The first week of UTEP spring football is in the books and what struck coach Scotty Walden the most was how far ahead the team is in its third year in his system compared to the last two Augusts.
The two players who most impressed him are newcomer transfers, which has to be a good sign as the Miners look to rebound from last year’s 2-10 mark. As the Miners head into the second week of camp, their health is holding up as they angle toward Saturday’s scrimmage that will begin to shape the depth chart.
Here are highlights from the first week of fall camp.
Defensive lineman, running back stand out
When asked who starred in the first week of camp, Walden quickly brought up the name of transfer defensive lineman Elijah Fields, who transferred in this year from Stephen F. Austin. That’s the same conference (Southland) last year’s star defensive player, Micah Davey, transferred in from (Davey went to McNeese State).
“He’s heck on wheels. He absolutely destroyed our run game the other day and he is a warrior,” Walden said. “He’s so physical and strong. He’s kind of that silent assassin. He was making a living in the backfield this week.”
The other player he mentioned is transfer running back Tavorus Jones, an El Paso Burges High School alum who transferred in from Missouri.
“In spring I got glimpses of it, and now his consistency and how hard he’s running, finding the hole, and his ability to set people up has been really impressive.” Walden said “I’ve been super impressed with his vision. T-Man’s having a heck of a camp.“
More eligibility for some Miners
As a result of NCAA legislation and a court ruling, football players (all sports actually) who began their college career in 2023 now have a fifth year of eligibility, even if they never took a redshirt. UTEP’s compliance department is going through the roster to determine who this applies to, but the obvious person is linebacker Jayden Wilson.
The Austin High School alum is classified as a senior, but as of a few weeks ago learned he has another year. He’s well aware of this fact. When asked how it felt entering his last season, he pointed out “You’re making me older than I am.”
Quick start to camp
Walden has noticed a difference between this year and his first two in terms of how quickly the team is picking up the offense and defense.
“This is the first time since we’ve been here where we have not had to spend a ton of time on the install because everybody already knows it,” Walden said. ”We’re just fine tuning it. The past few years, we haven’t been in that position.
“Even defensively, the carryover is there. I give our coordinators a ton of credit for the organization of summer, and having reps structured in such a way where guys can retain that information. They’ve executed these plays numerous times before we ever touched Opportunity 1 (first practice).”
Walden also credited the leadership of new quarterback EJ Colson, who organized unsupervised summer workouts.
The next result is, when asked what he was happiest about after the first week, Walden touched back on this.
“I love the efficiency that both sides of the ball are playing with,” Walden said. “I don’t see a lot of sloppy football.”
Early concern: Walden wants more intensity
As for the point of emphasis moving forward, Walden wants to see his team to ramp up the intensity.
”We’ve got to attack and dominate the opportunities,” Walden said (opportunities are practices). “Right now we’re still in that mode of surviving and getting through. I do think this group is much further ahead than we’ve typically been, but we still have to get to that point where they dominate these opportunities.”
Week ahead
UTEP’s off day this week is Wednesday. It concludes the week with a Saturday morning scrimmage that is closed to the public and local reporters, though open to select donors and any high school coaches who want to attend.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP D-lineman, RB stand out in first week fall football camp
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
