receiving offers from 25 schools including Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oregon, cornerback Samuel Barnes decided to join UTSA’s secondary.

Also, joining the secondary is three-star corner Javontavious Mosley who finished his senior year with 59 total tackles and 2 interceptions. The Roadrunners secondary only allowed 27.9 points last year.

All 23 recruits were named all-district or all conference, and 13 received all-area, all-region, all- county or all metro accolades. 11 earned all-state recognition. Of the 23, 16 are from Texas, two are from California, two are from Louisiana, and one each from the states of Mississippi, Florida, and Indiana.

Spring practice begins in March of this semester, and UTSA’s seventh football season starts in early September against Houston next fall.

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