UTSAtailgaters was able to confirm that Graham LB Ethan Hiser will be a walk-on that will join the inaugural 2010 recruiting class. The Graham Leader did report that Hiser signed a Letter of Intent, but sources did confirm that this is inaccurate and confirmed his walk-on status.

Hiser stands 6'3" and weighs in at 225 pounds, but flew under the recruiting radar this year. A big factor in that was that Ethan missed most of his junior year at Graham with a broken arm. He did return his junior year for two final games and still accomplished 1st team All-District. "This guy is a sleeper, he's a steal!", said Graham Head Coach Kenny Davidson. "A lot of schools recruit you during your junior year and Ethan was injured. A lot of divison one schools are full your senior year. The University of Houston (UH) really wanted him and he also visited UTSA on the same weekend. He's really excited about it. The chance to start something new and having the year to red shirt was also good." Coach Davidson still feels that Ethan can add more weight & strength to his frame.

Hiser, along with his impressive size, has also been clocked at running the 40 in the 4.7 range. Those physical tools and speed really helped Hiser finish his senior season with a bang. He logged 171 tackles, blocked 4 kicks, had 3 interceptions and also forced 7 fumbles! As a result of his peformance on the field, Hiser has been selected to play in The Texas Coaches High School Allstar Game held in San Antonio later this summer. Graham High School competes in the 3A classification for UIL competition.

Coach Davidson has coached a number of players who have gone on to D1 schools and even the NFL, so he's seen some good characteristics and one that stood out about Ethan, "He is very confident. No matter who we are playing. He made so many plays for us."

Sidenote:

Just to confirm for those that do not know, Coach Davidson was recently chosen to be the new head coach at Graham High School. Graham was coached this past season by Brad McCoy, the father of Colt (UT graduate and soon to be NFL Draftee) and Case McCoy (2010 UT Signee), but has now moved onto the Flippen Group, a company that specializes in talent development and organizational strategies for athletic programs 

The ink had yet to dry from the 2010 signing class for UTSA, when later that day Nick Elder, a Junior Linebacker of Central Catholic HS, received a surprise in the mail that totally caught him off guard. "He got offered right out of the shoot. He wasn't expecting to get offered and the offer kind of surprised him. I think it was the same day as signing day", said Head Coach Carlos Enrico.

Elder is a 6'1" 210 pound linebacker who is said to have great instincts and have nice quickness. Scout.com reports Elder's 40 yard dash time to be a 4.68 and schools from across the nation are already recruiting or asking about Nick."Northwestern, Iowa State, SMU and Gerogia Tech is hot on his heels. There is a long list", added Coach Enrico.

For the class of 2010 UTSA signed two LB's. Recently Head Coach Larry Coker did say that he will be implementing a base 4-2-5 defense. With the evolving of the spread offense and schools chunking the ball fifty times a game, more and more schools have gone to a 4-2-5 or something similar in order to be able to match up with so many WR's on the field at once. This is where the recruitment of Elder is key. A LB who has speed and can play sideline to sideline is almost a must. UTSAtailgaters predicted in a story just last week that at least two more LB's should be targeted for the class of 2011 and Elder is the first known targeted LB.

"He was really flattered and very surprised, but he's going to keep his options open. I'm sure Jake will have a lot to tell him about UTSA." Jake Wanamaker is a teammate of Nick's and Jake recently signed with UTSA earlier this month. With NSD 2011 still over eleven months away, it appears that the UTSA staff has again hit the ground running trying to secure the best talent in the Alamo City. With Jake's recent signing UTSA has already set up a pipeline to Central Catholic and is trying to go back for more and land Nick Elder.

(Talk Roadrunner recruiting in the sports forum; Click the RunnerNation link above) 

Earlier this month, Texashoops.com released their updated rankings for the Class of 2011 & 2012 as well. For the Class of 2011, the Top 115 is litered with players from the San Antonio area. Ranging from the 15th ranked propsect in the state to the 114th. It's safe to say that D-1 ballers in the Alamo City are finally getting noticed.

The top prospect in the entire South Central Texas area is right here in the backyard of the Alamo. Jonathan Holmes of Antonian HS come in highly regarded as the 15th best prospect in the state and is continuing is upswing. Holmes has been reported by some coaches to be a legit 6'8" and 220 pounds. Texashoops.com has him listed at only 6'6". One legendary coach has gone on the record to call Holmes a beast. That he's also got the body to phsycially play right now at the D-1 level.

