Thoughts on Football season/upcoming offseason

[UTEPMiners8106]

Now that the season is over I am very curious to see what you guys all thought of the season, and what you think of this upcoming offseason.

I thought UTEP showed a lot of fight this year, and although they faded down the stretch due to injuries and depth I thought they put up a valiant effort. When they did nothing vs NAU I seriously thought we were going to lose every game but this team made solid improvements as the season went on culminating in that 1st half vs Rice.

I thought the coaching staff did a good job not letting that has been the last two seasons get out of control.

Offensively I thought the team was a little predictable with the read options, but I understand, especially when Locksley and Jones threw a combined 12 interceptions those last couple of games. I thought Wadley had a good year, but I want to see the team lean on him more next season. There were several games where he disappeared, and I thought he was one of our few dynamic playmakers on offense. WRs did a little more this year, but we need WAY MORE next year. Getting back all those Offensive Linemen will be a great thing, as will the fact that they had to throw so many young/untested players into the fire. This should be the strength going into next year.

Defensively I thought this team played very well especially in the first half of the season. Losing Hotchkins will be a major blow next year because he played amazing and I don’t think The Miners have anyone on the roster who can match his production or intensity. Losing Beverly/Needham/Kahani Smith may be a blow in the secondary as well.

 

[utep2step]

Injured, banged & depleted. No matter how you feel about Dimel as a coach he was given a bad hand by the football gods. UTEP was out two dozen players in second half of season. El Paso fans do not realize how bad it was but the facts were public.

Upside, good recruiting and Dimel bringing good JUCO recruits. Many do not like JUCO'S but Dimel has deep and solid juco connections and Kansas State was built on and still runs on JUCO players. Second, Cox is a good Def. Assistant given the offensive problems. UAB game showed moxy and grit. Third, other than juco's, Dimel can recruit Texas HS recruits like a pro. He is bringing in El Paso's best back who chose UTEP over Arkansas. Fourth, this offense shows promise for CUSA play IF the O line stays healthy because Lord knows they will be experienced next year.

The bad: Dimel's does tend to call a conservative game. You want to establish the run but there were Kugler flashback's during the season. As stated, UTEP loses a veteran secondary and a couple veteran linebackers.

The realistic: UTEP should be expected to contend for crown in year three. Dimel offense can produce but UTEP has not had a big time reciever in years and FBS demands a productive air game. UTEP linebackers were a bright spot this year. What about next two years? Dimel's offense has shown in four games at least to come out lethargic. NAU, WKU and MTSU just came out and punched the Miners in the mouth. This has become too common the last two and half years

 

[PURPLEFIRE]

Should expect to contend for a crown in year 3??? I will be surprised if we have a winning record in year 3.... I hope you are right but I see us maybe winning 3 next year then 4-5 the next year maybe.... unless he gets a stud qb that can change everything

 

[Voice of the Mosquito]

Personel wise we have a long way to go, we are way too slow in the areas where speed is important, receivers, defensive backfield and linebackers. On a positive note I think our team strength has improved, but still not a D1 level. I saw less d-line and o-line players blown up compared to last year and I think our defensive scheme is better. Dimel must get some difference makers on defense and offense as we lack big play ability both ways. If you look at our stats, we don't force turnovers/interceptions but we certainly make them. This is the result of a defense not being able to force the other team into mistakes which they do to us. Every year the injury bug has killed us, and to me it is a trend with UTEP, why? are we playing out of position? are we not practicing correctly or is it a strength and condition issue? who knows but being thin depth wise every year AND losing players to injury is a killer for this program.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Personel wise we have a long way to go, we are way too slow in the areas where speed is important, receivers, defensive backfield and linebackers. On a positive note I think our team strength has improved, but still not a D1 level. I saw less d-line and o-line players blown up compared to last year and I think our defensive scheme is better. Dimel must get some difference makers on defense and offense as we lack big play ability both ways. If you look at our stats, we don't force turnovers/interceptions but we certainly make them. This is the result of a defense not being able to force the other team into mistakes which they do to us. Every year the injury bug has killed us, and to me it is a trend with UTEP, why? are we playing out of position? are we not practicing correctly or is it a strength and condition issue? who knows but being thin depth wise every year AND losing players to injury is a killer for this program.

I agree that team speed is still an issue. I know that Tupou is a freshman and he got a lot of playing time but he looks like he only had one gear in pursuit. I just can’t see that guy becoming the sideline to sideline playmaker a la Alvin Jones or Hotchkins. I hope I am wrong though.

 

[minermx07]

I was happy until we started getting blown out at the end of the season. We got the win and started getting destroyed again.


I would give Dimmel a D- for the season. Like everyone has said though, Kugler left him with nothing and the injuries piled up.

I'm hoping for 4 wins next year.

 

[Miners1991]

I like the direction Cox has the defense going and another year in the system can only help. I’m worried about the WRs. The guys that red-shirted were good not great and I don’t know if we’ve received any commitments from any speedy WRs. Is Kavika Johnson going to be our top WR next year now that Reddix, Juniel and Brown are out of eligibility? Will Sinegal make it back on the field? And who’s going to throw them the ball, we need a QB who can throw consistently and we need to keep one healthy.

 

[Minerforlife]

I like the direction Cox has the defense going and another year in the system can only help. I’m worried about the WRs. The guys that red-shirted were good not great and I don’t know if we’ve received any commitments from any speedy WRs. Is Kavika Johnson going to be our top WR next year now that Reddix, Juniel and Brown are out of eligibility? Will Sinegal make it back on the field? And who’s going to throw them the ball, we need a QB who can throw consistently and we need to keep one healthy.

