Head Coach: Scotty Walden is entering his 2nd season as the head coach of the Miners with a 3-9 record. His impact is already being felt for the program, he brought a lot of energy to a program that needed it. Now there’s a lot of excitement for what he can do in year 2.
Program Outlook: This is a familiar line I’ve used with UTEP often, but UTEP is a program in Texas that doesn’t really have the advantages of being in Texas. There’s the passion the fans have about the program but they aren’t in fertile recruiting territory, it takes some work to get talent in. Another thing that will help draw talent is UTEP’s move to the Mountain West in 2026, putting even the money piece aside this will allow the Miners to play consistently in regions they also want to recruit, Vegas, California, etc. Last year was about setting the foundation, and fans shouldn’t be discouraged by the 3 win season a year ago, winning here takes some work and the program is on its way there.
How does the 2025 Roster look?: UTEP ranks 72nd in the country returning 54% of their production per Punt and Rally’s returning production rankings. This team had an absurd amount of different lineups last year so just some better stability with avoiding injuries would help. Key players starts with QB and the big name is of course high profile transfer Malachi Nelson who is a former 5 star QB who hasn’t found a home yet, it’s not guarantee he starts as a lot of reports from the spring indicate the incumbent Skyler Locklear had a good spring. There’s going to be weapons for them to throw to, WR Kenny Odom was fantastic as a freshman and will continue to grow he’s one of the young players this team can build around, Kam Thomas is a steady receiver in the slot as well. The defense will be led by LB Nate Dyman who was really all over the field last year, finishing with 84 tackles. The defensive line in front of him looks like it could be really good, defensive tackle KD Johnson was disruptive on the inside and he might have an impactful running mate next to him in SC State transfer Ashaad Hall. Question marks for UTEP starts with the offensive line, this unit struggled a year ago, there’s more size up there now but it remains to be seen how it looks. The run game gets a boost in former Charlotte RB Hahsaun Wilson if the line opens up lanes for him. The secondary will need to be sorted out.
Screenshot from FBSchedules.com
2025 Schedule Thoughts: UTEP faces one of the more favorable schedules in the country this year. The Miners non-conference starts with a game at Utah State which will be Bronco Mendenhall’s debut, they will then play UT Martin which will be a challenging FCS foe, the Skyhawks reached the 2nd round of the playoffs last year. UTEP then faces Texas (c’mon Longhorns do a return game to the Sun Bowl! You did it in 08 and it was fun!) and UL Monroe to wrap up the non-conference schedule. UTEP’s conference schedule isn’t bad, they play Liberty and Jax State but get both at them at the Sun Bowl. They avoid Western Kentucky and Mid Tenn State, along with getting games against all the relative newcomers to the conference.
Final Thoughts: UTEP’s future is exciting and I think we’re going to begin to see evidence of that this year. A bowl game is definitely within reach. They are starting fresh with new coordinators on both sides of the ball so that will be worth monitoring, I like both hires though. I like UTEP to tack on more wins this year as they prepare for their new home in the Mountain West, but they’re also a possible sleeper to get in the thick of the CUSA race with just a few breaks going their way.
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