The UTEP Miners have an uncommonly good defense that is the bright spot of a 2-5 season, and Micah Davey is the bright spot of the bright spot.
The senior transfer linebacker from McNeese State has 77 tackles in seven games, which ranks fourth in the NCAA and puts him on a pace for 132 tackles this season. While that’s a little off pace for an all-time top-10 tackle season at UTEP (148 in one campaign is 10th), it’s a remarkable total.
There is plenty of company on UTEP’s all-time list of defense greats in a history that dates back to 1914, including several players who became NFL All-Pros and Super Bowl winners, and another who is being inducted posthumously into the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame in two weeks.
So who are the greatest defensive players to wear a Miner uniform? Here is a Dirty Dozen of players who left their marks in the UTEP record book.
Fred Carr, linebacker, 1965-67
Considered perhaps the greatest linebacker in UTEP history, he was the fifth pick in the 1968 draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was a three-time All-Pro there in his 10-year professional career and was MVP of the 1975 Pro Bowl. At UTEP, he led the teams to Sun Bowl wins in 1965 and ’67, the last two bowl wins in program history.
Quintin Demps, safety, 2004-07
Finished his four-year UTEP career with 17 interceptions and 404 return yards, ranked first and second respectively in Miner history. He went on to play 10 years in the NFL.
He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of 2008 NFL draft. Demps was also a member of the Houston Texas, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Chicago Bears.
Thomas Howard, linebacker 2002-05
He began his career at UTEP as a walk-on (a 190-pound defensive back) and now has an annual UTEP award named after him that goes to a walk-on. He was a 240-pound linebacker by the time he graduated and was taken in the second round of the 2005 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders, at that time the highest Miner taken since Carr. He played in the NFL for eight years before passing away in an automobile crash in 2013. He will be inducted into the UTEP Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 7.
Seth Joyner, linebacker, 1982-85
Another player who began as a walk-on, he finished his UTEP career with 325 tackles. In his 13-year NFL career, most famously with the Philadelphia Eagles, he was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro. He was a winner in Super Bowl XXXIII and is in the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame.
Tyrice Knight, linebacker, 2020-23
A junior college transfer who still played four years at UTEP (including the shortened COVID 2020 season), he finished with 391 tackles and was taken in the fourth round of the 2024 draft. As a senior at UTEP he had 15 1/2 tackles for lost, sixth in program history in that stat.
The Seahawks selected Knight in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Doug Morgan, linebacker 1986-89
Another former walk-on, he left UTEP as the program’s all-time leading tackler with 523, a total that still ranks second.
Nik Needham, cornerback, 2014-18
He left as UTEP’s all-time leader in pass breakups with 33, though late in his career other teams stopped throwing his way. He signed as an undrafted free agent with Miami in 2019 and is in his seventh year in the NFL. He plays for the New York Jets.
Robert Rodriguez, linebacker, 2001-04
An all-time most popular Miner, the Montwood alum led the WAC in tackles in three of his four seasons and finished with 443 tackles, sixth all-time for a Miner. He was the WAC defensive player of the year in 2004.
Tony Tolbert, defensive end, 1986-88
In his senior year he had 11 sacks as part of an All-American campaign for the winningest team in UTEP history (10-3) and made one of the most legendary plays in UTEP history, a fourth-down goal-line stop against Air Force to win the game. He won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and was an All-Pro in 1996.
Charlie West, defensive back, 1965-67
In big moments he would play offense when needed, but his mark was as a defensive back, where he still holds all the significant interception records: 19 in his career; 11 in the 1966 season; and four in one game (against BYU in 1966). He went on to play 12 years in the NFL and holds the Minnesota Vikings record with a 98-yard punt return.
Barron Wortham, linebacker, 1990-93
Received All-American mention in 1993 despite being on a 1-10 team when he had 151 tackles. He is UTEP’s all-time leader in tackles (566) and tackles for loss (45).
Brian Young, defensive end, 1995-99
The Andress alum was the 1999 WAC Defensive Player of the Year and finished with 14 1/2 sacks in his UTEP career, sixth all-time. He played nine years in the NFL and won Super Bowl XLIV with the St. Louis Rams.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Who are UTEP’s greatest defensive players? Here are a Dirty Dozen of Miner greats
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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