UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 19, 2024

Jeff Traylor

Press Conference

UTSA 38, Florida Atlantic 24

Q. Jeff, you guys are back in the win column. How does that feel walking out of that locker room?

JEFF TRAYLOR: Just happy for my kids. Those defensive kids and I been together a really long time. Oscar. Most of us been together five years and won a lot of ball games, so to get off to the start those guys have gone through, and what you had to face when that happens, when you don't play well, you just hate it for the kids, and especially some that have won most of their games and they're champions and they're doing the right thing and they've been doing the right thing.

I am glad to see them rewarded. Obviously it's been hard on me and I'm 56 years old. You can imagine how hard it is on 18 to 23 year old young men.

Q. Jeff, what can you say about your defensive performance today? I think 203 total yards of production by FAU.

JEFF TRAYLOR: Yeah, even more than that, we turned it over there right before halftime, and we turned them over and got the ball back. From that moment on, I think they had 27 yards total. I think we had over 300 yards, maybe 320 from that moment on.

So you always hate to say there is one play in the game, but I thought that play was really, really big play. They had confused us twice. They did a really good job in the back end of giving us a look and we threw right into it. You know, he calmed back down and that was it.

Offensively we were so good we scored 55 points today. We scored 38 points for the Roadrunners and 17 for FAU. That was smart alec for you people that didn't catch that.

Look, I said no matter what, there is no way you're not going to make me angry today. So bring it on, baby. Let's go.

Q. I was going to ask about between the turnovers and the injuries you had to battle through, what does it say about the team that you're able to persevere?

JEFF TRAYLOR: Yeah, those injuries are getting to me, man. It's exhausting. It's hard on the kids, their families, all the injuries. Two, it's hard to coach. It's hard to get better because you're always changing.

I don't know how many different lineups it is for us this season. I know it's why I got you two there. I know ya'll know exactly.

But, again, Devin can't go. DJ Allen is done for the year. Tore his ACL on the play last week. It's unbelievable how many guys we have that score touchdowns, they get season-ending injuries.

JT goes back out there today, catches his first pass of the glance, get hit on the other knee. He is getting an MRI on the other knee right now.

Ken going down, another guy I've been with for five years. Really good football player. J Lou (phonetic) stepped up. Jamel, freshman stepped up. Willie didn't even practice this week. Willie got hurt. He was in concussion protocol after the East Carolina game. He was just doing a little half speed drill and made a cut and his opposite leg got hurt.

It's just been one of those years. We can't get healthy. Losing Joe Evans. I know this all sounds like excuses. I know. But it's just those guys don't blink. They don't blink. They keep working.

Andrew Acosta, one of my favorite kids I ever coached in my life, who now is our DFO. He never sent my anything encouraging, you know, but he sent me something this morning and he's like, coach I'm telling you, I've never seen the hotel so quiet. I've never seen everybody so well behaved. Your dudes are still ten toes down and they're going to show up today.

They did. I know it wasn't perfect, man, it wasn't beautiful at times, but that's another game we're going to the fourth quarter with either tied or losing, and ever triangle is up, every kid believes we're going to win the game, and they keep playing hard.

There is unbelievable lessons to be learned there, because life is hard, as it football.

Q. Along those lines, you guys talked all week about mental toughness. How do you see them put that into action today?

JEFF TRAYLOR: Have I said this yet? I don't want to repeat myself. I know I just talked to Andy. Did I tell you my idea about what we're going to do with the penalties yet? I told Dr. Compost I didn't want to do it because I was too afraid it would blow up in my face.

We did not say the word P-e-n-a-l-t-i-e-s the whole week. Not one time did we say the word, and we were going to give every single player a flag to start the game off. We were going to come out, and on the kickoff throw up 100 flags and get them all over with on the very first play of the game.

It's funny, we only had five today. I've never seen a team get two for running into the dang gum punt returner.

We were so much cleaner there. I don't know if it had anything to do with mental toughness or what this week, but maybe we were over-coaching it. Maybe we were just punishing them too much. Maybe we were belaboring the point so much we got it in their heads too much.

