Conference USA Preview: UTEP
The UTEP Miners finished last season with a 4-8 record, which is not what the athletic administration in El Paso had hired Mike Price to do.
Last season marked the third consecutive losing season for the Miners, and the offseason improvement didn’t get any easier for the team when Price suspended senior QB Trevor Vittatoe, OL Alex Solot, and WR Pierce Hunter for the majority of spring practice.
Numerous quarterbacks will be getting the first team reps that Vittatoe should be receiving and that will only stand to hurt the backfield chemistry between Vittatoe and superstar RB Donald Beckram.
Also adding in to the lack of continuity this spring for the Miners will be new defensive coordinator Andre Patterson. Patterson, a former defensive line coach at UNLV, replaces Osia Lewis who was unspectacular during his time as a Miner coach. The Miners will no longer rely on Lewis’ 3-3-5 defense, which had been a staple for UTEP’s defensive scheme since Price’s arrival in El Paso.
Two other new defensive coaching hires leaves the Miners with a lot of work to do to show improvement over last season.