WKU Football: UTSA Q&A With Alamodome Audible’s Jared Kalmus
Another Jared is here to give us insight on the Roadrunners
Two of the most painful yet exciting games for WKU last season were both against UTSA. But a lot has changed since these two teams faced each other for the 2021 C-USA title.
To help us learn most about the Roadrunners, we got our good friend and longtime friend of the site Jared Kalmus to answer some questions for us. Jared has a UTSA podcast and blog called Alamodome Audible (check out their website and also their Twitter) and is also a contributor for Underdog Dynasty so be sure to check out all his work (and his personal Twitter account).
Let’s see what he has to say about UTSA.
The Towel Rack: So far this season would you say that UTSA is better, worse, or about the same as they were last year?
Jared Kalmus: This is so tough to answer given how much more challenging UTSA's early season schedule has been this year compared to last. Right now I'll say about the same, but as the team's health improves and the young players gain experience then I could see the 2022 team being slightly better. It's easy to forget how many lucky bounces the Roadrunners were recipients of last season which makes it easy to view last year's team with orange-tinted glasses.
TTR: We know that UTSA has retained some key pieces from last year’s C-USA title winning team but who are some new players that have stepped up this season that WKU should be aware of?
JK: Starting on offense, running back Trelon Smith is the primary name to know. Smith had a pretty successful career at Arkansas before making his way down to the Alamo City. Unfortunately his season has been marred a bit by injury but Smith was able to return to limited action last week against MTSU. As his ankle gets back to full strength he'll add some serious wiggle and speed to the Roadrunners' backfield.
Left tackle Venly Tatafu was forced to move from guard to tackle due to the Roadrunners' injury streak at tackle. After a rough start to the season, the 19 year old JUCO transfer played an incredible game against MTSU last week.
Defensively, two newcomers have stood out. Nicktroy Fortune, a former starter at WVU, has arguably been the Roadrunners' best player on defense. He's allowed just 62 yards at cornerback through five games despite being matched up against future NFL wideouts against Houston (Tank Dell) and Texas (Xavier Worthy).
Redshirt freshman Trey Moore latched onto the starting job at Will linebacker this fall and has provided a massive impact. He's the team's leading pass rusher and has a maturity and football IQ well beyond his years. Moore is another local product who has quickly exceeded expectations at the next level after staying home in San Antonio.
TTR: Do you see the Hilltoppers defense slowing down the Roadrunners at all?
JK: I'm not going to write any defense off with the Roadrunners' offensive line being held together by duct tape. It looks like second team all-conference right tackle Makai Hart might return to action this week, but even then, this offensive line has had to move around personnel often this season. JaQues Evans, Juwuan Jones, and Terrion Thompson could take advantage of this lack of chemistry from the offensive line to force Frank Harris into some negative plays and get UTSA's offense out of whack.
TTR: How do you see the Roadrunners defense matching up against Austin Reed and the Hilltoppers offense?
JK: There's no question that Austin Reed and Daewood Davis are going to make some explosive plays happen against a UTSA secondary which has been pretty suspect at times this season. The big question for me is whether or not the UTSA defense can replicate their pass rush from the MTSU game. If Trey Moore and Jimmori Robinson are able to get around the WKU tackles the way they were able to get around the MTSU tackles then UTSA will be able to get some stops in front of the home crowd. But WKU has a crazy amount of speed on offense which is a scary attribute against a UTSA team which has struggled to tackle ball carriers this season.
TTR: Both times WKU and UTSA played last season were very close games. Do you see this one this season being close?
JK: No doubt this one will be close. Even if UTSA gets out to a multiple score lead, the HIlltoppers won't go away, and they'll be able to close the gap quickly. I like UTSA to win a close one, 42-35. Hart's return (knock on wood) will take UTSA's offense to an even higher level. The Roadrunners have been playing a true sophomore walk-on in his place, and he's unfortunately been quite mismatched physically. Additionally, I'm cautiously optimistic that the Roadrunners will be able to get to Reed for a few sacks on third down to get just enough stops to escape with a win.
We’d like to thank Jared again for his time! Be sure to check out all of his content on UTSA before the game and we will be doing a return Q&A so be on the lookout for it as well.