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Aug 24, 2012
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I know that this is a strange season and we have played more games than most if not all teams but its good to see Miners doing well statistically. As of today, Hardison has the 3rd most passing yards and Cowing has the most receiving yards in all of FBS. Garrett has the 5th most receiving yards and Hankins has the 10th most rushing yards.

 
Dimel has managed to upgrade the talent over the last two years. Hardison, Garrett, and Cowing and Hankins are more talented than the guys that preceded them. Since Hardison has an arm and some reviewers who can get it it’s added a whole new dimension to the offense. With all that being said can someone tell Dimel to trash the QB read option! It’s one thing if it’s Tim Tebow coming in to run the ball, it’s another when it’s Brownholtz.
 
Dimel hid part of his playbook from his previous qbs because he knew they couldn't throw worth a damn. Now he has one who can sling it. Locksley was a very good athlete but a mediocre qb at best. He should have been catching the ball instead of throwing it. But that would mean the starting qb would have been even worse. We now have a quarterback who can put the ball downfield and receivers who don't drop every other pass. Hardison still has to learn to put more touch on his throws but that will happen if he has the opportunity to do it in games as well as in practice. It's good to see it happen though. It's good to see both the passing and running games on track. Both will work better if both work. We can't have a one horse offense. Good to see the defense step up a notch. We weren't playing a top team, mind you, but the Miner defense did step up enough to make ULM look worse than they already were. In past years we would have made them look better than they were. This is a much needed win for everyone involved in UTEP athletics. Go Miners.
 
Did Dimel hide parts of the playbook during the first thee games? Or are we executing his style better now?

Honestly, the playbook looks very similar. The on field product looks different because of the quality of skill players, imo. The difference I see is that we have a QB who can hit receivers in stride. That alone opens the run game even if just a little. We are still passing about 26-27 times a game, which is right on par with last year. We are still running up the gut, a lot, however with a beast carrying the rock. Less penalties on us too. They’re not killing drives like last year. Playbook looks very similar after thinking more about it. The quality of those executing said playbook is what has changed, in my opinion.
 
It's just strange that we have the 3rd rated passer, 10th rusher and 1st in receiving. After watching the first 3 games if you told me that, I would think you were crazy.

Let's pray this keeps up. It is nice having something to be excited about for a change.
 
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Everything looks better, with better players and better execution. We aren't killing ourselves with dumb penalties like the last couple of years and our defensive line is noticably Bigger and more talented than in the past. I know it's just one game, but that was the best I've seen a Utep team play since Kuglers NM Bowl year. I'm pretty happy today and with the bye it can at least last a couple of weeks 😁 Lastly, It's early, but in 4 years we could get another star RB right out of EP in the NFL. The reason why that's important, is because Utep will be able to sale that when recruiting top RBs in the state.
 
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Honestly, the playbook looks very similar. The on field product looks different because of the quality of skill players, imo. The difference I see is that we have a QB who can hit receivers in stride. That alone opens the run game even if just a little. We are still passing about 26-27 times a game, which is right on par with last year. We are still running up the gut, a lot, however with a beast carrying the rock. Less penalties on us too. They’re not killing drives like last year. Playbook looks very similar after thinking more about it. The quality of those executing said playbook is what has changed, in my opinion.
Agree. Really very similar play calling with less QB run option plays which makes sense with a guy like Hardison. We have had better O-line play especially in pass protection. I don't think many QBs would have a chance with the level of play in that area the previous two years; it was beyond bad. Again, I would like to see more of Awatt. Fields is a dependable and experienced guy, but Awatt shows more explosiveness, which could be of use for the offense. On defense, I thought that side had one of their better performances in years. The kicker and punter were lousy, but overall, it was a solid performance on the road. Hopefully, the team will continue to build on the win.
 
Everything looks better, with better players and better execution. We aren't killing ourselves with dumb penalties like the last couple of years and our defensive line is noticably Bigger and more talented than in the past. I know it's just one game, but that was the best I've seen a Utep team play since Kuglers NM Bowl year. I'm pretty happy today and with the bye it can at least last a couple of weeks 😁 Lastly, It's early, but in 4 years we could get another star RB right out of EP in the NFL. The reason why that's important, is because Utep will be able to sale that when recruiting top RBs in the state.

Most exciting part, this is a young team.
 
Agree. Really very similar play calling with less QB run option plays which makes sense with a guy like Hardison. We have had better O-line play especially in pass protection. I don't think many QBs would have a chance with the level of play in that area the previous two years; it was beyond bad. Again, I would like to see more of Awatt. Fields is a dependable and experienced guy, but Awatt shows more explosiveness, which could be of use for the offense. On defense, I thought that side had one of their better performances in years. The kicker and punter were lousy, but overall, it was a solid performance on the road. Hopefully, the team will continue to build on the win.

