UTSA Coach Jeff Traylor Slams Power 5 Schools Who ‘Poach’ Players

The Roadrunners coach joined a chorus of coaches making nonspecific tampering claims against other schools.

The value of the transfer portal in college football lies in the eye of the beholder. Some teams, such as Michigan State in 2021 and TCU in 2022, have embraced it to victorious effect. Other teams, like Clemson, have shunned it and continued to operate at a high level.

College football’s new reality, however, has created unease in the Group of 5. On Monday night, UTSA coach Jeff Traylor took to Twitter to express his frustration with Power 5 programs which Traylor believes are recruiting Roadrunners players.

"Dear @NCAAFootball How does @UTSAFTBL report Power 5 Schools who are trying to poach our young talent? How much evidence do we really need to make this not be a part of our game?" Traylor wrote.

Dear @NCAAFootball How does @UTSAFTBL report Power 5 Schools who are trying to poach our young talent? How much evidence do we really need to make this not be a part of our game?

— Jeff Traylor (@CoachTraylor) December 20, 2022

The third-year head coach offered no evidence to support his claim but echoed an increasingly common line of rhetoric in college football. Washington State coach Jake Dickert, North Carolina coach Mack Brown, and Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi all have offered similar opaque allegations of tampering by rivals.

Traylor’s Roadrunners were one of the top Group of 5 teams in the country this year, going 11-3, winning the Conference USA title, and reaching the Cure Bowl.