Larry Kennan has been head football coach at the University of the Incarnate Word for only two months, but his steady leadership already has invigorated a program that was shaken when Mike Santiago resigned with three games left in the 2011 season.
The Cardinals went 0-3 under interim coach Todd Ivicic, the team's defensive coordinator under Santiago, finishing 2-8 overall and 2-6 in the Lone Star Conference.
Now comes Kennan, who won a Super Bowl ring as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1983, but hasn't coached with a team since 1997. He helped establish the NFL Coaches Association in 1998 and was the NFLCA's executive director from 1999 until he resigned in December to take the UIW job.
Meeting with reporters on signing day last week, Kennan was upbeat as he talked about the Cards' future and his return to full-time coaching after a 14-year layoff.
"I'm one of the most optimistic guys you've ever known," Kennan, 67, said. "And this recruiting class exceeded my expectations. I think we hit it real good toward the end. We got two or three guys that I wasn't sure we were going to get."
Fourteen of the 28 players UIW signed are from the San Antonio area, including prolific Devine running back Joseph Sadler, who rushed for 3,887 yards and set a single-season state record with 451 points.
"I think that maybe 18 to 20 guys in this class will contribute this year," Kennan said. "Not because we have bad players, but because this is an extraordinary class. They're mature guys. We went out and said, 'We need to get guys who can contribute immediately.' We're not looking for guys down the road.
"There's going to be a sign in the locker room pretty quick that says 'The future is now.' That's what it is. We're not going to build for the future. We owe it the guys who are seniors coming up, the first class to ever commit, to be the best we can be this coming season."
Kennan lauds Sadler's toughness
Kennan said the Cards focused their recruiting on shoring up their offensive line and adding depth at running back. Trent Rios, the team's leading rusher the past three seasons and a member of UIW's first recruiting class, will be a senior this year.
"Running back was maybe a little bit of a concern because if we lose Trent, we don't have anybody behind him that's played a lot. Sadler solves that issue for us."
Kennan said Sadler, 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds could be a "real good" college running back.
"People say he's little," Kennan said. "He's not little, he's just short. He carried the ball in three consecutive games last year 50, 51 and 41 times. Now he wasn't getting hit by guys we're going to play against, but he's tough. He's quick. He's aggressive. He's fine.
"He'll do very well for us. He's got the right attitude. It was a real good thing for us when he decided to come here."
UIW has gone 10-21 in its first three seasons, finishing 5-5 in 2009 and 3-8 in 2010 and 2-8 last year. The Cards have competed in Division II the past two seasons, but the school's board of trustees has approved school president Louis Agnese's plan to move to Division I in all sports in the next few years.
The football team would play in the Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA. UIW will play in the LSC for one more year as it makes the transition to Division I. The Cards already have solicited the Southland Conference for membership.
Kennan was head coach at Lamar
Kennan said that UIW's impending move to Division I helped the Cards attract more recruits than they have in the past.
"A couple of things made a difference," Kennan said. "One, you sign a coach with a Super Bowl ring you can sell that for a while. And we sold the fact that we're going to become Division I at some point. All that helps. We signed three or four players who a month ago didn't even know we existed."
Kennan was offensive coordinator at Nevada Las Vegas and SMU before becoming head coach at Lamar in 1979, where Santiago was on his staff. After three seasons with the Cards, Kennan started his pro career with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1982.
Kennan won a Super Bowl ring as the Raiders' quarterbacks coach in 1983, and coached with five other NFL teams before leaving coaching after the 1997 season. He was also head coach of the London Monarchs in 1991, leading the team to the World League of American Football championship.
So has the transition from desk job to full-time coaching gone so far?
"It's been real exciting for me," Kennan said. "I've loved every second of it. I like being around young people. I like meeting their families. I like the whole process. I like selling us. What we're doing is selling ourselves to them and that's where the coaches did a fabulous job.
"Secondly, we're selling a fabulous school, and what most people playing us don't have is a city like San Antonio to recruit to. They're all nervous about us because as we start getting better and more people know about us, we're going to attract more people."
2012 Incarnate Word Football Signing Class
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (School)
Trent Brittain QB 6-2 175 Eastland (Eastland)
Jake Cardenas QB 6-3 185 San Antonio (Harlandale)
Cyril Clark TE 6-2 210 Alief (Taylor)
Josh Esukpa DE 6-1 220 Mansfield (Timberview)
Padyn Giebler LB 6-0 210 Stephenville (Stephenville)
Virjillio Griggs WR 5-10 175 San Antonio (Warren)
Deuce Haskin LB 6-1 205 Houston (Bellaire)
Bo Hayse S 5-8 170 Keller (Fossil Ridge)
Johnny Huckobey OL 6-0 290 Schertz (Clemens)
Trevor Mason OL 6-7 300 San Antonio (Taft)
Riley Matthews OL 6-3 275 Dilley (Dilley)
Matt McCarthy OL 6-2 265 San Antonio (Reagan)
Cohner Mokry QB-P 6-2 185 San Antonio (Johnson)
Will Mora OL 6-4 295 San Antonio (Brennan)
Tim Ochola CB 5-10 165 Arlington (Arlington)
Jamaal Ojo LB 5-11 220 Houston (Westbury)
Julian Perez OL 6-5 260 Houston (Cypress Creek)
Aaron Potter CB 5-8 150 Spring Branch (Smithson Valley)
Gary Reed CB 5-10 170 San Antonio (Sam Houston)
Joseph Sadler RB 5-9 175 Devine (Devine)
Brandon Tanksley CB 6-2 185 Katy (Morton Ranch)
Blake Thomas TE 6-4 210 Fort Worth (Trimble Tech)
Nathan Thompson OL 6-4 270 San Antonio (MacArthur)
Cole Wick TE-DE 6-6 220 Hallettsville (Sacred Heart)
Jake Wilcox K 6-0 170 San Antonio (Reagan)
Terrell Williams CB 5-11 165 Euless (Trinity)
Taylor Woods QB 6-3 200 Fort Bend (Austin)
Brandon Yates WR 6-3 190 San Antonio (Clark)
