UTSA tight end Oscar Cardenas continues to build on highlight moments

Aug. 7, 2023
Updated: Aug. 7, 2023 3:47 p.m.
When the ball is snapped, UTSA tight end Oscar Cardenas isn’t thinking about highlight reels or program-altering plays.
Still, he understands that moments he’s sparked the past two years hold a special place in Roadrunners history. Cardenas pulled up the clips to show an unfamiliar friend just this week.
Against North Texas in last season's fifth game, he converted a leaping, one-handed grab down the middle for a 33-yard gain with less than 30 seconds to play, setting up UTSA’s game-winning touchdown on the next snap.
In 2021, Cardenas hauled in the pass that pushed the Roadrunners to their first conference championship game, keeping UTSA a perfect 11-0 when he secured a tipped ball for a 1-yard score with 3 seconds remaining in a win against UAB.
As UTSA works through preseason practices ahead of Cardenas’ fifth year in the program, he remains more focused on putting together another strong season than reliving his past glory.
New Mexico State is terminating the four-game series against UTSA that was set to begin with next year’s season opener, per a June letter to UTSA released through a public records request.
With New Mexico State joining Conference USA this season, the program is unable to maintain future matchups it lined up as an independent. New Mexico State will pay UTSA a one-time cancellation fee of $500,000 to terminate the original agreement dated Sept. 1, 2020.
UTSA was slated to host games Aug. 31, 2024, and Oct. 3, 2026, traveling to New Mexico State on Sept. 20, 2025, and Sept. 22, 2029.
“Yeah, I had this amazing catch last year, but what can I do this year?” Cardenas said. “How many pancakes can I get this year? How many catches with no drops? Stuff like that is going to be critical this year.”
Cardenas credits his understanding of the offense for his improved productivity. He set new career highs with 31 catches for 438 yards last season, following his 16 receptions for 233 yards in 2021 and three grabs for 46 yards in 2020.
Long regarded as a blocking specialist at 6-foot-4 and 285 pounds, Cardenas trained with UTSA performance coach Esteban Doria through the summer to trim two-tenths of a second off his 40-yard dash time, getting down to 4.95 seconds, he said.
“This summer was a critical time for me to get faster,” Cardenas said, “and every day counted.”
He may also benefit from increased opportunity, with new offensive coordinator Justin Burke stepping into the role after serving as UTSA’s tight ends coach last season.
“I’m in favor of that, obviously,” Cardenas said. “I want the ball. We all want the ball. He’s a great person, a very confident and smart man, and we love him. He’s a great fit for that position.”
Coach Jeff Traylor, who took his first college job as the tight ends coach at Texas in 2015, said UTSA’s staff since his initial days on campus has been filled with assistants who have focused on tight end.
Perhaps as a result, the Roadrunners devote more scholarships to the position than many other programs, Traylor said, valuing the “multiplicity” they bring to an offense because of their versatility as both receivers and run blockers.
UTSA’s group of tight ends is “as good as anybody’s around,” Traylor said. Cardenas said freshmen Devin Scura and Patrick Overmyer are further along in learning the offense than he once was as a freshman, while second-year players Camron Cooper and Houston Thomas continue to develop physically.
Junior Dan Dishman projects as the No. 2 option at the position, and Cardenas said he works with the rest of the room on “trying to put little words in their head” to get them up to speed.
“We’re going to be some dudes,” Cardenas said.
Cardenas said he “can’t even believe” he’s going through UTSA’s fall camp for a fifth time after enrolling in the program out of Brandeis in 2019. He still uses the few weeks of buildup to the season to focus on the details of routes and blocking assignments, he said, arranging additional time with quarterbacks for a few repetitions of certain patterns.
Traylor describes Cardenas as “calm in the chaos,” boasting strong body control and soft hands while also being “just a good human being.”
“He’s a kid who could’ve gone anywhere in the SEC and I think started at tight end,” Traylor said. “Never walked into my office one time and asked for anything. Very loved in the community. Everywhere I go, everybody knows Oscar.”
Cardenas is one of 16 returners who started at least half of last season’s run to a second straight Conference USA championship.
Even with the jump in competition as UTSA moves to the AAC, Cardenas feels the Roadrunners have the potential to continue ascending. The team will be tested early, facing Houston, Texas State, Army and Tennessee during the nonconference season.
“We can make it to the national championship, without a doubt,” Cardenas said. “Especially in this conference, nobody is standing in our way. Tennessee can give us a good run for our money, but they need to know that we can do what we can do. The first thing is we have Houston, so we’re going to take it game by game, and go from there.”