Hello, folks, and welcome to the Miner Details. On a near-daily basis, site subscribers will be treated to a new installment of this column that brings you up to speed on all things UTEP football and recruiting.
I won’t promise one of these every single day; I’m a human being who will take days off and maybe even enjoy a vacation from time to time. And some days, there just won’t be anything significant to report; manufactured news is not news at all. But as a general rule, I’ll have daily conversations with program sources to bring y’all an inside look at UTEP’s continual progress under Scotty Walden. I’ll also stay in touch with top UTEP recruits and make sure y’all are kept apprised of where things are trending with the Miner staff’s top targets.
The Miners are two weeks deep into spring ball, so let’s start off on the right foot; here’s some intel I’ve gleaned on how Coach Walden and his staff prepared this team for the first spring practice period of the new era. First and foremost, an anecdote that ought to illustrate the extent of the staff’s commitment to turning UTEP football around…
I’m not sure if Coach Walden has shared this story in his many interviews this spring, but one of the very first orders of business for him and his staff was to kick the entire team out of the locker room. As one source put it to me, “[They] told them to change in the bathroom, in their cars, whatever the hell they had to do. But they were going to have to earn the right to have access to their locker room.”
This maneuver was designed to heighten the team’s respect and appreciation for the luxuries they’re afforded as Miner football players. Thereafter, in recognition of their effort and commitment during team meetings and workouts, players were essentially “voted back in” to the locker room one group at a time. I’m also told the staff initially stripped players of the right to wear the Miner logo on their clothing; they had to earn back that right as well.
With that said, I’m told there has been a “100 percent” buy-in to the new direction and the new regime, which actually came as a collective surprise to the new staff. But one well-placed source told me, “These guys want it. They love this structure. [The staff] kind of figured there would be a few guys that got in the transfer portal and decided to go find somewhere else, but they’ve all taken the challenge to heart.”
Walden and his assistants are very much aware of the challenge they’ve inherited, and they realize how much change is required in order to have sustained success at a program that owns just two winning seasons in the past decade. For a downtrodden program to experience rejuvenation, the new approach can’t remotely resemble the old approach, and it certainly won’t at UTEP. The shift has been unquestionably drastic, but even so, the players largely see it for what it is: necessary.
Stay tuned throughout the spring for daily practice updates, team notes and recruiting nuggets. Today’s column is free, but hereafter, the Miner Details will only be available to MinerInsider subscribers — and in fact, those who subscribe today can access the first set of depth-chart and practice notes. So grab a MinerInsider subscription today to stay abreast of all that’s going on for your UTEP Miners!