Good point. That is a huge difference.
 
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Hardison has turned out to be a hidden gem for the Miner offense. Cowing and Garrett are turning out to be great weapons on offense. I haven’t seen much from our tight ends though. We finally have a strong RB in Hankins who can pick up yards and first downs. Our offensive line is coming together and protecting our QB and opening holes for our RBs. With these weapons our offense is less predictable and more effective. The defense is also coming along and putting pressure on the opposing QB. More importantly, our offense is allowing our defense to rest. One area that needs major improvement is our kicking game.
 
Hardison has turned out to be a hidden gem for the Miner offense. Cowing and Garrett are turning out to be great weapons on offense. I haven’t seen much from our tight ends though. We finally have a strong RB in Hankins who can pick up yards and first downs. Our offensive line is coming together and protecting our QB and opening holes for our RBs. With these weapons our offense is less predictable and more effective. The defense is also coming along and putting pressure on the opposing QB. More importantly, our offense is allowing our defense to rest. One area that needs major improvement is our kicking game.

Another huge difference. So many 3 and outs the last few years. Defense never got a real breather.
 
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Overall we have the foundation for better days ahead. We still haven't beaten a quality opponent, so can't do too much horn tooting until then.
My main concerns are 1)punter and kicker. Inept so far and 2) pass plays are mostly long downfield to WR's. They work, but how about mixing things up a bit? Use running backs and tight ends. Screens, crossing routes, just short passes and run them on first down; not 2nd or 3rd and long..3) all running plays are up the gut; nothing wide. Too predictable.
Open up the damn play book. The quality of the opponent is better the rest of the way. We finally have the weapons. Need to put them to use.
 
Overall we have the foundation for better days ahead. We still haven't beaten a quality opponent, so can't do too much horn tooting until then.
My main concerns are 1)punter and kicker. Inept so far and 2) pass plays are mostly long downfield to WR's. They work, but how about mixing things up a bit? Use running backs and tight ends. Screens, crossing routes, just short passes and run them on first down; not 2nd or 3rd and long..3) all running plays are up the gut; nothing wide. Too predictable.
Open up the damn play book. The quality of the opponent is better the rest of the way. We finally have the weapons. Need to put them to use.


ESTO! ESTO!
 
Plus I believe only 2 or 3 senior starters on each si

OFFENSESIVE SENIOR STARTERS:
Darta Lee - LT
Walter Dawn Jr - WR
Josh Fields - RB
Justin Garrett - WR
Devaughn Cooper gets occasional nod-WR

DEFENSIVE SENIOR STARTERS:
Jayson Van Hook - LB
Stephen Forester -LB
Josh Caldwell - CB
Dy’Vonne Inyang - NB
Duron Lowe - CB
 
Don't think he hid anything, it has to be personnel. Kugler was basically run all the time, wanted big linemen and skill positions weren't often his priority. Dimel likely wanted to run his stuff but really didn't have the pieces. I also think we may have seen more improvement last year but injuries and the schedule put him behind schedule. Not to get too excited yet we have two wins agains lower their teams and one against a what looks to be a winless SB team. That being said we are winning by playing solid football, not flash, not high powered or super exciting but just solid.
 
also we add a few pieces like a demon pass rusher and another speed burner at WR and we could be on our way.......have to wait and see how we handle LaTech if we hang good or even win, we won't be on the freeway, but definitely on the on ramp.
 
Did Dimel hide parts of the playbook during the first thee games? Or are we executing his style better now?
Dimel and Canles went full Locksley. You don't bring in the JUCO POY qb by stating "he has a honest shot at starting"; you give him the job.

Now UTEP has Hardison and it's more efficient, the pass protection is great (there were two sacks yesterday but Stoker always sends a blitz every down), Hankins keeps the chains moving and Cowing is the best thing since Higgins wore a uniform.
 
OFFENSESIVE SENIOR STARTERS:
Darta Lee - LT
Walter Dawn Jr - WR
Josh Fields - RB
Justin Garrett - WR
Devaughn Cooper gets occasional nod-WR

DEFENSIVE SENIOR STARTERS:
Jayson Van Hook - LB
Stephen Forester -LB
Josh Caldwell - CB
Dy’Vonne Inyang - NB
Duron Lowe - CB

remember that all these seniors qualify for an extra year of eligibility so I expect most to return next year
 
BTW

So I wonder if there will be an abundance of frosh who will have to grey shirt because of this? Not necessarily speaking about UTEP but around the FBS.

That’s a good question. Wondered the same thing.

What process will even out the logjam that will happen by retaining nearly a full class while adding another?

Will they gray shirt all the freshmen?

Will they increase from 85 to maybe 100 schollies and then taper down by say 5 a year over the course of a few years?
 