The next local player after Holmes is Anthony Walker of Johnson HS. Walker is said to be very raw on the offensive side of the ball, but some evaluators say that he has a solid frame that makes him a force rebounding and blocking shots. Walker currently ranks 36th in the rankings and has plenty of room to shoot up the rankings as his overall game improves. Walker has been listed at 6'7" and as tall as 6'9" with no listings for his weight.

After Walker and Holmes, a bevy of guards/wings in the San Antonio area make the the list with only one other true big man. The big man being 6'8" Darrious Hamilton formerly of Reagan, who is now enrolled at Antonian HS. He does have to sit out this year per TAPPS transfer rules. Hamilton and Holmes will be a formidable frontline in 2010-2011 for the Apaches.

View the entire list of the Top 115 for 2011.

http://texashoops.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=2335 

UTSAtailgaters had learned that the UTSA coaching staff had targeted a couple of other tight ends in Charlie Copa and Kyle Doll, down the stretch run right before NSD. As the dust has settled and we're hours before LOI's start flooding the UTSA athletic department offices, UTSAtailgaters can confirm that Jade Pender of Castleview HS (CO) will be the sole TE recruited for the position and is the only TE commit in the inaugural class of 2010.

"I'm very solid to UTSA. I will say rivals does not get everything. Yes, there has been several schools, ACC & Big XII offers.  I would consider myself a 100% commit to UTSA. Even if UT came in with an offer!"

Pender has stated that he will be moving to the Texas Hill country, Kerrville, this summer in anticipation of getting ready for fall practice at UTSA. Pender currently stands at a legit 6'6" and weighed in at 217pounds. Reaching 225 pounds for Pender will not be a problem.

Catch a look at Jade in his newest highlight video as he played both ways at TE/DE.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EdCfPVPku0  

In the early Spring of 2009 the Express News wrote a story about a joint venture between Northside Independent School District (NISD) and UTSA to help create a new convocation/special events center and UTSAtailgaters wanted to keep RunnerNation up to date on how things are going.

The new special events center will be on UTSA property at the intersection of Loop 1604 & Hausman, but will be owned 50-50 by UTSA and NISD. The new center being proposed will hold 12,000 in attendance and the layout itself will be very similar to that of the AT&T center, but not as big. The new center will have luxury suites and will be able to transform and setup as a venue for concerts, much needed graduation space for NISD, and conventions. NISD by 2010 will have ten high schools and this is not including magnet schools such as health careers, business careers, construction careers, etc...

There had been grumblings that potentially the new special events center could be put up for vote on a bond election by this year (2010). UTSAtailgaters has learned that this is VERY unlikely, but that it could happen anywhere in the next two to three years. The project sits at $140 million for total cost. Splitting the project in half means UTSA will be responsible for 70 million needed to be raised or funded in order for the new arena to be constructed.

The New Convo will be state of the art and would rank right up there as an elite basketball facility with the prestigious D1 programs in the state of Texas. Getting a new basketball facility is a must if UTSA wishes to appeal to an FBS conference in the near future. The current convo only seats 4080 capacity and was not constructed with any luxury suites. Furthermore, because of the architectural design the current convo cannot be renovated with new suites. Thus not making it a cost effective maneuver to try and undergo renovations.

Stay tuned for any updates in the future regarding the new convo/special events center between NISD and UTSA. 

As RunnerNation knows UTSA is targeting 25 commits for the inaugural signing class of 2010. With signing day just about three weeks away, the current count stands at 23 commits. Two of the remaining targets left on the board are big, athletic linebackers from the Houston area, Kevin Kisseberth of Klein (6'3" 220lbs) and Robert Singletary of Kingwood (6'4" 220lbs).

Singletary now has five reported offers, Army, Navy, Miami OH, La-Lafayette and UTSA. Along with serious interest from Baylor, Mizzou, UNLV and TCU.

As for Kevin, his recruitment has taken off a bit more with offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, multiple C-USA schools, New Mexico and UNT. Neither recruit has publicly named a leader, but Kisseberth in this update did mention a couple of schools he's really liking.

With Big XII programs already offering Kisseberth, possibly another and now with interest from the Pac-10, it looks like a long-shot that Kevin could be one of the final two commits. However, recently UTSAtailgaters was able to confirm that Kevin did have intentions of taking a visit to UTSA and the key is to get a recruit on campus and let LC and the staff show what UTSA has to offer. There has not been any further confirmation if and when Kisseberth will visit. As for Singletary, with no offers yet of bigger programs, it would be fair to think that UTSA and Coach Coker have a legitimate shot against the service academies, Miami Ohio and La.-Lafeyette. Here's a brief, but recent update on where both targets stand.

