C-USA Football Preview Recap

#14 Charlotte 49ers
#13 Rice Owls

Record: 0-12

Losses: Oklahoma, Rice, Arizona, New Mexico State, Army, WKU, Southern Miss., UTSA, MTSU, North Texas, Louisiana Tech, UAB

If success were a chocolate chip cookie, UTEP has the occasional chocolate chip morsel. Since 2000, UTEP has posted 4 winning seasons; only two of those four winning seasons were consecutive.

UTEP alumnus Sean Kugler joined the Miners in 2013. After going 2-10 Kugler's first season, the Miners went 7-6 in 2014. There seemed to be hope. However, 2014 would be their peak; from 2015-17, UTEP went 9-20 under Kugler's direction. The Miners returned previous head coach Mike Price to serve as interim after Kugler left the program on October 1, 2017.

2017 was a disaster beyond a 0-12 record. Offensive coordinator Brent Pease was fired after a 0-3 start. Two weeks later, Kugler resigned. By the end of the season, the Miners ranked last nationally in points scored and yards gained.

A fresh start is what the Miners needed, and a fresh start is what they got.

On December 6, 2017, the Miners hired Kansas State's Dana Dimel. The K-State alumnus was with the Wildcats from 1987-1996 and 2009-17. His most recent role(s) with K-State include offensive coordinator, running back, and tight ends coach.

Dimel is not exactly a glamorous, flashy hire. From 2009-17, Kansas State ranked an average of #74 in total offensive yards, #79 in yards per game, #40 in total points, and #40 in points per game. Regardless, it is an interesting hire that puts the Miners in a better position, for now.

Quarterback

In 2017, Miner quarterbacks threw for a combined 1,619 yards, 45.5% completion rate, 4.31 yards per pass, 7 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

Dimel acquired NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year Kai Locksley (Iowa Western) to help the struggling position group. As of the spring game, Ryan Metz seems to be QB1. Metz has been with the Miners since 2015, with his most productive season in 2016 (1,375 yards, 64.7% completion rate, 6.84 yards per pass, 14 touchdowns, 4 interceptions). A shoulder injury plagued Metz in 2017. Overall, Metz has shown flashes of definite potential, especially under better circumstances. There was not much Metz could do to save the Miners last year.

Bottom Line: Although the quarterbacks need a lot of work, Dimel is not without his options. The Miners will be replacing Zack Greenlee at signal caller, but his departure is not one that greatly impacts the 2018 campaign.

Running Backs

The Miners run game was dismal in 2017: ranking #128 (out of 130) in total rushing yards, #119 in yards per rush attempt, #128 in rushing touchdowns, and #127 in rushing yards per game.

Joshua Fields and Quardraiz Wadley, both, return in 2018. As a true freshman, Fields led the team in rushing yards (362), attempts (89), and rushing touchdowns (tie, 2). He carried a lot for a freshman and enters 2018 experienced and matured. Wadley ran for 277 yards, 4.8 yards per rush attempt, and 1 touchdown.

Joining Fields and Wadley is linebacker turned running back, Treyvon Hughes and Dimel's son and Kansas State transfer, Winston Dimel.

It is not likely that the running corps will suddenly explode and run 150+ yards per game. However, the experience and depth help the Miners, nonetheless. Improvement, even the slightest, seems plausible.

Receivers

Despite a rather unproductive 2017, six of the seven top receivers are back for the 2018 campaign. New offensive coordinator Mike Canales will demand that the receivers do more downfield. For perspective, leading receiver Terry Juniel had just 23 receptions, 224 yards, averaged under 10 yards per reception, and 0 touchdowns. Kavika Johnson had a bit more production with 14 receptions, 163 yards, averaged 11.6 yards per catch, and 2 touchdowns.

How each receiver will fit into the new scheme is not clear. Juniel was a better kickoff return man than receiver. Johnson - a converted quarterback - displayed a bit of explosiveness; however, he tends to be inconsistent. Eddie Sinegal, on the other hand, was not explosive at all, but was a decent possession guy.

Offensive Line

The Miners may be losing the likes of Will Hernandez (Giants, 2nd round, 34th pick) and three other linemen, but let us remember 2017. Despite Hernandez's extreme talent, the o-line still did not do a lot in pass protection and, obviously, the ground game struggled.