We were free today. I do know coming home to the Alamodome helps for whatever reason that is. To be 26 and 3 here is crazy.

Q. It takes a keen eye for a coach to know when and where to call a time out. You called a time out right before Jamel scored that touchdown. What did you see on the field and what made you call that time out? Always benefits the team, so I'm sure you saw something on the field that would benefit them in that moment.

JEFF TRAYLOR: No. That was actually all Owen. There is an RPO option there. If we get the look we want on the outside, we take that. If we don't get the look we want, we have an option to run the ball inside. And if we don't get the look we like in there, Owen has an option to take the single over there.

So that was all Owen. Just a really great catch and really good job by Jamel getting his foot down. It's really fun when you're calm and executing. It's really frustrating when we don't.

Q. The previous two games you made a point to emphasize that you didn't want your locker room to splinter at all. What does it say about what you've seen out of your team this last month and for them to have a game like today?

JEFF TRAYLOR: I've never had it before. You know, as Greg mentioned the week before, coach, you've never been to 2-4 before, whatever the question was. Greg spoke it into existence. I've never been 2-4. But I have been on teams where I was an assistant, and Carey can remember them and anybody that's a part of a staff, when you lose those kind of gut wrenchers, they just feel different.

The whole staff, the wives, the families, they all know. It just spreads like a dad gum disease. Our seniors are just so damn good kids -- excuse me, Dr. Compost there -- such darn good kids -- as I have my cross outside on my neck there -- that they just hold us together. They really do believe in what we teach. It's who we are.

That's where I'm most proud of those guys. We got to celebrate this one, and man, we got to go on the road and get one. I would really love to get one on the road and get one and get that monkey off our back.

I still stand by if we hadn't had four of our first six this year on offense, I would love to know where the team would be. It's just the way the schedule fell.

Q. What's your knee-jerk reaction to how the offense played, how Owen looked out there today?

JEFF TRAYLOR: Obviously when they're in cover one and you got two beaters on the outside, now, the first one they tilted. They literally baited him. Tilted the corner, brought the safety.

Second one they did a great job making Chris inside release and Owen stared him down. That was just disappointing.

And then on the swing pass to Robert, we turned somebody loose up front and got hit as he was trying to throw the dang ball.

What I love about the kid is as soon as does that stuff I know everybody in the building is saying, they're going to say we're going to run inside zone right now because he's a young kid and he's struggling.

Dude comes right back and rips a slant. How about the throw on third down and whatever, the vertical exceptional to Houston Thomas?

Every time you're ready to give up on the kid he shows you something. This kid has real moxie to him.

Q. The play of your front seven, your defensive line specifically put a ton of pressure on the quarterback today and may have been the difference I think.

JEFF TRAYLOR: Best athlete I think we chased all year. I thought the kid was a really good quarterback. Man, we got after him. Playing at home, it just does something for us.

We get some juice going at this place. It's fun to watch. It's just fun to watch.

Q. You know anything about JT or I think you said MRI is pending.

JEFF TRAYLOR: I would rather not comment. Doesn't look good. There is not a better kid in the world, man. That one was gut wrenching. His first catch back. Kid hit him right on the other knee. I would say best case would be hyperextension. That's best case.

Q. Jeff, you guys seemed to be in control for long stretches of the game and then they might hit a big play or force a turnover. What has to happen to keep those moments from snowballing? How were you able to keep the momentum on your side?

JEFF TRAYLOR: It's just called football. I mean, I just really believe in the new era of college football that it's going to be -- each week going to be a bunch of really close games.

We were pretty dominant except for the three turnovers. But it's part of the game, right? It's just part of it. I can promise you when Owen comes up here in his interview he'll regret throwing those two things. It's part of the game. You got to keep playing.

I wish I had a better answer for you, but I've done it a long time. It's football. There is a lot of revisionist history that goes on around this place. We didn't monkey stomp many people since we been here together. Almost every game we're in the fourth quarter. It's hard to win college football games.

I can count a handful how many times we came out here and beat the heck out of somebody. It's hard to win. Tate Sandell was big, too. Three field goals. That's huge.

God bless. Birds up.