Heading into the opening week of the NFL’s regular season we had two UTSA alumni on active rosters. Here’s how they did in their season openers:
David Morgan II
TE – Minnesota Vikings – UTSA ’11-’15
After becoming UTSA’s first All-American and first draft pick, David Morgan II became the first UTSA football player to appear in a regular season NFL game in the Minnesota Vikings’ 25-16 win on the road over the Tennessee Titans.
Although he didn’t make an appearance on the stat sheet, Morgan did see the field on 20 offensive snaps (32%) and 4 special teams snaps (14%). This made him the 12th-most-used offensive player and the top-choice blocking tight end as incumbent Rhett Ellison is eased into the lineup after returning from a torn patellar tendon he suffered in January.
Minnesota Vikings Offensive Snap Chart
Off. ST
Player Pos Num Pct Num Pct
Matt Kalil T 63 100% 8 28%
Joe Berger C 63 100% 8 28%
Brandon Fusco G 63 100% 8 28%
Andre Smith T 63 100% 8 28%
Alex Boone G 63 100% 8 28%
Shaun Hill QB 63 100% 0 0%
Kyle Rudolph TE 58 92% 9 31%
Stefon Diggs WR 56 89% 0 0%
Charles Johnson WR 49 78% 0 0%
Adrian Peterson RB 38 60% 0 0%
Adam Thielen WR 35 56% 15 52%
David Morgan TE 20 32% 4 14%
Zach Line FB 16 25% 6 21%
Jerick McKinnon RB 16 25% 4 14%
Rhett Ellison TE 13 21% 12 41%
Matt Asiata RB 9 14% 13 45%
Cordarrelle Patterson WR 5 8% 4 14%
Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Despite the somewhat limited snaps, Morgan made his presence known and earned a 66.3 grade from Pro Football Focus, who had previously named him the #1 run-blocking tight end in the 2016 NFL draft, and that grade was good enough to make him the 5th-most effective offensive player for Minnesota.
Teddy Williams
CB/ST – Carolina Panthers – UTSA (Track) ’06-’10
The other UTSA alum in action during opening week was former track star Teddy Williams in Carolina’s 21-20 loss to the Denver Broncos in the Thursday night NFL opening game.
Williams did not make any appearances at cornerback, but appeared in a team-high 19 special teams snaps (79%).
Carolina Panthers Special Teams Snap Chart Player Pos Num Pct Teddy Williams CB 19 79% Ed Dickson TE 16 67% A.J. Klein LB 16 67% Joe Webb QB 16 67% Colin Jones FS 16 67% Jeremy Cash LB 16 67% David Mayo LB 16 67% Fozzy Whittaker RB 12 50% Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