The Following story is courtesy of rivals.com:

Matt Malatesta

TheOldCoach.com Recruiting Analyst

Klein linebacker Kevin Kisseberth held several offers entering the fall but has yet to make a decision. The Bearkats reached the state semi-finals, which filled his weekends up until the holidays. He's now in basketball, which also makes it difficult to take an official visit.

"I'm really liking Colorado and Oregon State right now, but I don't have any visits set up," he said. "Minnesota, Iowa State and Tulsa are also very much in the picture. I don't feel that I have to take an official visit to commit to a school at this point."

Singletary has offers from the likes of Army, Navy, Louisiana-Lafayette among others, but is hearing from Baylor, TCU, Missouri and UNLV late in the process. "Whoever gets Robert, will be getting a great athlete and football player. His best days are ahead of him." coach Dougald McDougald said. 

McAllen WR Nick Garza was one of 14 official visitors to UTSA on the weekend of 12/11. "We were busy 90% of the time, we were doing something as a group. If we weren't going to look at the Alamodome, we were going to eat. We were with our host and would tour the city. There was no free time. We got to eat at the roadrunner cafe and it was awesome."

"Everything that coach Coker talked about is something you can't pass up as a student athlete. From the rec center to the dorms, it was amazing. Everything was an eye opener. It opened my eyes just that much more being with my teammates (Cody Mulvain & Scott Inskeep).”

So with the 2009 year closed and Spring 2010 right around the corner, Nick is planning workouts, "They told us that we would get in there at the end of August. We'll practice from September, October & November. We're going to be practicing as if we had a game at the end of the week. They're trying to get us a scrimmage in the spring. I'm assuming it's like spring football, you know 3 weeks in pads and then having a scrimmage at the end. Coach Coker was talking about having it at the Alamodome. Maybe tied in with the parade during fiesta and then after fiesta have all those people go over to the Alamodome for the scrimmage."

With the first game about 21 months away, RunnerNation would be foaming at the mouth to get a look at the future Roadrunner football team during spring ball. Fall practice in 2010 and then spring ball in 2011 would be the true christening of Roadrunner football.

SIDENOTE: Two of Nick’s teammates, Cody Mulvain a preferred walk-on and Scott Inskeep an OL who had a pending offer from UTSA, also took official visits. UTSAtailgaters was has learned that Scott Inskeep did in fact commit to UTSA. Inskeep is now the 23rd known commit to UTSAtailgaters and adds massive bulk to the O-line. Inskeep is listed at 6'4" & around 290-300lbs.

Also, Cody Mulvain is just as big as Inskeep or even bigger. Cody is listed at 6'3"-6'4" and about 315lbs. Both these kids, along with recent 5A All-State Center Robert Chapman of Clark, Drew Phillips of Steele, Cody Harris of Smithson Valley and Nate Leonard of McKinney, make up some serious beef to lay the foundation for the Runners in the trenches. With a year to Red Shirt, it will be continuous strengthening and conditioning and expect the O-line to be even bigger with a year in the weight room. 

Coveted 3 star DE Dartwan Bush of Brazoswood ended his recruitment and gave a verbal to Mike Leach and Texas Tech earlier this month(BEFORE TERMINATION). Utsatailgaters had learned that Brazoswood DE Dartwan Bush had picked up an offer from UTSA and was an official visitor on the first weekend that UTSA invited visitors back on 12/4. Dartwan is listed at 6'2" 250lbs and has been rated by rivals.com as a 3-star prospect with a grade of 5.6. Before committing to Tech, Dartwan had taken officials of UTSA and Baylor. His scholarship list was an impressive one, with offers from Colorado, Iowa State, Baylor, UNT, New Mexico State and Wyoming. Houston had also offered Dartwan but a recent report did say that UH filled their class and the offer was rescinded. Dartwan's head coach had said that TCU and A&M have been coming on strong with a lot of interest as well. Remaining in the state and distance was an issue for Dartwan's mother and that gave UTSA a fighting chance along with getting him to take an official, but as of right now nothing new has been reported with Mike Leach out at Tech and UTSAtailgaters will be trying to get an update on Dartwan to see if there is any change to report in his commitment.

Sidenote (1): The mere fact that Coach Coker and his staff are not leaving any rounds in the chamber and are going after some highly profiled recruits is a great sign of things to come. To know that UTSA is literally competing with some Big XII teams such as ISU, Baylor and Tech for student athletes is eye opening, especially with it being UTSA's inaugural signing class. It is one thing to offer a student athlete, but it's another step and a sign of legit interest if the recruit is brought in for an official, such as Dartwan. In the last recent weeks UTSA has offered some highly rated recruits such as Dartwan, Kevin Kisseberth, Kyle Davis and others.

