Photo by: Elyse Appelblatt / UAC
ACU Notes & Quotes from 2026 UAC Football Kickoff
7/23/2026 9:47:00 AM | Football
ACU head football coach Keith Patterson and redshirt seniors Luke Roaten and Kortlin Rausaw represented the Wildcats at the UAC Football Kickoff on Tuesday in Arlington.
Roaten, Rausaw and six of their teammates were voted to the Preseason All-UAC Team while ACU was picked first, tied with Tarleton State, in the preseason coaches poll.
Below are notes and quotes from the media day event.
Football season tickets are on sale now with limited premium seating options still available! Get your tickets now for all 6 games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
Patterson on the quarterback competition…
It takes a quarterback to win, obviously. We have five of them that I feel really good about. Marcos Davila from Nebraska is big with a strong arm and has all the tools. Tucker Parks from Western Kentucky, John David Black from East Carolina – all these guys are Texas kids who went off and have come home. Kanon Gibson, who threw for, I think, 3,000 yards or something like that at UT Permian Basin last year. He's another Texas kid that we have on our roster. And then Joe Castles from Memorial High School in Wichita Falls. He's 6'7" with tremendous arm talent. It's going to be a very interesting month of August for the quarterback room.
Patterson on having offensive coordinator Graham Harrell for a second season…
I really like what he's done with our offense. It plays a little bit more physical style. We're big up front offensively, we've got a really, really strong tight end room this year. We got great depth at running back. We probably have seven running backs that you can put in a game and have no drop off. I think you'll see a tremendous improvement offensively from a year ago.
Luke Roaten on playing next to his twin brother Landon Roaten on the offensive line…
We also hold each other accountable on the field no matter what. Having him by my side when things were rough, like at Washington State and I got to my first pass set in college. So having him by my side keeps me up [mentally], and I keep him up. It's been nothing short of amazing.
Roaten on having four of five starting offensive linemen back in 2026…
It's expected of us that we have to be the best no matter what. We will not be denied up front, that's for sure. We have a ton of depth now as well, which is a big part. [Center] Colter Lynch is leading us, and there's no on else I'd rather lead us than him.
Patterson on replacing multiple all-conference linebackers…
The young man that Will Shaffer replaced [in 2024] is back and he was the leading tackler on our football team three years ago – Darius Moore. We look for great leadership from him. He's a big 245-pound linebacker, he moves extremely well and is very athletic. Gabe Brown from Oklahoma State is another older linebacker that we're leaning on for leadership with that group. We're very talented at, just not as experienced as what we've had the last couple of years. Bu we really like where we are from an athletic standpoint. I think it's going to be a position that is going to be a strong point for our defense.
Rausaw on the benefits from being a student assistant coach during the 2024 season while injured at North Texas…
I learned a lot about formation adjustments, formation tendencies and just being able to pick up on just little things that might be minute to the casual fan. As I got to sit back and dial back everything, watch film, be in the press box and stuff like that, it really helped me over time. And I also got better learning different tactics on how to lead men, and I feel like that helped me as well.
Roaten, Rausaw and six of their teammates were voted to the Preseason All-UAC Team while ACU was picked first, tied with Tarleton State, in the preseason coaches poll.
Below are notes and quotes from the media day event.
- Patterson expects 100 players to report for fall camp, which is up from 94 at the start of camp in 2025.
- The Wildcats currently have 55 newcomers on the roster compared to 43 last season.
- ACU will have a new quarterback with Stone Earle exhausting his NCAA eligibility. It will be the first time the Cats have an opening day starting QB other than Earle and Maverick McIvor since 2020. Earle won the starting job in 2021, then transferred and returned to ACU for the 2025 season. McIvor started nearly every game from 2022-24.
- For the season opener at Lamar on Aug. 29, ACU will bus the 7-hour drive to Beaumont but will then fly charter back to Abilene after the game to give players and coaches better rest and more preparation time for their next game at Texas Tech on Sept. 5.
- Roaten and Rausaw both remarked on how the team has been running more during summer workouts under Rece Stafford, a former Wildcat tight end from 2018-23 who was promoted to director of football strength of conditioning.
- Roaten and Rausaw also have noticed the increase in depth on the offensive and defensive lines in both quantity and quality of players, something which will be a big advantage in November and hopefully beyond during a run in the FCS playoffs.
- ACU will begin the season on a 10-game home winning streak, the third-longest in program history. To break the school record of 11 straight home victories, which has been done twice (1973-74, and 1977-79), the Wildcats will have to defeat two teams who will likely start the season ranked in the Top 25 in Stephen F. Austin and Mercer. Both the Lumberjacks and Bears received top 8 seeds and first-round byes in last year's playoffs.
Football season tickets are on sale now with limited premium seating options still available! Get your tickets now for all 6 games at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
Patterson on the quarterback competition…
It takes a quarterback to win, obviously. We have five of them that I feel really good about. Marcos Davila from Nebraska is big with a strong arm and has all the tools. Tucker Parks from Western Kentucky, John David Black from East Carolina – all these guys are Texas kids who went off and have come home. Kanon Gibson, who threw for, I think, 3,000 yards or something like that at UT Permian Basin last year. He's another Texas kid that we have on our roster. And then Joe Castles from Memorial High School in Wichita Falls. He's 6'7" with tremendous arm talent. It's going to be a very interesting month of August for the quarterback room.
Patterson on having offensive coordinator Graham Harrell for a second season…
I really like what he's done with our offense. It plays a little bit more physical style. We're big up front offensively, we've got a really, really strong tight end room this year. We got great depth at running back. We probably have seven running backs that you can put in a game and have no drop off. I think you'll see a tremendous improvement offensively from a year ago.
Luke Roaten on playing next to his twin brother Landon Roaten on the offensive line…
We also hold each other accountable on the field no matter what. Having him by my side when things were rough, like at Washington State and I got to my first pass set in college. So having him by my side keeps me up [mentally], and I keep him up. It's been nothing short of amazing.
Roaten on having four of five starting offensive linemen back in 2026…
It's expected of us that we have to be the best no matter what. We will not be denied up front, that's for sure. We have a ton of depth now as well, which is a big part. [Center] Colter Lynch is leading us, and there's no on else I'd rather lead us than him.
Patterson on replacing multiple all-conference linebackers…
The young man that Will Shaffer replaced [in 2024] is back and he was the leading tackler on our football team three years ago – Darius Moore. We look for great leadership from him. He's a big 245-pound linebacker, he moves extremely well and is very athletic. Gabe Brown from Oklahoma State is another older linebacker that we're leaning on for leadership with that group. We're very talented at, just not as experienced as what we've had the last couple of years. Bu we really like where we are from an athletic standpoint. I think it's going to be a position that is going to be a strong point for our defense.
Rausaw on the benefits from being a student assistant coach during the 2024 season while injured at North Texas…
I learned a lot about formation adjustments, formation tendencies and just being able to pick up on just little things that might be minute to the casual fan. As I got to sit back and dial back everything, watch film, be in the press box and stuff like that, it really helped me over time. And I also got better learning different tactics on how to lead men, and I feel like that helped me as well.
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