FOOTBALL SUPPORT STAFF

RYAN FILO |  HEAD STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

Ryan Filo is in his first year as UTSA's head football strength & conditioning coach.

Filo comes to the Alamo City after spending seven years in various roles on LSU's strength & conditioning staff, including the last nine months as the associate director.

“Ryan Filo possesses the leadership qualities and outlook to develop the culture we envision," head coach Frank Wilson said when he announced Filo's hiring on Jan. 25. "The head strength & conditioning coach is a vital component to the success of any major college football program. At LSU, Ryan demonstrated an ability to elevate the strength, speed and toughness of our players. We needed a leader who will foster camaraderie, discipline and accountability and set the standard. We wanted to give our players at UTSA the best, and I think we’re doing that with Ryan Filo. He is a rising star in this profession.”

"I have been blessed with the opportunity to work beside Coach Wilson for the last six years," Filo said. "Coach Wilson has superior abilities for developing football players into elite athletes, as well as accomplished young men. I am honored and excited to be Coach Wilson's head football strength & conditioning coach and cannot wait to get to work. UTSA has a beautiful campus and I can’t wait to explore my new home of San Antonio.”

Filo began his LSU career as an intern in January 2009 and spent his first year working with the nationally-ranked football and baseball teams.

In 2010, Filo moved into a graduate assistant position, where he served as the head strength & conditioning coach for women's soccer while continuing to help with the football and baseball teams.

He was the head strength & conditioning coach for men's basketball during the 2011-12 season, and he also began a four-year stint as an assistant strength & conditioning coach for football in 2011. Filo was promoted to associate director of strength & conditioning for football in May 2015.

During his LSU tenure, Filo coached, designed and implemented annual training programs for six first-round NFL draft picks and 40 NFL players. He also was the internship coordinator and academic liaison for the football strength & conditioning staff.

Filo is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) and Certified Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCA). He also has a Level 1 Sports Performance Coach Certification from USA Weightlifting (USAW).

A native of Richfield, Wis., Filo was a four-year letterwinner in football and member of the dean's list at Wisconsin-La Crosse from 2005-08.

Filo earned his bachelor's degree from Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2009 and his master's degree in kinesiology from LSU in 2014.

SPENCER ROSS  |  ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

Spencer Ross is in his first year as UTSA's assistant football strength & conditioning coach.

Ross joins the Roadrunners staff after a one-year internship with the strength & conditioning program at LSU.

Prior to his time at LSU, Ross spent more than 20 years as a football coach and teacher in the state of Louisiana.

He started his prep coaching career as an assistant coach for linebackers at Edna Karr High School in his hometown of New Orleans. He helped the Cougars win their first high school state championship in 1993.

Ross was head football coach at Joseph S. Clark Preparatory High School, where he guided the Bulldogs to their first playoff appearance in more than 44 years in 1999.

He also was dean of students and a special education teacher in the Louisiana Recovery School District from 2009-12.

Ross was strength & conditioning coach at Peabody Magnet High School, a perennial basketball powerhouse in Alexandria, La., from 2012-14.

A linebacker for Southern in the early 1990s, he earned his associate's degree in criminal justice in 1991 and his bachelor's degree in sociology in 1992, both from Southern. Ross received his master's degree in education from Duplichain University in 2013.

Ross and his wife, Dr. Camacia Smith-Ross, have one son, Jacoby Spencer.

TONY JEFFERY  |  ASSISTANT ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

A former wide receiver at Texas, Tony Jeffery begins his fourth season as an assistant coach at UTSA after returning to the program from Houston on Feb. 3, 2015. He tutors the Roadrunners’ receivers.

During his one year with the Cougars as outside receivers coach in 2014, Jeffery helped guide Houston to an 8-5 record, including a 35-34 victory against Pittsburgh in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. His position group combined for 1,299 yards and seven touchdowns on 100 receptions.

In his last season with UTSA in 2013, Jeffery helped UTSA to a 7-5 overall record, including victories over a pair of bowl teams. The Roadrunners finished second in the West Division with a 6-2 mark in their first season in Conference USA. The offense averaged 25.6 points and 417.8 yards per game, while his receivers combined for 2,004 yards and six scores on 177 catches to go along with 445 yards and six TDs on the ground. Kam Jones collected honorable mention all-league honors.

UTSA posted an 8-4 overall record and a 3-3 mark in its first and only season in the Western Athletic Conference in 2012. The campaign was highlighted by historic wins against South Alabama, the program’s first road and Football Bowl Subdivision victory, and New Mexico State, its first league win. The offense averaged 31.2 points and 390.2 yards (159.2 rush/231.0 pass) per game and scored 44 touchdowns. He tutored the receivers to 1,742 yards and 13 TDs receiving and the group also racked up 225 yards on the ground. Jones collected honorable mention All-WAC accolades after the season.

Jeffery helped the Roadrunners to a 4-6 record in 2011. The offense averaged 26.6 points and 364.5 yards (144.8 rush/219.7 pass) per game and scored 31 touchdowns during their inaugural campaign. UTSA’s receivers accounted for 1,541 yards and 11 TDs, including a team-high 578 yards from Kam Jones and 419 by Brandon Freeman. The unit also posted four 100-yard games, including three by Jones.

Jeffery also oversaw the Roadrunners’ special teams during the first season. Sean Ianno made 11 field goals, including a long of 48, and all 31 of his PATs. Kenny Harrison averaged 26.8 yards per kickoff return with a long of 41, while the unit averaged 23.4 yards per return. The special teams also blocked six kicks, three on field goal attempts.
The Houston native served as a quality control coach from 2006-09 for head coach Mack Brown at Texas. During his four-year tenure, the Longhorns qualified for four consecutive bowl games and finished ranked in the top 10 three times.

In 2006, Texas won the Alamo Bowl against Iowa and finished No. 13 in both The Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Polls. A year later, the Longhorns captured the Holiday Bowl against Arizona State and ended the season at No. 10 in both polls. The Longhorns won the Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State to finish the 2008 campaign with a 12-1 record, fourth in The AP Poll and third in the Coaches Poll. In 2009, UT finished as the Bowl Championship Series runner-up after a loss to Alabama.

Jeffery was a four-year letterwinner at wide receiver for the Longhorns from 2001-04, where he caught 57 passes for 714 yards (12.5 ypc) and six touchdowns and carried 25 times for 127 yards and a score in his career. The Klein Forest High School product also was a special teams standout, as he blocked four punts, returning two for TDs, and served as the holder.

Jeffery started all 12 games as a senior in 2004, hauling in 33 passes for 437 yards — both team highs — and three TDs and rushing seven times for 47 yards and a score to help UT to a 11-1 record capped by a 38-37 Rose Bowl victory against Michigan. He had eight receptions for 91 yards and a TD as a junior and earned the Whatever It Takes (W.I.T.) Award after helping the Longhorns to a 10-3 season.

As a sophomore, Jeffery caught 11 passes for 112 yards and a score, as Texas posted an 11-2 record and a Cotton Bowl win against LSU. In 2001 as a redshirt freshman, he shared UT’s Most Improved Offensive Player Award after tallying 74 receiving yards and a TD on five catches to help the Longhorns to an 11-2 ledger and a victory over Washington in the Holiday Bowl.

Jeffery and his wife, Connie, have a son, Justus.

JACOB LaFRANE  |  DIRECTOR OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Bio Coming Soon!