UTEP football's to-do list at fall camp stars with quarterback; five questions to watch

The UTEP football team is picking right back up where it left off in the spring, in fact, where it was this time a year ago.

The Miners head to fall camp looking to settle on a quarterback among four options.

That process beings Thursday morning as UTEP angles toward its Aug. 30, nationally televised opener at Utah State and while the top headline, the quarterback headline, is much as it was last August, the Miners are in a different place now.

They are beginning Scotty Walden's second season with some continuity, a number of returning players and better depth that is the result of back-to-back top-rated (in Conference USA) recruiting classes.

Quarterback is not the only question mark on a team expecting to make a major leap from last year's 3-9 mark and vault into bowl contention. Some of those questions specifically arise from the newfound depth, which is a good thing.

Here are five questions UTEP is looking to address in the month-long run-up to its trip to Logan.

Who's the quarterback?

The Miners are looking at four options. Both Skyler Locklear and Cade McConnell, who battled all the way to the eve of the 2024 opener before Locklear was named No. 1, saw significant action as starters last year before McConnell's wrist injury finally settled matters for Locklear.

McConnell is healthy now, though presumably starting a bit behind after missing a spring, where Locklear seemed to solidify a No. 1 spot. He came from behind last year to take the reins at midseason, so this is a familiar spot for him.

Then there is former five-star recruit Malachi Nelson, who had previous stints at USC and Boise State before coming to UTEP as their most touted ever. Franklin alum Shay Smith was intriguing last year as a true freshman and according to Walden has shown the improvement expected as he begins his second year.

There is a big difference between this year and last.

"We know a little more of what we have," Walden said. "Going back to last year, I had never coached Cade, Skyler had never started. I know what I have with those two. It's really going to be about, 'What do Malachi and Shay do?' It's interesting. Malachi and Shay are extremely talented, their talent ceiling is through the roof."

Another difference is the time frame Walden wants to use to pick a starter. Last year Locklear was literally announced as starter on the eve of the opener at Nebraska, with the caveat McConnell was going to see the field.

Walden wants a quicker resolution this year.

"I would love halfway through fall camp to have it announced," Walden said, which would indicate around Aug. 15. "That's in a perfect world. I'm not going to hold myself to a tough deadline. I just don't want it to be the week of the game.

"I want to give that guy a chance to breathe, to deal with all the media, the team gravitating to him and rallying around him. I want to get that done prior to the week of competition."

So how will he manage the reps in the first two weeks?

"The key is for each of those guys to get opportunities to rep with the 1s, the 2s and the 3s," Walden said. "What I look for is, who is most consistent across all three of those. If it's just a guy producing with the 1s, but he can't do anything with the 2s and the 3s, maybe it's the talent around him that elevates him.

"But if I'm looking at the numbers, looking at the film and no matter what group we put this guy in, he's producing. That's a big indicator for me that this guy is coming out ahead of the pack."

Judging on spring and how Walden said the summer has gone, Locklear probably comes in as the favorite to start at Utah State.

How does Hashaun Wilson fit in at running back?

Walden's second recruiting class was a blockbuster, and the biggest name may have been Hashaun Wilson, the senior transfer running back from Charlotte. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry last year as the 49ers' leading rusher, quite a bit better than the 3.9 yards UTEP got from its running backs.

"I can't tell you how many times we felt like we've got this thing blocked up, this should go to the house or be an explosive, and we're getting 5 yards," Walden said of 2024.

"That's not OK. Hashaun and our running back group as a whole have a more slasher mentality. He looks totally different. We got him at 175 pounds, now he's 185 pushing 180. I'm impressed with his work ethic. He's a dog, he's hungry."

Running back Ashten Emory got his feet wet last year as a redshirting freshmen and should provide a compliment to Wilson, who could end up being the workhorse.

What does the receiver depth look like?

The Miners return three of their top four receivers from last season (Kenny Odom, Kam Thomas and Jaden Smith, which sounds good. Then again, Smith was the team's fourth-leading receiver last year with 177 yards and he only played four games.

Finding more people to throw to didn't proceed to Walden's liking in the spring so the Miners spent the summer shoring that up.

"Coming out of spring the biggest focus for us on offense, the position we needed to address, was wide receiver," Walden said. "We didn't make the explosive plays we needed to make downfield in the spring."

So here's what they went and got: Jaylen Brown, a redshirt freshman transfer from Michigan State; Mason Ferguson, a redshirt freshman transfer from North Texas; Eric Willis III, a 1,000-yard receiver last year in Division II (University of California at Pennsylvania); Jet Thompson, a senior transfer from Georgia Southern; and Trevon Tate, a 1,000-yard receiver at FCS Tennessee-Martin last year.

On paper, that's a lot of potential that can translate to Conference USA, but none have made a significant contribution in the FBS. Some of them almost certainly will this year.

"I am so impressed not just with their playmaking, but their hunger. Sometimes you get those receivers that are prima donnas, they don't want to work hard, they did something else in another program. We don't have that. I am thrilled about that group. It's a deep group.

"The receiver battle is going to be one to watch," Walden said. "We have so many options. Our depth is 180 from a year ago."

How does UTEP rebuild the defensive line?

Defensive tackle KD Johnson started 12 games last year and he was the defensive player Walden took with him to media day. Beyond that, Ashton Coker started four games at tackle last year and everyone else will be a new starter. The Miners largely start over here.

As is the case with receiver, they brought in a bunch of names who have yet to prove themselves at the FBS level, but have resumes that indicate they could.

Foremost among those is Ashaad Hall, an all-conference player for South Carolina State who put up eye-popping numbers last year in the MEAC: 11 sacks, three force fumbles and 41 tackles.

Other notables are Derek Burns, a transfer from New Mexico State, junior college transfer Nico Guerra, Kennesaw State transfer Tyler Scott and West Virginia transfer Oryend Fisher. From the inside, redshirt freshman Elijah Baldwin is looking to make a step after logging his four games last year.

"There may be questions on paper," Walden said. "For me, being around those guys every day, I'm excited about that group."

Who are the true freshmen to watch?

UTEP's last recruiting class was ranked first in Conference USA, the first time that's happened since the year before. Prior to that (prior to Walden's arrival), UTEP spent a decade and a half toward the bottom of all recruiting rankings.

That would explain why Walden threw out 13 names when asked what freshman would have a chance to make an instant impact this year.

When asked to narrow that to three who had the best summers, he pulled out safety Alan Gant (Lubbock Coronado), running back Elijah McCoy (Midland High) and defensive lineman Jimmy Leon (Tucson Mica Mountain).

To get the other names out there, he listed offensive lineman Maddox Huber, offensive lineman Diego De La Cruz, receiver Nik Henry, linebacker Kane Bowen, linebacker Copelin Windfont, linebacker Royce Wilson, linebacker Justin Lee, safety Darnell Williams and cornerback TJ Tillman.

If half of those make an impact this year, the recruiting class will be on its way to living up to all billing. The running back McCoy might be the first one to see the field.

There is an inevitability that, like always, some of these questions will get happy answers by Aug. 30 while others will linger on into September and beyond. For every question that gets answered, others will pop up. That's true here, there and everywhere.

UTEP starts tackling these assignments Thursday.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at [email protected]; @Bretbloomquist on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Quarterback, receiver top questions as UTEP football starts fall camp