Quick tempo could pay dividends for UTSA

[caption id="attachment_17805" align="alignleft" width="300"]Photo by Mary Scott McNabb Photo by Mary Scott McNabb[/caption] UTSA moved to a modern offense this offseason and it is already paying dividends. The Roadrunners huddled last season and sent plays in by rotating wide receivers, but in 2015, UTSA will be up-tempo. Leading the charge will be redshirt freshman Blake Bogenschutz, a former Carthage standout who helped lead his team to a state championship in 2013. “All the work we put in this summer has put us way ahead of where we were this spring (with the up-tempo offense),” Bogenschutz said after UTSA’s first practice. “I didn’t run the up-tempo offense in high school but it doesn’t get any better than this. It makes the defense run base, and you can do so much stuff to exploit the defense. That is what we’re going to try and do: go fast and make the defense make mistakes.” TCU used a change in offensive philosophy to bounce back in 2014 after struggling as a Big 12 program. UTSA hopes the move to an up-tempo offense helps the Roadrunners bounce back from a losing season in 2014. The Roadrunners are young for the first time in years, and this change in philosophy should help the young and explosive players on the roster. The urgency on campus was renewed this offseason and the coaching staff is looking forward to the competition on the roster leading into the season-opener against Arizona. “This university and me included will forever be indebted to the seniors we lost after last season and the guys who built this program, so it isn't a 'hey it's a good thing they're out and we have a new bunch' but it is more of we got guys coming in and competing for spots again,” offensive coordinator Kevin Brown said. “That last group was here for four or five years so the roster was basically filled out. We got JUCO guys in the mix and new faces in the mix, so there is a sense of urgency to either keep spots or take spots this year. From that standpoint, we've been recruiting well and it is exciting to finally see what those guys can do.”