Key to the Offense in 2018

Someone...Anyone...Make a Play

UTEP's offense was painfully bad in 2017. Heading into 2018, the Miners have the numbers: options at quarterback...a returning running corps...six returning receivers. It is not like the roster is completely depleted. Experience is THERE. But someone, eventually, has to make a play.

Secondary

The passing defense was not the worst in 2017. There is room for improvement, but the secondary could easily end up being the star of the defense.

Defensive Coordinator Mike Cox - a previous linebackers coach from Kansas State - can definitely build around the likes of Kahani Smith, Michael Lewis, Kalon Beverly, Justin Rogers, and Nik Needham. In 2017:

-Smith accumulated 46 total tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, and 2 fumble recoveries.
-Lewis had 47 total tackles, 3 pass breakups, and 1 quarterback hurry.
-Beverly had 44 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 8 pass breakups, and 1 forced fumble.
-Rogers accumulated 39 total tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 2 pass breakups, 1 quarterback hurry, and 1 forced fumble.
-Nik Needham posted 59 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 8 pass breakups, and 1 fumble recovery.

With the starters and key reserves back, fans could see a disruptive secondary that keeps the Miners in more games. That is all find and dandy, but first, the Miners' pass rush has to be sturdy and reliable enough to force some passing downs.

Linebackers

There are two ways of viewing the linebackers corps:

1. Alvin Jones and the top tacklers from 2017 are gone. This could be ugly.
2. 2017 saw virtually no pass rush and not enough third down stops nor takeaways.

The return of Jayson VanHook from injury does provide some relief. In 2016 VanHook posted 36 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.

Depth will be an obvious issue.

Defensive Line

The Miners return the likes of Denzel Chukwukelu, Sani Buckingham, Mike Sota, and Trace Mascorro. In 2017:

-Chukwukelu had 20 total tackles and 2 tackles for loss
-Buckingham posted 9 total tackles and 2 quarterback hurries
-Mascorro accumulated 29 total tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 quarterback hurries, and 1 fumble recovery.
-Sota had 15 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups.

Although there is experience, there was a lack of production out of the defensive line. Again, there was virtually no pass rush and not a lot of third down stops. However, the return of Chris Richardson [from academic ineligibility] should help with the transition from a 3-4 to 4-2-5 defense.

Key to the Defense in 2018

Get off the field

Sounds cliché.

Simply put, UTEP had the worst rushing defense in the league. Additionally, the Miners pass rush was non-existent, at times.

In 2017, UTEP allowed opponents to convert 52% of their third downs. That percentage increased to 60% during the last three games.

Make a clutch stop and get off of the field.

UTEP has a couple of decent special teams players in Terry Juniel and Brady Viles. Juniel led, both, in punt and kickoff returns. On kickoff returns, Juniel accumulated 533 return yards, 25.38 yards per return, and a long of 59 yards. Viles led kickoffs with 1,922 total yards, 60.1 yards per kick, and 21 touchbacks.

However, place-kicking is in rough shape. Of the 7 attempted field goals, Viles and Jason Filley, combined, made 3. If the Miners' offense even put together a scoring chance, place-kicking just could not get it done. Filley went 7-7 on PATs, while Viles went 11-12.

In December of 2017, Dana Dimel took on college football's toughest job. He's not a flashy hire with remarkable accolades, but he has coached under one of the nation's most respected legends (Bill Snyder).

Dimel is not without a team. There are plenty of options and experienced players. However, the task at hand is tapping into talent and potential.

Call me crazy, but the Miners have a chance of being the league's "feel good story" of the year if they can pull off even a couple to few wins. If they can make some more plays on the offensive side and stop teams on third down, a few wins is entirely possible (see North Texas' 2015 and 2016 records). If we have learned anything about Conference USA Football, it is to expect the unexpected.

September 1 vs. Northern Arizona (FCS)
September 8 at UNLV
September 15 at Tennessee
September 22 vs. New Mexico State
September 29 at UTSA
October 6 vs. North Texas
October 20 at Louisiana Tech
October 27 vs UAB
November 3 at Rice
November 10 vs. Middle Tennessee
November 17 at WKU
November 24 vs. Southern Mississippi

Projected Wins: Northern Arizona, New Mexico State and/or a possible league win over Rice