Sidenote (2): UTSA is closing out there inaugural class and they are doing it strong and with a huge interest into the Houston area. We just learned of the latest commit, Houston Stratford's Richard Burge (DT). Already committed are John Walker, Mario Hull and Chris Dorsey from the surrounding Houston area. Within the last month or so UTSAtailgaters also learned of an offer to Kevin Kisseberth of Klein and now reports are saying that UTSA is also recruiting Kempner RB Josh Bell (5'11" 190lbs 4.47 40) and DT Mike Jones (6'3" 255lbs). No offers have been reported to either, but we will try to confirm in a follow up. As of now, the 2010 class stands at 23 commitments. If Coach Coker does in fact want to sign 25, there are still two spots open. Reports have said that LC may want to leave a couple of scholarships open in case of any walk-ons who earn or are worthy of a scholarship. NCAA rules permit a maximum of 30 scholarships that can be utilized during the signing period. Most teams do not use or issue close to that amount as they have previous numbers to consider from other classes. UTSA is in a unique situation where since this is an inaugural class, all 30 scholarships could be used if wanted. LC has said before he plans to use his total 63 scholarships as such; 25 in 2010, 20 in 2011 & the remaining 18 in 2012. 

The inaugural 2010 football recruiting class for UTSA is almost at Larry Coker's goal. At the onset of the recruiting cycle coach Larry Coker said he would be handing out 25 scholarships (NCAA Max is 30 a class; 63 Total for FCS teams) for this class and this past weekend UTSA hosted it's first official visitors, only to add two more commits to the list, bringing the total to 21 commits. One of those new commits is Safety Nic Johnston of Coppell HS, "I committed this past weekend during the visit. They offered me probably about a month ago, about half way through the football season."

Johnston was a defensive  standout this past year who tallied six interceptions for his team. His stellar defensive play was an integral part in the success of the Coppell Cowboys this past season, "The team went 11-2, we lost in the 3rd round of the playoffs to Arlington (31-29). We did pretty good. Don't know how many tackles I got, I got 6 interceptions." Nic just played defense, safety the entire season.

Along with UTSA, Nic also had an offer from Towson University and had recently been in contact with Buffalo and Baylor about his services. Johnston is a big safety who likes to be physical and prefers to be the strong safety, "I'll be safety most likely. I like playing strong safety. I'm physical, really physical and a good tackler. I'm also smart, I'm like the quarterback of the defense.  Last time I got measured I was 6'3" and 185lbs. Last time I ran a 40 was a long time ago, but I ran a 4.7."

We asked Nic, what stood out to him about UTSA and why did he decide to commit, "It's closer to the family. Coach Coker is a great coach. Just a fact that this program will become something. San Antonio is a big city and we're the only football team. I think this will become real big real fast."

Johnston has all the right physical tools to become an imposing strong safety and run stuffer at the next level. Adding an additional 15-20 pounds to his already physical style of play would be cause for opponents to know where he is at all times on the field. Nic also has a humble and selfless attitude about his skills and on how he can better himself, "I'm always looking to get better at everything, speed, strength and size. We'll have a whole year before we step onto the Alamodome field." 

News surfaced a couple weeks back that UTSA had picked up it's 19th football commitment and first linebacker commit for the 2010 class. UTSAtailgaters burned up the phone lines and we were able to speak with the newest UTSA football commit, John Walker of Humble High School.

"I committed last Tuesday on the third (11/3)." Walker is the first LB commit to Coach Coker and his UTSA staff. We talked about a variety of things with John, from what he liked about UTSA, to how his recruiting was going before his commitment and how his high school season has played out, "Yeah, I had a couple of schools. This was my only offer though. I talked to Lamar." As for what UTSA had to offer, "First of all the city is great. Coach Coker is a great coach. I'm just excited about all the potential that it could be. I'm just really excited."

Recently John and his HS teammates had their season come to a close with a must win situation to get into the playoffs against Nimitz HS, Humble fell just short, 33-28, "Saturday was our last game. If we would've won we would've gone to the playoffs, but we lost. Their quarterback scored a late touchdown and that was it." With the season in the books, we wondered if John would be taking a visit to UTSA and asked about the position of his commitment, "I have a visit scheduled for December 11,12, & 13. I say it's pretty solid. There aren't too many colleges that I would say have the potential that UTSA does." Some of the other schools evaluating John, according to scout.com are Baylor, McNeese State, La-Laffeyete and Lamar.

