As the 2025 FCS offseason marches on, HERO Sports will look at five questions for the 2024 quarterfinalists.
Next up is UIW.
UIW finished 11-3 last year, losing 55-14 at South Dakota State in the quarterfinals. Here are five questions for the Cardinals entering 2025.
Can UIW Step Into Tier 1?
UIW has been looked at as a southern FCS team that can step up and be a contender in the top-heavy subdivision dominated by the Dakotas and Montana.
A football program that is barely over 15 years old and has been in the FCS since only 2013, UIW is still building. It doesn’t have decades of football fans or alum or tradition to use as building blocks. However, it has emerged as one of the better FCS programs in the 2020s. The Cardinals finished 10-3 in 2021, nearly knocking off defending national champs Sam Houston in the second round. A 12-2 season in 2022 ended in a near semifinal win at NDSU. UIW went 9-2 in 2023 but missed the playoffs. And last year, UIW finished 11-3 and lost decisively at SDSU in the quarterfinals.
There is a lot of turnover on 2024 quarterfinal rosters. UIW’s roster, though, has a good amount coming back.
The Cardinals return 15 offensive and defensive starters from their final game. The next most are 12 returning starters for NDSU and Mercer.
UIW’s 2022 team was certainly good enough to play for an FCS national championship. With its returning talent and the question marks for many of the other quarterfinal teams, can UIW get back to that Tier 1 status?
Answers to the questions below will help determine that.
Who Is The Next QB?
UIW’s run of quarterbacks in the 2020s has been remarkable, from Cam Ward to Lindsey Scott Jr. to Zach Calzada.
With Calzada transferring to Kentucky this offseason, the question is who’s next?
It seems it is Richard Torres’ job to lose. The 6-foot-4 and 225-pounder will be a redshirt junior this fall. A San Antonio native, Torres was a three-star high school recruit who began his college career at Nebraska before transferring to UIW in 2023.
Torres played some big minutes in 2023, stepping in for an injured Calzada for a couple of games. He went 11/18 for 161 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions at McNeese. The next week at Lamar, Torres finished 24/37 for 307 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. Torres didn’t see as much action last season, attempting just 10 passes, as Calzada had a strong and healthy season.
UIW felt confident it was going to sign QB Gevani McCoy this offseason, the former Idaho standout who was at Oregon State in 2024. But Texas State ended up beating UIW out with a better deal.
The Cardinals still made a splash QB addition via the portal. Weber State starting quarterback Richie Munoz committed to UIW. Last season for the Wildcats, he threw for 2,568 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Munoz brings valuable experience and playmaking abilities to battle Torres for the starting job.
And the starting QB will have plenty of talent to work with.
How Do The Transfers Gel?
UIW will have a wealth of talent, both in returners and via the transfer portal.
The Cardinals may have the best wide receiver group in the FCS. Both 1,000-yard receivers Jalen Walthall and Roy Alexander are back, as is 500-yard receiver Josh Lorick. UIW added Fresno State WR Chedon James, who was a 2023 FCS All-American at Idaho State with 1,045 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
UIW’s top two rushers are back: Dekalon Taylor (909 yards) and Lontrell Turner (562 yards). It also added RB Jaylon Spears from Nicholls, who was the 2023 Southland Conference Player of the Year after totaling 1,286 all-purpose yards, including 709 rushing and 256 receiving.
Defensively, UIW brings back 6/11 of its top tacklers, including standouts LB Dune Smith, LB Declan Williams, DL John Mathis, and DL Devin Grant.
UIW also landed some impact players via the portal. HCU linebacker Braden Hay had 86 tackles in 2024, Nicholls DB Tyler Morton was a 2023 All-American, and Wofford LB David Powers had 67 tackles in 2024 and was an All-SoCon selection in 2023 with 102 tackles.
How the transfers gel with the returners will be key for UIW to have its locker room talent translate to on-field success.
Can The Trenches Improve?
UIW can have all the returning talent and transfer portal talent at quarterback and running back and wide receiver and linebacker and in the secondary.
None of it matters on a national FCS scale if UIW can’t get better on the offensive and defensive lines.
The bar to have a national-championship level offensive line is quite literally to at least have two future pros up front. And if your defensive line doesn’t have the proper physicality and depth, it doesn’t matter how many points you can score in September and October, you will get physically overwhelmed in December by a legit top-tier team.
If schools want to get more serious about winning an FCS championship, they need to spend more scholarship dollars on defensive line depth and do a better job of evaluating and developing offensive line talent. But for teams surrounded by FBS schools, finding that hidden gem o-line high school recruit is tougher to do compared to the more rural states.
UIW returns solid experience on the lines in 2025, bringing back three of its top five offensive linemen: Nolan Hay, Traveon Newsome, and Caleb Flores. The d-line returns 4/6 players who played 300 or more snaps last season: Devin Grant, John Mathis, Terrell Elliott, and Myron Warren.
Will The More Challenging Schedule Be Beneficial?
As most FCS fans know, a key part of how far a team makes it in the 24-team playoff bracket is how they get set up as a seed and the matchups. The 2 vs. 3 seed can be the difference between reaching the national championship game or not. The 8 vs. 9 seed can be the difference between reaching the quarterfinals or not. Some Top 4 seeds have much easier quarterfinal draws than others.
UIW missed the 2023 FCS playoffs at 9-2 due to a weaker strength of schedule and lack of quality wins.
The Cardinals improved their non-conference scheduling last year, playing at No. 1 SDSU and at then-No. 8 Southern Illinois. They also hosted Northern Arizona, who reached the playoffs.
This year’s non-conference is solid again. UIW plays FBS UTSA and two 2024 playoff teams Northern Arizona and Abilene Christian. It also hosts Eastern Washington, who is competitive despite taking a step back in recent years.
It’s a nice non-conference and an opportunity to build a good playoff resume.
How far can UIW go in 2025? A lot of that has to do with where it gets seeded, and a lot of that will have to do with how it gets through the non-conference and the Southland slate.
The non-conference could result in a couple of ranked FCS wins and potentially even an FBS win, setting the table for a Top 4 seed and semifinal run. It could also result in three losses if things don’t go as well, and then UIW is fighting for a bubble spot if it doesn’t win the Southland’s AQ.
