UTSA coach's motivational plan using rat traps backfires: 'It looks like my pinky got smashed by a hammer'
Jeff Traylor's Roadrunners are tied for first place in the AAC after a win over FAU
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1 min read
UTSA football coach Jeff Traylor had his finger accidentally smashed by a rat trap during a motivational ploy after the program's 36-10 win over FAU. The Roadrunners' staff placed more than 100 rat traps within players' lockers as a metaphor for "don't eat the cheese." The goal here, obviously, was to make sure the players didn't revel in the praise too much.
Unfortunately for Traylor, one unidentified player re-loaded his rat trap and put it on the podium where Traylor addresses the team. Traylor did not see the trap and the rest is (very) painful history.
"I put my hand there and it looks like my pinky got smashed by a hammer," Traylor said. "It would have killed a lesser man, but I'm OK."
Here’s @CoachTraylor answering @theJJPerez about a player putting a loaded rat trap on his podium: “it looks like my pinky got smashed by a hammer. It woulda killed a lesser man.” https://t.co/rrT8GRBdfb pic.twitter.com/emQ5LSX1ml
— Dave Wilson (@dwil) October 23, 2023
Traylor has used the "don't eat the cheese" metaphor for years to get his players to ignore outside noise. It has been UTSA's version of "rat poison," made famous by Nick Saban. The praise is well deserved, though; the program has gone 23-5 with back-to-back Conference USA championships. After a 1-3 start in nonconference play, the Roadrunners have found their sea legs to start their tenure as an AAC program.
After crushing FAU on Saturday, there's a renewed focus on keeping momentum. UTSA has started AAC play 3-0 and crushed opponents by a combined 126-64. The Roadrunners join SMU and Tulane as the only teams with unbeaten records in AAC play, and they don't play either team until a matchup with the Green Wave in the final regular-season game.