John currently stands 6'1" and 208 pounds. During a summer camp at A&M he was clocked running a 4.58 40 yard dash. Although the season was cut short for John, he certainly did not disappoint performance wise on the field, "Going into the (last) game I had 160 tackles, but now I have 179. I don't know exactly how many solo's or assists. I also had 2 interceptions for the season and I'm not sure on how many sacks or tackle's for loss I have."

In closing, UTSAtailgaters wanted to know what do we have to look forward to when John steps on the field and will he be lining up in the middle of the Roadrunner defense, " I hate losing. No matter what, I will give it my all. They said of all the linebackers they've been looking at I can play all three, Sam, Will & Mike. In high school we run a 4-2-5 and I'm always used to playing in the middle. I used to play safety and I like playing it too."

With John's speed and height it looks like UTSA has landed an anchor in the middle of the front seven. With a year to redshrit, John will easily add 10-20 pounds to his frame to be around the 220-225 range to help him take the on and give the pounding that is associated with being a D-1 linebacker. Walker is a tremendous athlete with exceptional speed for a LB prospect and RunnerNation will be following John when he gets ready to bring that speed and defensive ability to the Alamodome field.   

UTSA landed four talented signees for the 2010 class. Things are continuing to go well on the recruiting trail as Utsatailgaters has learned of a second target in bayou country. Matt Lebato of Sulphur HS in Sulphur, La. is one of the remaining targets for Coach Thompson and his staff and Utsatailgaters was able to speak with Matt after a practice for an update and to confirm when he was offered by UTSA, "It was right after nationals. It was back in the summer around July I think."

Matt is a 6'8", 190 pound senior who projects at the next level as a two or a three because of his shooting ability, "I probably would play a three. I would like to play a guard spot like a three or a two."

As it stands, UTSA is currently Matt's only offer, but he is being evaluated by many other schools including SEC power LSU, "Mostly the in state schools. I talked with LSU, TCU, North Texas, Denver, and Air Force are still evaluating me." Coach Trent Johnson who is now going on his second season at LSU made Matt one of his priorities when he was hired away from Stanford in 2008 to recruit and keep the states best players within state boundaries. According to multiple recruiting services LSU and it's staff have been in constant contact with Matt and his coach, also father, Clint Lebato.

As for UTSA and how Matt feels towards the program, "I talked to Coach Brooks around the beginning of October. Talked about the atmosphere, the program and how he wants to build it into the Gonzaga of the south. I really got a good feel for Coach Guster and Coach Brooks. They really make me feel like family. That's what I'm really looking for, good guys."

With the HS basketball season already in swing we wanted to see where Matt stood with his visits and his time-line for a decision, "I'm going to take all my visits at the end of the basketball season. I'm just focusing on the season. I haven't made a list, everybody is still kind of wide open. I'm going to cut it down at the end of the season." With several programs evaluating Matt out of state, he did say that distance wouldn't really matter. 

Matt is coming off a season where he was named 1st team All district in 3-5A as a junior. Lebato teams with returning Allstate guard Chip Armelin (6'3" Sr.) who has also heard from LSU and Georgia Tech among others, to form one of the best 1-2 punches in the state, if not the best. Lebato is not only seen as one of the best players at his position in Louisiana, but one of the best players overall in the state. With his sharp-shooting range and ability to put the ball on the floor and drive, Matt's choices of colleges are sure to increase.

Stay tuned for any updates as UTSAtailgaters will be tracking Matt.

Sidenote: Matt is the second known target to UTSAtailgaters from the Bayou state. TJ Williams of Hodge HS (Jonesboro, La.) also has an offer from UTSA. TJ has already visited the UTSA campus back in late September and is also going over his options as well. 

As the early signing period for basketball passed, Utsatailgaters has hit the trail trying to keep up with some of the basketball targets. We were able to speak with Rodney Givens (SG) of Bishop Miege, KS and see how the overall process is going and if he's heard anything from UTSA.

"Right now, I have heavy interest from Oral Roberts and Weber State, but I'm still being evaluated. UTSA has offered me." Coach Dan O'Dowd has been the lead point man in the recruiting of Rodney.

We were able to talk about what he knows about UTSA, his measurements and the recruiting process in general, "Last time I checked I was 6'2". Last time I got weighed I was 194lbs and that was this past summer. Recruiting is going pretty good. Pretty much how I kind of expected."

