UTSA enters 2025 with a stable identity and a few honest questions. The program has learned how to win, especially in the Dome, and most Saturdays the operation looks like a veteran outfit. The next step is less about discovery and more about refinement. Can the offense live on schedule without burning possessions? Can a reworked defense find its voice by October? Answers to those questions will decide how long the Roadrunners stay in the title conversation.
Everything on offense starts with Owen McCown. Last season proved he can carry volume and handle the stage. This season is about control. The projection is a quarterback who plays faster early, trims the handful of throws that invite trouble, and manages high pressure moments with the calm of a two-year starter. He has deeper chemistry with his top targets and a clearer picture of what to expect from opposing defenses. If he owns those moments, he spends the season on short lists and UTSA spends it in meaningful games.
Sam Grenadier/Sam Grenadier/San Antonio Express-News
The rhythm of the attack should feel familiar. The RPO game remains a pillar, not as a buzzword, but as a simple way to keep the ball moving and keep the play sheet open. Run it when the count favors the box, throw it when space appears, then let tempo and patience do the work. The goal is steady stress that turns second and long into second and manageable, then invites a shot when the defense blinks.
Tight ends are the quiet advantage that allows all of that to breathe. Houston Thomas has become the kind of target who erases bad downs and wins leverage between the hashes. He matters most on third-and-medium, in the red zone, and when the middle of the field turns muddy. UTSA can stay in heavier personnel without tipping run or pass, which protects edges in the run game and creates clean windows for a quarterback who trusts his timing. In a league that lives in nickel, this room tilts matchups without advertising intent.
The receiver room sits at the center of the ceiling. Devin McCuin and David Amador give McCown two reliable drivers. McCuin reads space and eats the routine plays that extend drives. He caught 24 passes for first downs in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. Amador has the first-step quickness to punish off coverage and turn underneath throws into chunk plays. He's poised to be a breakout star for UTSA in 2025. The honest part is this group dropped too many catchable balls last season, especially in high leverage moments. That tax shows up on the scoreboard and on the call sheet. Expect real competition to press through September. New faces will have every chance to make a name for themselves, and that is a healthy sign.
The running backs and offensive line fit what UTSA wants to be. The run game needs to be stubborn and credible. If the interior keeps the pocket firm and consistently open up run lanes, the offense does not need heroics to score. It needs clean operation, a handful of timely shots, and trust in its ability to win first down. When that happens, the chains move, the tempo breathes, and UTSA rarely feels like it is chasing the game.
Defense is where the questions stack, and where the answer may already be in the building. Owen Pewee is the center of gravity. He closes space, plays on time, and gives coordinator Jess Loepp the freedom to call the game with intent. Around him the personnel will be new in places that tend to show up on television. Kendrick Blackshire brings size and strike inside. Jimmy Wyrick adds versatility in the back end. Davin Martin steps into a larger role on the perimeter. None of them needs to be a star for UTSA to win. They need to be consistent. The profile of a November defense here is simple. Fit the run on early downs, tackle in space, disguise enough on third down to force a quarterback to prove it, and reduce free yards after the catch.
The schedule will ask for maturity. Two Thursday games, Tulane in the Dome then a quick flight to South Florida, will put the operation under a microscope. Short weeks amplify details. Travel turns small mistakes into real problems. There is also an identity test waiting at the end with Army. Play with discipline, keep the ball in front, survive the body blows, and you earn a stake in a conference championship game.
There is a version of this season where UTSA plays for a trophy. It lives in the space between efficiency and discipline. If McCown makes the expected jump, if the tight ends continue to be the answer key on tough downs, if the receiver room cleans up the drops and a newcomer hits, the offense will be nearly unstoppable. If the Loepp's group settles and the new starters stack competent weeks, the defense will give the offense the timely support it'll need as the competition gets stiffer. Call it nine wins with a chance to grab a tenth if the short-week gauntlet breaks right. The goal is to arrive in November with health, clarity, and enough proof on tape to believe the next step is within reach. UTSA has earned that benefit of the doubt. Now it has to play to it.
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