UTSA football coach says finger looks like it was ‘smashed by a hammer’ after motivation tactic backfires

University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) football coach Jeff Traylor hoped to motivate his team not to “eat the cheese” after back-to-back victories over Temple and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but instead he got injured in the process.

Traylor revealed during a press conference Monday that he and his staff put out more than 100 rat traps in the team’s locker room, hoping to channel the messaging of Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells.

Unfortunately for him, one of his players planted a loaded trap on his podium.

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“We passed out about 112 of them,” Traylor said.

“We unloaded all of them, but one of my smart aleck seniors loaded his back up, put it up on the podium where I speak to the kids, and I put my hand there – yeah, it looks like my pinky got smashed by a hammer.”

“It would’ve killed a lesser man, but I’m OK,” he said with a laugh.

Despite the injury, Traylor’s message was well received.

Quarterback Frank Harris overcame a pick-6 and threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns to defeat Florida Atlantic, 36-10, on Saturday.

The Roadrunners are on a three-game win streak heading into this weekend’s contest against East Carolina.

“That’s two weeks in a row that we’ve played complimentary football,” Traylor said Monday. “This is the time of year for us to start showing up.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.