Recently Rodney was tabbed a pre-season All-State player in Kansas and rated as one of the top three guards in the entire state no matter the classification. We asked Rodney what he thought when he heard of these lofty expectations, "I just stay humble, but I'm confident. I need to keep working every day to get better." Rodney doesn't have any personal stats that he'd like to accomplish, but did have a personal team goal, "Win a state championship."

With the early signing period come and gone has Rodney decided if he will sign somewhere or wait until the spring, "Uhh, right now I'm not sure yet, I'm still trying to decide and talking about it. Right now they're all on the same page." We asked Rodney if distance or location would be a factor in his choice, "Distance is not a problem on where I might go."

Previously Givens had said he was planning on visiting UTSA, has anything concrete been set up, "I plan on probably calling up there and seeing about an official visit in a few weeks." Rodney isn't sure if he will take the visit before or after the early signing period.

Finally, we asked Rodney if anything stood out about the offense Coach Thompson runs and what position could he see himself playing at the next level, "Coach O'Dowd was saying how the offense does shoot a lot of 3's and I like that about them. I'd probably see myself as a combo guard at the next level. Shooting would be my main part."

Givens is a talented player no matter what spot he plays on the court. 

The most notable of the new defensive targets for UTSA is Klein DE/LB Kevin Kisseberth. Depending on which recruiting services you look at, Kevin is rated anywhere from a two star to a mid or high three star prospect and has a laundry list of offers from programs all over. In the eyes of UTSA, Kevin is no longer a prospect, but a target, "I think it was a week or two ago that I was offered. Coach Ross has been the main one in contact, but Coach Coker offered me."

Kevin and his teammates are still playing and that of course takes precedence, "So far my team is doing pretty good. We went 7-3 in the regular season. We just beat Lufkin last week in the playoffs. We're 8-3 and we play Cypress Ridge this weekend." Kevin did say that he is being used both ways this season, "On defense I'm playing as a defensive end, more of a pass rushing d-end. On offense I'll play mostly TE or H-Back." The UTSA staff is projecting Kevin as a LB at the next level and we asked Kevin about that, " They see me more as a linebacker and I don't really have a preference at all."

As it stands, Kevin has offers from the Big 10, Big XII, C-USA, WAC and Sunbelt schools, "I have offers, from La. Tech, UNT, Rice, Tulane, Minnesota, ISU, UTSA, Tulsa, SMU, and two others." I asked Kevin about reports that he was really close to committing to Minnesota after his official visit back in September and when he might make a decision, "Yeah, I'm just sitting back going over all my options now. I think I'm going to pick what school I go to after the playoffs are done." With five out of state schools offering Kevin I asked him what he thought about going out of state, what he liked about UTSA and if he had any list of favorites, "Distance really isn't a factor for me. I like that I'd be able to start once I get there and that it's close to home. Every school is on a level playing field pretty much."

Kevin already has the physical tools to step on the field at the next level. He stands 6'2" 215 pounds and was clocked at running a 4.6 40 yard dash. A couple of more pounds and Kevin would be a solid wall in the front seven of any defense. Kevin said it best when I asked him what he would bring to the table, "I'd hope to be a player that the other team wouldn't want to go against."

Defense seems to be the side of the ball targeted by Coach Coker and his staff for the remaining scholarships of 2010. UTSA picked up it's first LB commit in John Walker of Humble last week and news has surfaced that at least four more defensive targets have received a UTSA offer. UTSAtailgaters was able to confirm with Bastrop DB, Bernard Blake that he in fact did pick up a UTSA offer, "I was offered about two weeks ago."

Coach David Ross is the lead recruiter who has been in consistent contact with Bernard. Bernard holds a list of five offers including UTSA, "I have offers from other schools. Colorado State, UTEP, Lamar and UNT have offered me."

Bernard's high school playing days unfortunately came to an end last week when Bastrop lost to New Braunfels in the first round of the Texas UIL playoffs, "As a team we finished 9-2. Made it to the 1st round of the playoffs and lost to New Braunfels. We don't know anything about All-District awards yet."

Bernard has nice size and has speed to compliment it, "The last time when I did height & weight was when i visited Colorado State on Oct 24th. I measured at 6'0" @ 173lbs. In the spring is when I ran my 40, I ran a 4.51."

We asked Bernard at what position is UTSA recruiting him and if he had a preference, "This past year I played corner and safety. UTSA has said right now, they're looking at me as a corner, but in the future there would be a possibility that I could switch off to safety come game day. I don't have a certain position, I just love the game of football. Whatever the team needs."

