UTEP football coach Scotty Walden found a lot to like from the first scrimmage of fall, from the back-and-forth battle from the offense and defense, to the play of both lines, to the explosiveness led by quarterback EJ Colson.
When asked who stood out in the Saturday, Aug. 15, scrimmage that was open to UTEP donors but closed to the media, Walden mentioned a number of likely names, but interestingly, he led with freshmen, including the one who ended the scrimmage with an interception.
Freshmen Safety “Tylen Hockett, we call him Iceman, iced the game right there,” Walden said, before going on to name drop freshman safety Kane White-Tinsley.
Later in his post-scrimmage comments, Walden began a positive discourse on the defensive line by mentioning freshmen Dycin Davis, Justin Roberts, Truth Holmes, Shaun (Bubba) McDowell, Caynen James and DAdrian Tinney-Anderson − every true freshman defensive lineman on the roster.
Those names aren’t likely to feature against Oklahoma when UTEP opens against them Sept. 4, but it did seem to infuse the team with some excitement as the preparation hits its midpoint.
EJ Colson makes his mark
Walden also shouted out a number of names UTEP fans are more likely to see in three weeks against Oklahoma, which included his star quarterback. In terms of what matters for the OU game, that may be the biggest development.
“EJ Colson had a heck of a day,” said Walden, who also praised the play of backup Raymond Moore. Colson “was extremely efficient with the football. And the biggest thing with him, he was on time. His footwork was matching up with his progressions. We saw a glimpse of him putting it all together today. I thought he played a really complete game today.”
Colson certainly enjoyed it.
“Today was very fun,” he said. “On both sides of the football, we executed at a high level. It was good to get out there in a game-feeling situation and have fun.”
Receivers, led by Nik Henry, make plays
When asked which receivers he teamed up with, Colson mentioned sophomore Nik Henry, who caught two touchdown passes, Marcus Torres, Carver Cheeks and Jeremiah Nash. Walden added Cash Cheeks. Kam Thomas, who was limited in the scrimmage but did play a bit, raved about Colson’s leadership, then gave his assessment of the receivers.
“Nik Henry is one of our juice guys; he showed out,” Thomas said. “He’s the juice in the receiver room. He’s that person; if I don’t have it, he’s definitely going to be the one to do it.”
Defensive line racks up sacks
While Walden said the success in the scrimmage started with the offensive line, he later hinted that the defensive line had some dominant moments.
“I don’t know how many sacks they had today and I don’t know if I want to know,” Walden said. “They had a lot, and we’re getting home without having to blitz. To me, that’s a sign of a really good D-line. When you don’t, as a play caller, have to dial up six or seven-man pressures to get home to the quarterback, that makes you a more lethal defense.”
Other than the freshmen, the two linemen Walden mentioned were Elijah Fields and Ashton Coker.
Offensive line has moments
On the offensive line, Walden started with guard Brian “Bam” Williams and also made a point of saying there were no fumbles.
“On offense, I thought it all started up front,” Walden said. “While we may not have been as dominant as we wanted to be today, I saw us working in unison, in the right call, (playing) efficient football. We didn’t have any (fumbles) today, we played clean football. We didn’t put the ball on the ground. We didn’t put ourselves in bad situations. …
“Brian Williams really stepped into a leadership role. They’re playing extremely hard and physical. I love the physicality of that group. I love the work ethic of that group. It’s just cleaning up the minor details.”
UTEP is ahead of where it was a year ago
Walden did say the scrimmage was reasonably clean as far as mental errors, missed assignments and turnovers go and attributes that to the program being in its third fall camp.
“We’re much further ahead than years past scrimmage one than we’ve ever been, so that’s really good,” Walden said. “It shows the retention of information. We expect that retention of information to come out in those dire moments and I saw some of that today.
“There were at times we had lapses, but it was a great back and forth, that’s something I really was pleased with. This was the most balanced battle we’ve had by far. Just when you thought the Orange Swarm (defense) was gonna take it over, the Blue Blaze took it back.”
That added up to a day that left UTEP happy as it angles toward the Sept. 4 Oklahoma opener on.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP scrimmage reveals progress, but lapses linger before Oklahoma
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