I thought the recievers played pretty well. We lose Redix and Juniel. The young gutmys played well. Wolf looks like he is really close to become a big time playmaker. I was impressed with the job O'Hara did with receivers. They ran great routes and really cut down their drops.

Kavika is being converted to a db thats why they redshirted him this year.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

I thought the recievers played pretty well. We lose Redix and Juniel. The young gutmys played well. Wolf looks like he is really close to become a big time playmaker. I was impressed with the job O'Hara did with receivers. They ran great routes and really cut down their drops.

Kavika is being converted to a db thats why they redshirted him this year.

3 Positions in 5 years for Kavika? You would think if he stays at WR he should be at worst a number 3 or 4. I think he will be another Brandon Moss, he’s going to get lost shuffling from position to position and because of that never does anything.

 

[axingfools1]

3 Positions in 5 years for Kavika? You would think if he stays at WR he should be at worst a number 3 or 4. I think he will be another Brandon Moss, he’s going to get lost shuffling from position to position and because of that never does anything.

Agreed. Changing positions at this point seems like a bandaid.

 

[Rot]

The recruiting priorities should be a great passing JUCO QB and a couple of top receivers on the offensive side, solid LBs and densive backs and a dangerous return guy. While I would love to see Dímel build this team with HS players, we need a few JUCOs that can contribute immediately. The defense played well despite getting put in tough situations by a struggling offense that turned the ball over way too many times.

 

[Lil_Train]

The recruiting priorities should be a great passing JUCO QB and a couple of top receivers on the offensive side, solid LBs and densive backs and a dangerous return guy. While I would love to see Dímel build this team with HS players, we need a few JUCOs that can contribute immediately. The defense played well despite getting put in tough situations by a struggling offense that turned the ball over way too many times.

I would also add a place kicker and a punter; and all of the JCs enrolled in school by January. Dimel had his work cut out for him

 

[Voice of the Mosquito]

in reading everybody's responses looks like we need just about everything, so where we plug holes is a moot point, we certainly can't fill them all but I am hoping we can reduce the number. I do think this coaching staff has brought of level of organization to the program and they have a lot more to do, but I do see improvement. One thing I would watch for is movement in assistant coaches, if we lose a ton of them this offseason, I'd take it as a bad omen as we really need some stability if we hope to improve as a program.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

in reading everybody's responses looks like we need just about everything, so where we plug holes is a moot point, we certainly can't fill them all but I am hoping we can reduce the number. I do think this coaching staff has brought of level of organization to the program and they have a lot more to do, but I do see improvement. One thing I would watch for is movement in assistant coaches, if we lose a ton of them this offseason, I'd take it as a bad omen as we really need some stability if we hope to improve as a program.

I think the majority of the staff may stay, given the team’s record I don’t know if the staff has done anything on paper to warrant a mass exodus.

 

[Minerforlife]

in reading everybody's responses looks like we need just about everything, so where we plug holes is a moot point, we certainly can't fill them all but I am hoping we can reduce the number. I do think this coaching staff has brought of level of organization to the program and they have a lot more to do, but I do see improvement. One thing I would watch for is movement in assistant coaches, if we lose a ton of them this offseason, I'd take it as a bad omen as we really need some stability if we hope to improve as a program.

Talent wise we are ok. Talent always need to be improved, but we have pretty good depth. The biggest glaring need is qb. We have to get better qb play. Locksley isnt the answer. It doesnt look like Jones is either. The o-line should be very good next year. The young recievers are a pretty talented group. We need a tight end desperately. I would like to see a high school kid and a juco for depth. The secondary will have to be rebuilt but we have some pretty good pieces. We played all the teams in cusa west close except for USM. There really isn't a talent gap between us and the rest of c-USA West. We must find a qb. I dont expect any losses in the coaching staff. I am worried about transfers. Dimel has to learn how to win.

 

[UTEPMiners8106]

Talent wise we are ok. Talent always need to be improved, but we have pretty good depth. The biggest glaring need is qb. We have to get better qb play. Locksley isnt the answer. It doesnt look like Jones is either. The o-line should be very good next year. The young recievers are a pretty talented group. We need a tight end desperately. I would like to see a high school kid and a juco for depth. The secondary will have to be rebuilt but we have some pretty good pieces. We played all the teams in cusa west close except for USM. There really isn't a talent gap between us and the rest of c-USA West. We must find a qb. I dont expect any losses in the coaching staff. I am worried about transfers. Dimel has to learn how to win.

I am sure Locksley knows he needs to work on his passing. He did some good things the first half of the season with his feet but he is too thin to take those hits. Plus the ankle injury sent him on an even bigger downward trajectory as the season went on. IF (emphasis on the word “if”) he can improve his throwing and trust his arm and hang in the pocket he can be the quarterback we need. But a lot of that also depends on the WRs improving as well. The bigger question is who is the backup QB. Jones was a disaster, and I’m curious to know if Torrez and Fernandez are that bad because they couldn’t get on the field even when Jones was a turnover machine. I know Jones can run the ball which is ok, but Torrez and Fernandez have to be just a little bit better throwing the ball and to me that’s more important.

 

[picks up]

One thing that wasn't mentioned above but was a big problem was penalties.There were a lot of them and when there weren't a lot of them they always seemed to have come at the worst times