SB Nation - Jerel Watkins

Not Ready for Primetime: Crucial Errors Spoil UTEP's Upset Bid Over Oklahoma

Adrian Mac — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:53:49 -0000

Make no mistake about it, the UTEP Miners could have beat the #4 Oklahoma Sooners last night in the Sun Bowl. Straight up. No Gimmicks. Landry Jones didn't tear his ACL on the first play. Nobody poisoned OU's Saturday morning menudo. Nobody let the air out of the OU bus. Nobody stole OU's playbook or playsheet. UTEP went toe to toe with the Big 12 favorite, held their own, and were a play or two away from being the biggest story in the infant 2012 college football season.

Forget Urban Meyer and Ohio State's dead season. Forget USC's rise back to dominance and National Championship consideration. Forget Penn States whimpering loss and the looming self-destruction of that storied program. Forget Texas A&M and TCU moving conferences. This week, all eyes would have been on the UTEP Miners who would have pulled one of the biggest upsets in recent college football history.

UTEP had glory and fame in their sights, a date with destiny so to speak, and the Miners stared OU down long and hard. UTEP was so close to sinking a Heisman campaign, decimating National Championship hopes, and rocking the college football hierarchy in Week One. The Miners were so close to making next week's trip to Ole Miss one of the biggest games in the history of C-USA and the biggest in the programs history for sure.

But, in the end, Mike Price and UTEP blinked first. The Miners tired out and made it all too easy for OU to escape.

The HIGHLIGHTS

The DEFENSIVE LINE

First of all, Oklahoma is not the fourth best team in the nation. That much is obvious to Miner fans and to Sooner alike- just read the thoughts over at Crimson and Cream machine. UTEP's defensive line choked up the line of scrimmage for Dominique Whaley and Damien Williams all night long. Don't let Williams 104 yard day fool you, OU couldn't establish a steady running game all night long. That's because Germard Reed, Marcus Bagley, and Roy Robertson set the tone up front for the Miners.

They clogged up running lanes and freed up Josh Fely and company to make a lot of plays. Fely and Deshawn Grayson were monsters and were in on 21 tackles between themselves. But, the credit goes to the hogs up front who outplayed the Sooners for most of the game.

The OFFENSIVE LINE

While there is no disputing that Nathan Jeffery was the best running back on the field last night, in either uniform, much credit has to go to the UTEP's veteran offensive line. Time and time again, UTEP ran to the left side of the field (Brander Craighead, Jerel Watkins, and Eloy Atkinson) and time and time again, Jeffery hit the holes hard and fast. James Nelson had a stellar game as well. Who would have thought UTEP would control the line of scrimmage against OU? Well, it happened.

The SECONDARY

DeShawn Grayson is a beast. The best DB in the C-USA I say and probably UTEP's best DB since Quintin Demps. He is a punishing hitter who is always around the ball. Drew Thomas and Darren Woodard bottled up OU's receivers for most of the game and Richard Spencer played aggressive despite getting lost on Landry Jones' 68 yard bomb touchdown to Kenny Stills that tied it up in the second.

UTEP's secondary was helped tremendously by a vanilla, if somewhat confusing gameplan from OU's Josh Heupel. Time and time again OU had Jones throw horizontal wide receiver screens. UTEP's Fely and Grayson ate these up over and over again yet Heupel kept going that route. It didn't help that Dominique Whaley couldn't get anything going against the Miner front four, but OU's gameplan played right into the strength of UTEP's 4-3 defense.

Where is the offense that carried Sam Bradford to the Heisman? It was not at the Sun Bowl last night.

ANDRE PATTERSON

Get him a raise, Bob Stull. Do it now. Lock him up and name his Price's successor in waiting now and not later. Don't let another school come in and swipe the best DC UTEP has ever had.

