🔒Film Breakdown: Coastal Carolina 2024

At nearly full strength in a low-stakes bowl game between two 6-6 programs, UTSA tore into Coastal Carolina on the surf turf as they dominated the Chanticleer in every phase of the game. The Roadrunners won the battle of physicality in the trenches, and flashed speed that Coastal was unable to keep up with due to so much of the Chanticleers’ roster being unavailable in the game. It was a great end to the season for the Roadrunners, but let’s take a closer look at how they pulled it off.

UTSA’s defensive line had the Coastal Carolina offensive line playing on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage all afternoon (morning?). I was a little bit surprised to see the Roadrunners dominate so harshly up front since Coastal had all of their starting five available. Brandon Brown led the way up front as he ended his UTSA career with one of his best performances. This sacks was one of two on the day for him, and the second time he drove the CCU center back into the ball carrier on this drive.

The Roadrunners started the game with a very timid offensive approach, choosing to run between the tackles and throw the ball horizontally instead of vertically. While their success was limited on their first two drives, this screen to Devin McCuin was the highlight. Great blocks here from Chris Carpenter, Kamar Missouri, and CJ James way down the field.

Coastal should have had the first score in the game, but Brevin Randle got extremely lucky that the Chanticleers’ running back couldn’t adjust to this pass while it was in the air. Randle bit on the double pass as he took a hard step towards the receiver and got burned by the running back. Who knows, this game might have turned out quite differently had Coastal pulled off this trick play successfully.

You know UTSA was feeling the run game when they chose to run counter on 3rd and 5. Great kick out from Ben Rios, Dishman turns into the gap on the pull, and Brandon High is off to the races. This may have been a touch down had Jaylen Garth been able to get up to the third level and pick up the safety.

Worked so well, might as run it again a few plays later. Fantastic job by Brandon High to keep his feet pumping, while the Roadrunner front (led by Dan Dishman) fight through the whistle to push High into the end zone for the first score of the game.

Really spiffy play design from Justin Burke here, and frankly this may be unlike anything we’ve seen from him before. The return motion from David Amador not only exposes CCU’s zone defense, but also allows Amador to build up to his top end speed to get up field quickly on a wheel route. As soon as Amador crosses the flat zone defender, McCown knows he’s wide open for a big gain.

Two things we were waiting to see from Owen McCown as a starter: A. ability to pull the ball on read option and pick up yardage B. Guide the team to a win on the road. Check and check. Great read by Owen to see the edge defender bite down on the running back, and blocks from Houston Thomas and Jaylen Garth get Owen free for the touchdown.

I love when self-scouting your own tendencies as a play caller leads to easy touchdowns. UTSA ran play action off of the split zone run play they use so often, completely fooling the defense after Patrick Overmyer runs around the edge defender for a free release and one of the easiest touchdown passes Owen McCown will ever have.

This was a really bad interception from Owen McCown, especially considering the field position just outside UTSA’s own red zone. Jaylen Garth got beat badly due to not moving his feet in his pass set, and Owen forces an off-platform throw under pressure to try to extend the drive instead of finding his check down option. Brandon High was wide open in the flat and could have potentially picked up the first down had Owen looked his way.

Coastal Carolina scored quickly to start the fourth quarter as Ty Milton got beat badly by a double move from the CCU wide receiver. UTSA had no safety help over the top, and Coastal’s QB was staring down this receiver from the second the ball is snapped. While Milton has to do better to keep the defender in front of him, this score is also a byproduct of UTSA playing a very aggressive style of defense.

Woof, what was Coastal doing on this kickoff? Kicking this low of a ball to Chris Carpenter is already asking for trouble, but there was practically no effort or pursuit from the Chanticleers once the ball was received. I’d be very concerned with the team’s culture if I was a Coastal fan.

Elijah Newell had a great showing in his first start as a Roadrunner, finishing the Myrtle Beach Bowl with a tie for the team lead in tackles. He recorded two stops in back-to-back plays by aggressively pursuing running back flare routes in the flats, showing speed, play recognition, efficient angles, and solid tackling form. I’m excited to watch Newell develop in his sophomore season next year.

SMU transfer Daemian Wimberly had a quiet but productive sophomore season, turning in a few big plays in big moments this year. He capped off his first season as a Roadrunner with this run stuff on 4th and one in the 4th quarter. Wimberly slants into the B gap, using his shoulder to maintain leverage against the offensive lineman who is caught off guard by the stunt. Wimberly then works his way down the line of scrimmage to spot the ball carrier and bring them down short of the line of gain.

After seeing some flashes of Will Henderson’s potential on gimmick plays, the bowl game gave us an opportunity to see him flash his ability to execute UTSA’s core offense. He turned in huge chunk plays off outside zone and counter, with the latter going for a touchdown. Henderson’s speed is obviously what makes him a game changer, but his ability to operate in tight windows with his acceleration is very impressive.

Game Balls

Brandon High – The redshirt freshman showed his ability to be a work horse back over the past two games, stepping in and elevating UTSA’s run game after Robert Henry’s season ended early due to injury. Big 2025 coming for High.

Martavious French – The nation’s leader in tackles for loss was a force against Coastal Carolina, making three tackles in the game, all three behind the line of scrimmage.

Justin Burke – I love when I can give a game ball to a coach, especially when it’s a play caller who’s caught a lot of flak from the fan base. Burke designed a lot of interesting plays to bust out in the bowl game. He’s finding creative ways to get UTSA’s explosive players the ball in space.

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