With spring football underway in El Paso, it's time to dig back into some football intel with the Miner Details column. One week of practice is in the books, and here's the latest scoop that MinerInsider.com has collected in conversation with program sources.

— First and foremost, the team is significantly stronger than they were last spring. Just to pick one example, I’m told their team-wide squat average last spring was 365 pounds. Here in 2025, they’re pushing a 500-pound average, which is something that’s inspired a lot of confidence among the staff.

— Quarterback, I’m told, might be the most competitive room on the team at the moment. Skyler Locklear has ceded no ground in the battle for the job, nor has Cade McConnell. But the word is that Malachi Nelson has the best pure arm talent of the group, which is not shocking given the fact that he was a five-star recruit once upon a time. It’s merely a question of whether Nelson can handle live bullets when the time comes, as he has very limited collegiate experience to this point. I’m also told JP Pickles and Shay Smith are both having excellent offseasons, and UTEP legitimately seems to be five deep with legit starting candidates at the position.

— There’s also plenty of excitement surrounding the long-term future of the QB room, as sources have raved about true freshman Chad Warner’s football IQ and willingness to embrace the process. I’m told he’s already added about 20 pounds of weight since arriving on campus, which was about the only real knock on the Cibolo (Texas) product. He’s adjusting exceptionally well to the next level, by all accounts.