Jeff Traylor gets finger smashed after setting rat traps in UTSA locker room

UTSA is in its first year in the AAC and after a slow start to the season, the Roadrunners are on pace to be one of the conference’s top teams. Wanting to make sure the team stayed motivated, head coach Jeff Traylor decided he was going to set up a metaphor in the locker room.

Traylor had rat traps with cheese placed in the locker of every player. It was supposed to mean, don’t fall into the trap and eat the cheese. However, when one player handed a trap to Traylor it went up and smashed one of his fingers.

“We passed out about 112 of them,” Jeff Traylor said. “We unloaded all of them, but one of my smart aleck seniors loaded his back up and put it on the podium where I speak to the kids and I put my hand there.”

That is, of course, when the trap went off and smashed Traylor’s finger. Luckily, he’s able to have a sense of humor about the entire situation.

“It looks like my pinky got smashed by a hammer,” Jeff Traylor said. “It woulda killed a lesser man, but I’m okay. I appreciate you asking.”

At the end of the day, Jeff Traylor is also probably thankful that the trap smashed his finger and not one of his player’s fingers. The story would go from a funny college football story to an incredibly frustrating one if, for instance, star quarterback Frank Harris missed time due to a rat trap related injury. 

However, as it stands now, this is a classic and hilarious story of a college football coach just looking for an edge and trying to find a way to motivate their players. 

UTSA is 4-3 on the season and 3-0 in AAC play. They’re one of three unbeaten teams left in the American and are looking to potentially play in the conference championship game.

Jeff Traylor shared his thoughts on NIL

NIL has been one of college football’s hot button issues and as Jeff Traylor explained, he’s all for it but does have concerns about the process.

“First I want to say that I am for NIL. You know, a lot of times when coaches make comments like that, it gets, you know, a snippet taken out of that and it paints a picture that I’m not for players. I think it’s a great rule, if we’ll just do what the rule is intended for. Let the young man use his name, his image and his likeness to benefit. Frank Harris deserves to make money. Zakhari Franklin, those kids have done a lot for that university. They deserve to make money. I’m for that, right?” Traylor said.

“What’s happening, man, is the third parties getting involved. It’s just common sense. You’ve got agents talking to your kids, communicate with another school — can’t prove any of this — and they’re charging those kids a percentage and they’re getting paid. It’s not good for those kids when you’re in the middle of the season and, you know, that can get cloudy for a young man. I feel for them. And all of those kids that are walking into my office, they’re good kids. They’re being put in a bad position and I want them to get paid.”