I asked Bernard does anything stand out about UTSA and when might he make a commitment, "Coach Coker's history as a coach stands out. All the schools are offering me playing time as a freshman. All the schools offer great academics. There more along the same list, I don't have any personal favorites. I'm kind of going back and forth about the distance being a factor in my decision, in the end it probably will be. I'm a competitor, I'm going to be set out for hard work. I love the game of football. I talked to my coach about my decision time. I kind of want to wait. My coach was probably saying that I need to make my decision before then (National Signing Day), so I'll probably make it before signing day."

Bernard is a nice young man, a desire for great work ethic and a team first attitude. Being 6'0" and having legit 4.5 speed make Bernard a very intriguing prospect. Stay tuned RunnerNation for any updates on Bernard as NSD is just over two and a half months away and Bernard appears that he will commit before then. 

Last month a story broken by Texasprepinsider.com had Angleton RB Terrance Franks having a high interest in UTSA. UTSAtailgaters were able to catch up with Terrance and see how things are going.

"I haven't gotten an offer yet from UTSA for football. I really hope that I do get an offer and that would be good where my family could come to my games. I know that recently I got a call from the UTSA track coach. I had gotten some letters in the spring about playing both football & track. I really haven't talked to anyone about football, but I know I can do both."

Franks reports legit breakaway speed with a 4.44 40 yard dash time. He stands 5'10" and 185 pounds and stars on the track team for Angleton as well. When on the gridiron, Franks has opened some eyes and is having a successful year while helping carry the running back load, "They have me playing mostly at running back and a little at corner too. I have 91 carries for 516 yds and 4 touchdowns. I help the offense a lot."

Although Terrance appears to be getting more attention in the sport of track, does that mean he favors track instead of football, "If i had to choose one or the other, I would choose football. I love football. If I have to do it for track I will tryout for track too." On the track scene Terrance has letters and is being evaluated or recruited by schools such as LSU, McNeese State, Texas State, Baylor, UTEP and Colorado State. A couple of the aforementioned schools have also put in phone calls to Terrance. 

When it's all said done Terrance really hopes to get an offer from UTSA. We asked Terrance if an offer did come and with all the schools looking at him when would be decide to make a decision, "I have to think about it and my decision when the time comes. I'd probably wait until the middle of January." With Terrance's speed and versatility of knowing both offense and defense, he would be an interesting athlete to see take the field and utilize his renowned speed.

UTSAtailgaters will track (no pun intended) Terrance and update RunnerNation of any new developments.

Sidenote:

--Terrance did mention that UTSA football coaches have called to inquire about two of his football teammates. Running back Donnie Foster and O-lineman Tiance Gardner. We were not able to confirm Foster's measurements, but he is part of a three headed RB monster that Angleton utilizes. Tiance Gardner stands 6'4" and 290 pounds. We confirmed with Head Coach, Finis Vanover, that Gardner does in fact have offers from UTEP and UH. Both prospects will be part of the 2010 class.

--Notable D-1 football players that have or are running track are, LSU's Trindon Holliday, UT's Marquise Goodwin and Baylor's Robert Griffin to just name a few. 

The San Antonio Express News reported last week that four new offers had gone out to football recruits. UTSAtailgaters wanted to provide an in depth look at just who these new targets for the 2010 class are and give our take on what the chances are.

UTSA just landed it's first LB commit last week in Humble's John Walker. Well Coach Coker and staff are hot on the trail of a couple more.

Klein OLB Kevin Kisseberth is the most bally-hooed of the new targets amongst the recruiting services. Kevin is a rock at the OLB spot. He stands 6'3" & 220 pounds and rivals.com reports a 4.6 40yard dash. He is rated a mid 3 star recruit and graded at 5.6. Kevin has a who's who of offers, Minnesota, Iowa State, New Mexico, Rice, Tulsa, UTEP, etc....

Chances: Not likely; Kisseberth has the Gophers as his clear cut leader. After his visit in mid September he almost committed. Minnesota has not had a solid season at 6-5 and below 500 in conference with a 3-4 mark. Rumblings have surfaced that HC Tim Brewster could be on his way out. Here's a quote from Kevin after his Minnesota visit, "I was very impressed with Minnesota and can see myself playing there for sure. I think that I am done with visits, I don't think I need to take anymore. I just want to sit back and reflect and make sure everything is right, but I would say that after I play a few more games I will probably commit to Minnesota."

A huge positive is that it's been almost two months since that visit and Kevin has yet to commit and the possibility of a coaching change is always a red flag for recruits. We don't want to get our hopes up because we know LC and staff can recruit and never underestimate LC's championship pedigree, but don't hold your breath RunnerNation.

