Scotty Walden, UTEP football make Sun Bowl debut

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Scotty Walden era and the UTEP football team will make its home debut this Saturday against Southern Utah.

The Thunderbirds aren’t a stranger to Walden, as the former Austin Peay head coach faced them last season in what turned out to be a shoot out competition for the Governors. Austin Peay would go on to secure the win over Southern Utah in double overtime, 48-45.

What made the Thunderbirds such a threat on offense was its zone schemes, which is a similarity Walden expects to see this time around. Both of these programs are fresh off a loss against power five conference teams, hoping to use this experience as a learning curve. UTEP fell to Nebraska 40-7, Southern Utah to Utah 49-0.

Walden’s “Blue Blaze offense,” was on display last week against the Huskers as Skyler Locklear drove the Miners 63 yards on just three plays resulting in UTEP’s only points of the game with a 38-yard touchdown by Kam Thomas. Thomas will be a continued player to look out for in UTEP’s home opener, capping week one with 132 all-purpose yards including 71 yards on seven receptions. Locklear is the expected starter yet again after completing 11-of-17 passes for 115 yards against the Cornhuskers. The Austin Peay transfer did split the time with Cade McConnell, seeing the field for seven pass attempts with three complete.

On defense, the team has tabbed the name the “Orange Swam.” Dorian Hopkins caught the eyes of many after racking up 16 tackles, one for loss and a fumble recovery against Nebraska. Kory Chapman wasn’t far behind with 10 tackles in the spur’s debut for the Miners.

Kick off is set for 7 p.m. from the Sun Bowl Saturday, September 7th.

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