UTEP Miners 2024 Football Preview

A 3-9 season in 2023 is forcing yet another reboot in the UTEP Miners football program. Out is Dana Dimel after losing seasons in five of his six in El Paso. In is Scotty Walden, who was 26-14 at FCS Austin Peay. Prior to Austin Peay, Walden was the interim head coach of Southern Miss in the 2020 COVID-19 season, going 1-3. The Miners only have seven returning starters this season, as much of UTEP’s starting lineup bolted for the transfer portal with the coaching change. Walden did bring ten transfers up from Austin Peay, which should speed the transition.

At quarterback, junior Cade McConnell (6’1” 195 lbs.) returns after finishing the 2023 season as the starter. McConnell completed 54% of his passes for 1,437 yards and six touchdowns with four interceptions. He’s not a mobile thread, netting a negative 49 yards rushing last season after subtracting sacks. Senior Kevin Hurley (6’3” 233 lbs.) only played sparingly before being injured mid-season, completing 10 of 22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns. McConnell established himself as the starter this spring and is anticipated to be the starter in 2024, though Skyler Locklear (5’11” 189 lbs.) did follow Walden from Austin Peay. Locklear played in two games for Austin Peay, completing 3 of 4 passes including a 46 yard touchdown pass.

The rest of the offense suffered massive losses to the transfer portal, losing their top three running backs (including a first-team All-Conference honoree in Deion Hankins) and top four receivers. Filling this void will be five skill players from Austin Peay, led by junior tailback Jevon Jackson (5’8” 200 lbs.) who rushed for 1,374 yards last season, earning first-team All-Conference honors. Senior receiver Trey Goodman (5’11” 175 lbs.) had 721 yards receiving for Austin Peay last season while junior Kam Thomas (5’7” 174 lbs.) had 629 yards receiving. The undersized receiving corps may depend on junior Emari White (6’0” 185 lbs.), who caught eight passes for 132 yards at UTEP.

The biggest losses for UTEP may have been upfront as the Miners need to replace all five starters, including three that were either first or second team All-Conference USA. Junior left guard Isaiah Wright (6’3” 307 lbs.) and junior right tackle Brennan Smith (6’3” 300 lbs.) were two-year starters for Austin Peay and should provide much needed experience.

It’s much the same thing on defense as UTEP only returns three regular starters after losing four players earning various All-Conference USA honors. The Miners most important returning defender is junior defensive end Maurice Westmoreland (6’2” 248 lbs.), who earned first team all-Conference USA honors last season with 7.5 sacks, three more tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries. Senior nose guard Tevita Tafuna (6’1” 277 lbs.) and senior defensive tackle Sione Tonga’uiha (6’0” 295 lbs.) have been part-time starters for the Miners and will anchor what will be an undersized defensive line for UTEP.

At linebacker, it’s much the same story as UTEP needs to replace a fourth round NFL draft pick as part of a complete rebuild of their linebacker room. Senior weakside linebacker Dorian Hopkins (6’0” 225 lbs.) transferred from Tulsa where he had 45 tackles last season. The only returner is senior nickle back Oscar Moore (6’1” 208 lbs.), who added 24 tackles last season in five starts for the Miners.

The secondary might be UTEP’s least vulnerable unit early on as they return senior safety Josiah Allen (5’10” 179 lbs.) and senior cornerback A.J. Odums (5’11” 175 lbs.). Allen is the leading returning tackler with 41 last season while Odums had 36. Senior safety Kory Chapman (5’10” 178 lbs.) was a multi-year starter at Austin Peay with 73 tackles last season.

All things considered, a matchup against Nebraska will be one of the most difficult ways for UTEP to start the Scotty Walden era. Too much inexperience, too little size make this a rough matchup for the Miners.