The 2021 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team represented the

University of the Incarnate Word The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is a private, Catholic university with its main campus in San Antonio and Alamo Heights, Texas. Founded in 1881 by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, the university's main campus is located o ...

(UIW) in the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season as a member of the

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it pa ...

. The Cardinals played their home games at

Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium is a stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is the home field for the men's and women's soccer, track and field, and American football teams of the University of the Incarnate Word. The stadium currently seats 6,000 people ...

in San Antonio, Texas. They were led by fourth-year head coach Eric Morris. On November 12, 2021, Incarnate Word announced that this will be the last season for the team in the Southland and will then join the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

on July 1, 2022. However, UIW announced they would remain in the Southland in late June and would not join the WAC.

Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2020 season with a 3–3 record in regular and conference play (3rd in the Southland) during the shortened season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On August 13, 2020, Incarnate Word announced it was is postponing all competition for the Fall 2020 and instead opted for a Spring 2021 season, which was soon followed suit with majority of FCS deciding to play in the spring as well. Two of the Cardinals' three wins were against FCS ranked teams. Incarnate Word did not qualify for postseason tournament play for the second year in a row. At the conclusion of the season, Cardinals' starting quarterback Cameron Ward received the highly coveted STATS Perform FCS Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman player in the FCS level.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll in July 2021. The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the conference. In addition, fifteen Cardinals were chosen to the Preseason All-Southland Team.

Preseason All–Southland Teams

Offense ''1st Team'' *Kevin Brown – Running Back, SR *Robert Ferrel – Wide Receiver, SR ''2nd Team'' * Cameron Ward – Quarterback, SO *Caleb Johnson – Offensive Lineman, SR *Nash Jones – Offensive Lineman, SO *Reid Francis – Offensive Lineman, RS-FR *Carson Mohr – Kicker, JR Defense ''1st Team'' *Cameron Preston – Defensive Lineman, SR *Kelechi Anyalebechi – Linebacker, SR *Ce'Cori Tolds – Kick Returner, SR *Robert Ferrel – Punt Returner, SR ''2nd Team'' *Blaine Hoover – Defensive Lineman, RS-SR *Isaiah Paul – Linebacker, RS-SO *Shawn Holton – Defensive Back, JR *Elliott Davison – Defensive Back, SO

Schedule

Personnel

Coaching staff

''Source:''

Roster

''Source:''

Depth chart

Postseason honors

The following Cardinals received postseason honors for the 2021 season: Associated Press FCS All-American Second–Team
WR Taylor Grimes – Junior Associated Press FCS All-American Third–Team
LB Kelechi Anyalebechi – Senior Stats Perform FCS All-American Second–Team
QB Cameron Ward – Sophomore
WR Taylor Grimes – Junior Stats Perform FCS All-American Third–Team
LB Kelechi Anyalebechi – Senior HERO Sports FCS All-American Second–Team
WR Taylor Grimes – Junior Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year
QB Cameron Ward – Sophomore Southland Conference Coach of the Year
Eric Morris All–Southland Conference First–Team
RB Kevin Brown – Graduate Senior
WR Taylor Grimes – Junior
OL Nash Jones – Sophomore
DL Cameron Preston – Senior
LB Kelechi Anyalebechi – Senior
DB Kaleb Culp – Sophomore
PR Robert Ferrel – Senior

All–Southland Conference Second–Team
QB Cameron Ward – Sophomore
WR Robert Ferrel – Senior
P Keven Nguyen – Senior
DL Brandon Bowen – Graduate Senior
LB Isaiah Paul – Sophomore
DB Rashon Davis – Graduate Senior

All–Southland Conference Third–Team
RB Marcus Cooper – Graduate Senior
WR Darion Chafin – Senior
OL Reid Francis – Junior
OL Caleb Johnson – Senior
OL Dawson Kier – Senior
DL Blaine Hoover – Senior
DB Elliott Davison – Sophomore
DB Moses Reynolds – Senior
DB Brandon Richard – Junior

Game summaries

@ Youngstown State

Prairie View A&M

@ Texas State

McNeese State

@ Northwestern State

Nicholls

@ McNeese State

Houston Baptist

No. 6 Southeastern Louisiana

@ Nicholls

@ Houston Baptist

FCS Playoffs

Stephen F. Austin–First Round

@ Sam Houston–Second Round

Rankings

References

{{2021 NCAA Division I FCS playoff navbox Incarnate Word Cardinals football seasons Incarnate Word Southland Conference football champion seasons 2021 NCAA Division I FCS playoff participants

Incarnate Word Cardinals football The Incarnate Word Cardinals football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) located in San Antonio, Texas. The program began in 2009 and originally competed in NCAA Division II as memb ...