 Head Football Coach Mike Santiago instructs a group of more than 70 young men that showed up for the second University of the Incarnate Word open football tryouts. Santiago is building a team from scratch and the Cardinals will play their first football game in the fall of 2009. Photo by John Albright
Contributing Writer The University of the Incarnate Word athletic department held its second open football tryout March 13 … a tryout for a team that still has not played a game, run a single practice, or even has a stadium to compete in. But for some young men, the dream of playing college football lingers in their heart and in their mind long after playing their last game for their high school. UIW and their fledgling football program is giving those young men the opportunity to see if they have what it takes to play at the next level. The Alamo Heights-based university continues to build a football program from scratch, and in February signed more than 25 players to scholarships. Head Coach Mike Santiago knows it will take more than just scholarship players to build his team and continues to recruit young men from around San Antonio to compete as walk-ons for scholarships down the road. The first open tryouts held last fall were deemed a success with more than 40 high school graduates attending. The tryouts held on the campus most recently attracted more than 70 high school seniors and high school graduates attend and compete for a spot on the UIW Cardinals football roster. Santiago wasn’t looking for a diamond in the rough, or a star player that had been overlooked by the college coaches. Santiago was realistic when he said before the tryouts began. “This process gives guys an opportunity to have a chance and find a program they are interested in,” the coach said. “It lets us see them and it lets them see us.” The field of hopefuls was a mix of high school seniors and recent graduates from the San Antonio area. One of those recent graduates on hand was Brandon Peters. Peters, a 2007 graduate of San Antonio Madison High School, was like many in attendance, and had been out of football for more than a year. But the hope to play football again was still alive as he laced up his cleats near the UIW soccer practice fields. “It’s the opportunity to play football again,” Peters said when asked why he was trying out. When he graduated last year, Peters received several offers from colleges across the country, but wanted to stay close to home. Last year at this time, San Antonio did not have a scholarship football program, but with the introduction of Division II football at UIW, Peters and others like him are flocking to the campus in hopes of getting a chance to play football once again. Coach Santiago knows it’s a numbers game and guys like Peters are in for an uphill battle.
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