Trevor Vittatoe

July 20, 2008

UTEP's 2008 football opener at Buffalo is nearly six weeks away, and the start of practice is still two weeks off. But it felt like a season kickoff on Sunday as Miner linebacker Adam Vincent and quarterback Trevor Vittatoe met the press at Conference USA Media Day in Memphis.

UTEP Coach Mike Price had minor eye surgery earlier this month and was unable to travel to media day, but will be ready when practice starts on Aug. 2.

The Miners are picked third in the league's Western Division coming off a 4-8 campaign which started with four wins in the first six games.

"I think it's actually kind of an honor to be picked third because we didn't have the greatest season last year," said Vittatoe, who set school freshman records with 3,101 yards passing and 25 passing touchdowns in 2007. "Being picked third shows that people think we have talent and can put up a fight."

UTEP is expected to be solid on offense again this season after piling up a school-record 5,074 yards a year ago. But the Miners know that their hopes for a third bowl appearance in five seasons hinge on defensive improvement. After yielding an average of 37.1 points per game in 2007, UTEP has three new defensive coaches and a new 3-3-5 scheme.

"I think this scheme is exactly what we needed because it's easy to learn and we have the athletes to run it," Vincent said. "Last year's scheme was more heads-up and this year's is more flying around, coming from every angle and trying to confuse the offense. It's a high-risk, high-reward defense. It's going to put a lot of excitement into the game."

Vincent made an impact in his first season with the Miners after transferring from Arizona State. He was credited with 75 tackles and earned honorable mention All-League honors. A year later, he is the most experienced member of UTEP's linebacking corps and has a new mentor in Osia Lewis, who is also the Miners' defensive coordinator.

One of the young linebackers who has caught Vincent's eye is redshirt freshman Royzell Smith, who was the co-District 20-5A Defensive MVP in 2006 at Thurgood Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas.

"He showed flashes when I first got here, but I wasn't sure how good he was because he has been injured," Vincent said. "He was back to 100 percent this spring. He may be the guy who steps up and surprises everybody on defense. He's all-business and he just goes in there and gets it done."

While the Miners may have question marks on defense, there's no mystery surrounding their quarterback situation. An unknown commodity entering last season, Vittatoe emerged to rank second nationally in passing yardage among NCAA Bowl Subdivision (FBS) freshmen.

"The older guys took me under their wing when the season started and told me that they backed up whatever decisions I was going to make," Vittatoe said. "That gave me a lot of confidence. I believe in making the most out of every opportunity that I receive.

"The one thing that I want to improve this year is my accuracy. I completed only 55 percent of my passes [in 2007] and that number should be a lot higher. I'm stressing getting the ball where it needs to be and not missing big plays. If you miss a big play, it can turn the whole game around."

Vittatoe will have some new weapons at his disposal this fall after running back Marcus Thomas and wide receivers Lorne Sam and Joe West exhausted their eligibility. Two of those players (Thomas and Sam) are currently on NFL rosters with San Diego and Denver, respectively. With Thomas gone, the Miners may be rotating running backs with more frequency than a year ago.

"Donald Buckram and Terrell Jackson are going to be splitting a lot of the carries because they are two great athletes with two different styles of running," Vittatoe said. "One if shifty [Jackson] and one has a lot of speed [Buckram]. They bring a lot to the table. Teams won't know if we're going to run the ball, throw a screen pass or run a draw play.

"We're going to be very young at receiver and we have only one guy [Jeff Moturi] who has gained a lot of experience there," Vittatoe said. "These young guys are working hard to get better and they have to step up because there's nobody for them to sit behind. They have to get their minds right so that when the game is on the line, they are able to go in and make a play. I feel really good about them, and if I'm confident in them they should be confident in themselves."

Vittatoe is particularly confident in sophomore Evan Davis, who had one catch last season but could be primed for a breakout year in his quarterback's eyes.

"He is very athletic in every aspect," Vittatoe said. "He has speed and mobility, he can run routes and he makes catches. He has improved dramatically from last season. There are two starting receiver spots open and he has taken it upon himself to get better and play."

The Miners will report to campus on Aug. 1 and begin practicing on Aug. 2. UTEP will have nine practice days in Socorro, N.M. (Aug. 6-14). The 12-game slate kicks off at Buffalo on Aug. 28 before the mighty UT-Austin Longhorns come to El Paso for the home opener on Sept. 6. UTEP's challenging schedule features road games against '07 bowl teams Southern Miss, Tulsa, Houston and East Carolina, all within conference play.

"It's a tough schedule, but the byes are set up nicely [on Sept. 13, Oct. 25] to help us recover," Vincent said. "The teams in the West are always good, but it seems like a lot of them have lost some key players. It will be interesting to see who comes in and takes the spots of the guys who left for the NFL. There are going to be a lot of new faces in this conference."