Humble Kingwood OLB Robert Singletary has flown under the radar for quite sometime, but word is beginning to get out on the Kingwood LB. Robert stands 6'4" 215 pounds & 4.7 40 yard dash. Rivals lists him as a WR and OLB. According to his coach Singletary can also play DE. His offer list is small, but appears to be growing and has some major Big XII programs lined up for an official visit. Current offers are UTSA, Army and Navy. No dates have been confirmed but reports say that Singletary will be taking official visits to both CU and Mizzou in Big XII North Country.

(n/a ranking or grade by rivals)

(Scout has him a 1 star with no official evaluation; Also lists him at 6'5" 225 pounds)

Chances: Average (leaning towards not likely); A recruit is only invited for an official visit when an offer is extended. An athletic department and university will not cover all the costs and travel expenses associated with an official visit if they did not want to extend an offer to the kid. If UTSA's competition were only the service academies then all the better, but with the Big XII schools stepping in, our chances of average may decrease to not likely very soon.

One of the four offers did go to a local prospect and that happens to be SA Reagan DB Kyle Davis. Listed at 6'0" 195 pounds and a 4.5 40yard dash. Davis is listed as rivals as a 3 star prospect and has a 5.5 grade. His offer lists consists of Air Force, UNT, Navy and UTEP.

Chances: Average; If location and family are variables, this would be a strong or very strong chance. However, we have not been able to confirm or do a follow up with Kyle, or any of the new targets to state otherwise. With his current offer list and what Coach Coker is doing at UTSA, we like our chances, but we'll leave this one as average for now until we get any further news.

Finally, Bastrop Safety Bernard Blake is the final new target. Bernard is currently not listed on either major recruiting network, Rivals or Scout. However we were able to confirm that Bernard stands 6'0" and 160 pounds with no 40 time reported. Reports have Blake as the best defensive player on the Bastrop team this past season. At the moment, we will have to do a follow up with Bernard to see what his thoughts are on the offer from UTSA and confirm his offer list as well.

Chances: Average; A safety who would get the opportunity to compete for immediate playing time and play for a Coach of the magnitude of LC and the reputation of his staff is always a plus. We'll definitely be trying to get a follow up on where Bernard stands.  

We have confirmed that Arizona Central PG Travis Payton signed his his LOI earlier today. Travis is a nationally recruited juco pg with schools such as Rutgers, Colorado State and Fresno State after his services. Travis is a 6'0" pg who is the perfect fit to come in as a junior and take over the team with his leadership and floor general abilities. Travis led all juco players nationally with averaging 11.3 assists a game last year. Three 3 signees and the hits keep coming. Great news for UTSA basketball!!!!

UTSAtailgaters.com has confirmed that McDonalds All-American Nominee Jordan Sims of Liberty HS (AZ) will signed his letter of intent for UTSA today, at approximately 2:15pm Arizona time (3:15pm CST). Sims is now the second known signee of the early signing period for Coach Brooks Thompson. So far 2 excellent signees!

We have confirmed that Madison Post Tyler Wood did sign his LOI Wednesday morning and is also a Roadrunner. Tyler is a key addition being that he will be a part of the foundation to the building of our low post players and the fact that he is a local who chose to sign with the hometown school. Great pickup by Brooks and staff.

Utsatailgaters has learned that Drew Parker (PG, LaPorte HS) has decided to end his recruitment and commited recently to UNC-Greensboro of the Southern Conference. In a story broken by Texas Hoops, Parker one of the best PG's in the entire state of Texas, ranked #17 overall felt very comfortable with UNC-Greensboro as they recruited him to play PG, where as half of the schools recruiting Parker were looking at him as a combo guard, according to Parker. Drew stands 6'3" and 172lbs.

The story references the status of the overall program on how he wants to help build a program coming off of five wins, the academic success of the business school and the feeling he got of the university is what made him chose UNC-Greensboro. Of the Top 20 Texas propsects for 2010, Parker is the the 9th commitment to go outside of the state of Texas to continue his college playing days.

Parker can sign on the first day of the early signing period which falls on November 11th.

Sidenote:

The breaking story by Texashoops also said that "a capacity crowd of roughly 24,000 fans" played a key part in Drew choosing UNC-Greensboro. Might be an error or typo as http://www.uncgspartans.com reports that their gymnasium is built for 1800 people to view men's basketball and the max capcity crowd that UNC-G has ever had was just over 2,300. 

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