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OFFENSESIVE SENIOR STARTERS:
Darta Lee - LT
Walter Dawn Jr - WR
Josh Fields - RB
Justin Garrett - WR
Devaughn Cooper gets occasional nod-WR

DEFENSIVE SENIOR STARTERS:
Jayson Van Hook - LB
Stephen Forester -LB
Josh Caldwell - CB
Dy’Vonne Inyang - NB
Duron Lowe - CB

The only guy on offense I haven't scene a replacement for is Garrett. We alternate RT's so I think Lee will have a guy with lots of snaps that replace him. Wonder if Q Workman replaces Garrett.

On D, Robert Corner and Dennis Barnes can easily step in at corner and the Best DB in the program IMO next season wi be McKel Broussard. Gary Theard is a baller. Not sure who replaces Forrester.

In any case, everyone can come back next year but there is alot to look forward to as far as the talent level.
 
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Just curious, will there be a thread soon that says, "Should Dimel be fired if we lose to LA Tech"
 
Just curious, will there be a thread soon that says, "Should Dimel be fired if we lose to LA Tech"

We all want to know what is this Miner team made of? Are they the team that was in dog fights with FCS schools? Are they the team that got blasted by Texas or are they the team that handled ULM? Any one of those three could be the anomaly.

With that being said this team is in uncharted waters at 3-1 going into the bye week. I hope the staff does not take their foot off the gas these next to weeks.also hope the players don’t get overconfident given their performance because I could see La Tech beating UTEP convincingly. If UTEP gets blown out in 2 weeks all that praise has gone out the window.
 
Two games that I, as a fan, have circled in red; La Tech and USM. Tech is the "monkey on our back" rival and USM is a dirty team and I would love to see Hankins go 300 plus yards on and Hardison 300 plus in the air.
 
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I don’t see a win over Tech. Kugler’s best team got blown out over there. Some of the top teams in the west have lost key games to Tech. UNT and USM come to mind. Baby steps, we’re not ready to contend for the west title. A loss or even a bad loss doesn’t mean anything other than that.
 
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The only guy on offense I haven't scene a replacement for is Garrett. We alternate RT's so I think Lee will have a guy with lots of snaps that replace him. Wonder if Q Workman replaces Garrett.

On D, Robert Corner and Dennis Barnes can easily step in at corner and the Best DB in the program IMO next season wi be McKel Broussard. Gary Theard is a baller. Not sure who replaces Forrester.

In any case, everyone can come back next year but there is alot to look forward to as far as the talent level.


#32 will be playing over the guys you mentioned. I've been to only 6 practices this season, but no one has gotten free from his coverage in all of those. He's kinda small though.
 
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Just curious, will there be a thread soon that says, "Should Dimel be fired if we lose to LA Tech"
I'm guilty of starting the "should we fire Dimel if we lose to ACU" thread. It was right after the really bad loss to Texas. The Miners didn't lose to ACU so that made the question moot. After watching the Miners dominate ULM on the road, I wont ask that question again this season.
 
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I'm guilty of starting the "should we fire Dimel if we lose to ACU" thread. It was right after the really bad loss to Texas. The Miners didn't lose to ACU so that made the question moot. After watching the Miners dominate ULM on the road, I wont ask that question again this season.

I dunno, man. I'm not ready to proclaim this season a success. Is it really an improvement in year 3 to go from the worst to being 2nd worst FBS team? I'm happy for the win but, c'mon, it was over ULM who is considered the worst team this season.

I want to see how we do against competition that is a little better than ULM and two FCS schools. If we get our asses handed to us by other teams it will show that there hasn't really been any improvement. It will only show that maybe ULM simply got worse than they already were.
 
Just the fact that Dimel won on the road, gives him some breathing room. I will admit, I was on the "fire dimel" train.... Let's see what happens. It's nice to see it popping around here, and not having to talk about another 1 win season. Regardless if it's against FCS teams and a bad FBS one ( I don't think they are as bad as they looked.) UTEP is considered bottom of the barrel, to see them 3-1 really is good! The La Tech game got picked up for a ESPN-2 broadcast. May the Miners, go 2-0 on the deuce... 😁
 
There will always be some that need more proof. That’s fine. In 2018 we lost to an FCS team and almost let rice come back from 34-0. In 2020 we took care of the FCS teams and didn’t let ulm do shit. That’s progress. Guess what? We still have 8 games to show further progress.
 
I hope to high hell the ACU game will be the norm and not a mirage. I don’t believe Dismel turned into a good coach cause of this game. Every one of us is trilled over this game, but remember who we were playing. I would feel much more comfortable if we played the same way in our other two victories. Or if we should up at Austin.
The game at La Tech will tell us if we finally have a football team.
 
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