One-on-one with UTEP’s Scotty Walden; Miners prepare for home opener against Southern Utah
EL PASO, Texas - The Scotty Walden era will make its debut in the Sun City when UTEP hosts Southern Utah on Saturday, Sept. 7. The Miners (0-1) and Thunderbirds (0-1) will kick off at 7 p.m. MT in Sun Bowl Stadium. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and heard on 95.5 FM KLAQ.
Saturday night’s promotion is “Heroes Night” with UTEP Athletics’ partner GECU as the game sponsor. Miner fans can purchase their UTEP-SUU tickets at www.utepminers.com/tickets, by calling 915.747.UTEP, by emailing: tickets@utep.edu, or at the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office (8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 201 Glory Road [Brumbelow Building, UTEP Campus]).
Last week, Miner fans caught a glimpse of Walden’s “Blue Blaze” offense at Nebraska in the opening frame. Skyler Locklear drove UTEP 63 yards on only three plays that resulted in a Kam Thomas 38-yard touchdown strike that tied the game at 7-7 following Buzz Flabiano’s PAT in the first quarter.
“Kam Thomas played absolutely fearless in man-to-man coverage – he played fearless the whole day,” Walden said. “The things you’re not going to see that you go back and watch is his blocking on the perimeter. Kam sacrificed for the team and you watch how he played the game; he cares about his teammates and cares about winning. And that (touchdown) route was a fearless route in man-to-man coverage. (Nebraska) didn’t play man coverage the rest of the game.”
Thomas racked up 132 all-purpose yards against the Cornhuskers including 71 yards on seven receptions, a 29-yard punt return, 30 yards on a pair of kickoff returns and two yards on the ground.
Locklear started the contest 5-for-5 with 59 yards and the TD and finished 11-of-17 for 115 yards, a touchdown, and an interception in his first collegiate start.
On defense, graduate student transfer linebacker, Dorian Hopkins made an immediate impression on Miner fans after racking up 16 tackles, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery to lead the “Orange Swarm” defense. Austin Peay transfer spur Kory Chapman also enjoyed an impressive debut tallying 10 tackles against the ‘Huskers.
Chapman, Thomas and Walden will face Southern Utah for a second straight year after last season’s 48-45 double overtime shootout victory in Cedar City on Oct. 21. Southern Utah recorded 561 yards on total offense to Austin Peay’s 438.
“This team (Southern Utah) plays harder than any team I’ve seen in the past three years on tape. I mean that with all my heart and soul. There’s not a team I’ve watched that plays harder,” Walden said. “You watch them against Utah, and they’re down whatever the score ended up being, their kids fight. (SUU head coach DeLane Fitzgerald) has a great culture over there. This is an offense that is going to run a lot of zone schemes up front and like to run a lot of them unbalanced. Coach Fitzgerald is going to have these kids wired up believing they can win. They’re going to come into the Sun Bowl with great energy.”
UTEP (0-1, 0-0) vs. Southern Utah (0-1, 0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Time: 7 p.m. MT
Location: El Paso, Texas
Venue: Sun Bowl Stadium (45,971)
X Updated: @UTEPFB
TV: ESPN+
PxP: Andy Morgan
Analyst: Ed Stansbury
Radio: 95.5 FM KLAQ
PxP: Jon Teicher
Analyst: Cole Freytag
Sideline: Mando Medina
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN
The Miners and Thunderbirds will be streamed on ESPN+ with Andy Morgan (play-by-play) and El Paso native and UCLA football great Ed Stansbury (analysis) will be on the call. The action will be on 95.5 FM KLAQ with “The Voice of the UTEP Miners” Jon Teicher calling play-by-play in his 44th season. ‘Teich’, who called his 500th game last season on Oct. 11, is joined by former UTEP WR Cole Freytag (2012, 2014-16) in the booth providing analysis in his third season. El Paso native and long-running member of the local media Mando Medina will be reporting from the sidelines. The contest can also be heard on the UTEP Miners app.
SERIES VS. SOUTHERN UTAH
Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting between UTEP and SUU.
ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds, after finishing 6-5 overall and 4-2 in United Athletic Conference action in 2023, lost their season opener 49-0 at no. 13 Utah on Aug. 29. SUU allowed 513 yards including 328 passing and gained only 150 yards of total offense. The Utes jumped out to a 35-0 lead at halftime. The T-Birds were penalized 13 times for 78 yards and finished 3-for-13 on third-down conversions. QB Jackson Berry led the passing game with 54 yards (6-11, INT), while QBs Bronson Barron (1-7, 9 yards) and Jordan Pachot (1-3, 8 yards) saw action. Targhee Lambson led SUU with 44 yards on six rushes (7.3 avg.). Lambson is a 5-9, 200-pound senior back who gained 507 yards (second-best on the team) on 105 attempts (4.8 avg.) and six touchdowns in 2023. Lambson added 95 yards on 11 receptions and two touchdowns last season. WR Mark Bails recorded 42 yards on three catches. Bails is a 6-3, 200-pound senior transfer from Seton Hill who gained 926 yards on 46 receptions and eight touchdowns last season. LB Darrian Feazell led the way with six tackles. Feazell is a 6-2, 210-pound redshirt junior who transferred from Los Angeles City College. LB Kohner Cullimore returns after ranking second on the team with 73 tackles. Cullimore added 10.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He tallied six tackles against Utah. The Thunderbirds averaged 31.8 points per game and gave up 23.7 in 2023. The T-Birds averaged 397.3 total yards and yielded 345.7 last year.
CONNECTIONS
Austin Peay defeated SUU 48-45 on Oct. 21, 2023, with Scotty Walden at the helm for the Governors. Walden will face the Thunderbirds for a second consecutive season on Sept. 7.
