Steven Sipple: It’s easy to understand how UTEP coach Scotty Walden, 34, can wow an A.D.

UTEP head coach Scotty Walden strikes you as an enthusiastic conversationalist. It doesn’t take much to get him going.

Especially if you bring up Eric Crouch .

“Eric Crouch is one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time,” said the 34-year-old Walden, the second-youngest head coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

“I brought that up to my quarterbacks,” Walden added. “I had to pull up the highlight tape. They didn’t know who that was. That’s because of my age. I’m getting up there. It makes you mad.”

Walden, 34, smiled as he recalled the former Nebraska quarterback’s greatness. Walden smiles easily. He’s an excitable sort, and he sounds genuinely excited to bring his team to Lincoln for an August 31 showdown set for 2:30 p.m. on FOX.

He understands the difficult nature of the challenge. Along those lines, he has another Nebraska quarterback on his mind — the current one.

“I’ve certainly watched the spring game and studied who they’ve brought in,” Walden said. “ (Dylan) Raiola is as good as I’ve seen. I’m just being honest. I watched the entire spring game, and that kid is special. It’s his arm talent, his ability to extend the play and keep his eyes down the field.

“He’s got a unique skill set with his arm angles. He can make all the throws.”

In addition, “I love the speed they have at receiver,” Walden said. “The backs are physical. They’re big up front. We’ll certainly have our hands full in game one.”

Nebraska Opponent Spring Review: UTEP

Walden ranks as second-youngest FBS head coach

Walden, who succeeds Dana Dimel (20-49 in six seasons at UTEP), possesses a youthful energy — and, well, that makes sense. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham also is 34, but was born about 6 1/2 months before Walden.

Walden is so enthusiastic in discussing the city of El Paso, Texas, that you think he must be talking about Austin or San Antonio.

He describes UTEP’s fan base as “phenomenal.” He points to 5,000 fans at the Miners’ spring game as a major victory. “That’s a big deal at the G-5 level,” he said, noting 30 program alums were on hand.

“Just getting the energy back at our place is critical,” Walden said. “I’ll do anything to get the energy back, to get the juice right at UTEP. That’s what we’ve been doing. It’s been fun to watch the alumni pour back in, the donor base pour back in.

“Then, you know, we signed the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA. That’s because our staff has hustled so hard to get kids on campus.”

He mentions a $5 million locker room set for completion in August.

“There’s a lot of things to be excited about when you’re talking about being a Miner,” he said.

Walden’s record is impressive

To be sure, Walden is a salesman, but he’s more than that. He’s obviously a gifted head coach.

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Walden comes off a four-year stint at Austin Peay, where he led the Governors to a 26-14 mark with four winning seasons (4-2 in COVID-shortened 2020-21, 6-5 in 2021, 7-4 in 2022, and 9-3 in 2023). The Governors hadn’t enjoyed back-to-back winning seasons since 1983 and 1984.

Walden’s career head coaching record is 34-20, including 7-3 in one season at East Texas Baptist University in 2016. Walden was also interim head coach at Southern Mississippi for four games in 2020, going 1-3.

He obviously has a challenging job as UTEP’s head coach. Interestingly, he’ll also coach the quarterbacks and call plays. In that regard, he understands the challenge of facing Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White’s version of the 3-3-5.

Walden understands the challenge in part because his own defensive coordinator, J.J. Clark, also uses the 3-3-5 as his base.

“The thing that’s a misnomer about the 3-3-stack, it’s not just that we line up with three down linemen, and that’s it,” Walden said. “There are so many fronts. As I’m studying film on Nebraska, (White), in about 20 snaps, is going to give you about 15 different fronts.

“So that makes us prepare all summer, that makes us prepare all fall. You don’t know where he’s bringing (pressure) from.”

One can see why this young coach impresses ADs

Look for Walden to have success at UTEP, and don’t be surprised if it’s immediate. His enthusiasm alone will help him get things done. I experienced it firsthand in early June in the heat of Texas. UTEP’s coaches were on hand with Nebraska’s for satellite camps in both Belton and Houston.

In the new age of college football, I tend to cheer for Group of 5 programs. In terms of funding, they’re at a wicked disadvantage compared to Power 4 schools. That almost goes without saying.

But Walden is convincing when he says he can make it work at UTEP — he has an NIL collective already up and running — and I’ll bet he can be extremely convincing in front of a school president or athletic director or whoever’s trying to hire him.

“Contrary to popular belief, it absolutely can work here,” Walden told me. “You may not get the elite players that a Power 4 program is going to get. But when you have a system and a vision for what you’re going to do, and you know it’s going to fit at your place, you can recruit to that.

“A kid may not be 6-foot-6; he might be 6-foot-4. But you know what, we can make him into a 6-foot-4 cat that plays really freaking hard and bleeds the orange and blue, and buys into our brand.

“You can win with that. One-hundred precent.”

“We are a Texas high school outfit”

Of course, he said, UTEP uses the transfer portal to its advantage.

“But we are a Texas high school outfit,” he said. “We are going to build the core of our foundation with high school players. People are like, ‘If you do that, you may only have them for two years.’

“I’m like, ‘Brother, listen to me. I’d rather have a really good player for two years than have a bunch of average players for four years.’ You know what I’m saying?”

The young man makes a lot of sense. I’ll be keeping my eye on the Miners.

They should enjoy Walden while they have him because it probably won’t be for long.

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The post Steven Sipple: It’s easy to understand how UTEP coach Scotty Walden, 34, can wow an A.D. appeared first on On3 .