UTSA Roadrunners head coach Jeff Traylor. Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

UTSA coach's rat trap motivational tactic painfully backfires

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 10/23/23

University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) head football coach Jeff Traylor installed an interesting motivational tactic for his players this week ahead of their game against East Carolina University.

Unfortunately for Traylor, the strategy backfired with some very painful consequences.

.@UTSAFTBL players got rat traps out in their lockers this week as a reminder to not eat the cheese. One of the traps ended up in front of @CoachTraylor and it went off smashing his finger. https://t.co/mPQy0EWFfu pic.twitter.com/NqMCXV9CoK
— JJ Perez (@theJJPerez) October 23, 2023

The Roadrunners have been rolling in October, turning around their season after going 1-3 in September. UTSA is 3-0 this month, knocking off Temple University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Florida Atlanta University by a combined score of 126-64.

The Pirates, meanwhile, are in free fall, having lost three in a row and six of their first seven to begin the season. East Carolina has been competitive in two of their last three games but have been outscored 97-48 while going 0-3 on the road in 2023.

The Roadrunners host the Pirates at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in what Traylor is hoping isn't a "trap game."

This isn't the first time a Division I college football coaching staff has used the rodent-capturing idea to get their team ready for a game.

The Appalachian State coaches used the same tactic in September 2022 ahead of the Mountaineers' third contest of the campaign against Troy University.

There were no reports of anyone getting their fingers injured in the traps and Appalachian State went on to defeat the Trojans, 32-28.

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