Carter shines in UTSA spring football scrimmage

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SPRING BRANCH — UTSA senior quarterback Tucker Carter fared well on a windy day Saturday at Smithson Valley High School, showing off a strong arm and a knack for moving the offense.

Carter, the heir apparent to Eric Soza, fired three touchdown passes and led the first-team unit on five scoring drives in nine possessions in front of a few hundred fans in a spring football scrimmage.

Soza, a three-year starter who has exhausted his collegiate eligibility, insisted on the eve of camp last month that Carter would impress fans as “a dang good athlete and a dang good quarterback.”

So far, nobody is arguing either point.

Standing strong in the pocket and moving well when the protection broke down, the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder hit 12 of 17 passes for 247 yards.

He threw TDs to Aaron Grubb, Brandon Armstrong and Brandon Freeman and was not intercepted.

Tucker Carter threw TDs to three receivers in UTSA's open scrimmage at Smithson Valley on Saturday. Tucker Carter threw TDs to three receivers in UTSA's open scrimmage at Smithson Valley on Saturday. Photo: Â© 2012 San Antonio Express-News Photo: Â© 2012 San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close Carter shines in UTSA spring football scrimmage 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

Carter's 23-yard pass to Freeman near the end of the session was the only touchdown of the day scored when one of the offensive units was moving into a steady wind.

“That was a pretty brutal wind,” UTSA coach Larry Coker said. “But he's got an excellent arm. He's got a tight spiral. He's an excellent passer.

“We know that. We just got to give him some time and some experience, and we got some people who can make plays for him. We're excited about him. He really stepped up today.”

Carter said he was happy with the day's workout, the ninth of 15 in UTSA's spring camp.

“Offensively, I thought we tried to pick up the tempo a little bit, tried to communicate a little better (and) do a lot of the little things, because we know we haven't been executing and moving the ball the way we should,” Carter said.

“I thought we did a better job with that, and it helped us make some big plays.”

Redshirt freshman Austin Robinson struggled. He hit 10 of 21 passes for 52 yards with two interceptions. In 10 possessions, he led the second unit to three field goals.

His big moment came when he broke for a 53-yard run on his third possession.

“He's just got to get some experience,” Coker said. “He's got to settle down and be himself. It's one thing throwing an incompletion, but just dropping the ball, just not really running the offense, that's when your mind starts getting fragmented a little and you start thinking too much.”

At the moment, Carter and Robinson are the only scholarship QBs on the roster.

Freshman Blake Bogenschutz, an all-state player from Carthage, is expected to join the team in fall camp.

Defensively, standout performances came from defensive end Codie Brooks, linebacker Dalton Miller and safeties Tevin Broussard and Chase Dahlquist.

Brooks, a sophomore from Seguin, and Miller, a sophomore from Warren High, had six tackles apiece. Brooks also had two sacks.

jbriggs@express-news.net

Twitter: @JerryBriggs