The LOWLIGHTS

There are four key reasons why UTEP did not win the game last night. In order of importance:

1) Mike Price's Ridiculous Fake Punt Call: Early in the fourth quarter, 10-7 game, and UTEP is one OU mistake away from taking the game over and the Miners defense has clearly rattled the "vaunted" OU offense. So, on fourth and seven from your own 38, the logical call is to fake a punt, by running Josh Bell to the closed side of the field, right? Absolutely unreal how silly the call was.

Ian Campbell had been pinning OU deep the entire game and UTEP was one Landry Jones mistake away from tying it up or taking the lead. UTEP didn't have any pressure on them and didn't need to gamble. If anything pinning OU deep with 13 minutes to go, at the Sun Bowl, in a dog fight, would have placed extreme pressure on an OU team that had fumbled the ball several times and been shut down by the Miners time and time again.

Mike Price simply let OU off the hook. And that's why he's the goat of the week and not Dakota Warren or Steven Valadez.

2) Dakota Warren and Steven Valadez: Three missed field goals.... at home? Warren missed a 31 and a 45 yarder that would have had UTEP up 13-7 at the half. Mike Price, sensing that Warren's confidence was shot chose to kill it for good and give Valadez a shot in the third. After Valadez shanked his 41 yard attempt (ruining a gorgeous 71 yard run by Nathan Jeffery), it was clear that the Miners kicking woes were an unsolvable problem.

3) Jordan Leslie can't catch deep balls. That's really all there is to that.

4) Nick Lamaison? I don't know if Lamaison's anemic outing (6/23, 39 yards) was more a result of nerves or an incoherent passing strategy from Aaron Price. Lamaison threw some beautiful passes (see above to Leslie) but also would randomly throw the ball away in the middle of the field (against his body). He was very lucky that he didn't have two interceptions yesterday. I couldn't figure out why UTEP didn't try and get Mike Edwards more involved in the offense. I understand and agree that Nathan Jeffery is the star of the show and that UTEP wanted to bleed clock. Price had two or three calculated risks (deep passes to Leslie) but they didn't pan out and UTEP didn't adjust to try and shake it up. Yes, UTEP dropped some passes. But, there was no rhythm in the passing game which ultimately falls on Lamaison and the OC.

If you had told any logical Miner fan that UTEP would cover the spread, lose 24-7 to #4 Oklahoma, and enter the 4th quarter down 10-7, they would have taken that deal in heartbeat and we probably would have seen a sellout. But, this game didn't end up feeling like a moral victory. Price's call was so excruciatingly unnecessary that it left UTEP fans frustrated and not proud as they ordinarily would have been. Can the Miners get past a game where they put it all out there and ended up falling flat? Can UTEP rebound from such an emotionally charged game?

That is Mike Price's next big challenge. This time, I hope he gets the call right.

#4 Oklahoma At UTEP Football Preview: Sooner Defense vs. Miner Offense

M. Hofeld — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 23:07:53 -0000

UTEP isn't going to be a team that can completely overpower Oklahoma's defense like Baylor and Oklahoma State did in 2011. Rather, the Miners are going to control the line of scrimmage and try to shorten the game with an effective rushing attack and then look for opportune moments to try and take shots down field.

While its not an overly complicated game plan, it is one that will test Oklahoma's defensive line in as much as that's precisely going to be the point of attack for the Miners. To counterattack the Sooners must look for, and take advantage of, mismatches that go in their favor.


			FS #1 Tony Jefferson 5-11/212, JR		SS #30 Javon Harris 5-11/206, SR
CB #14 Aaron Colvin 6-0/181, JR									CB #6 Demontre Hurst 5-10/183, SR
		OLB #7 Corey Nelson 6-1/219, JR		MLB #12 Tom Wort 6-0/237, JR				NB #9 Gabe Lynn 6-0/199, JR
	DE #11 R.J. Washington 6-3/256, SR		DT #90 David King 6-5/286, SR		DT #53 Casey Walker 6-2/309, SR		DE #98 Chuka Ndulue 6-3/256, SO
WR #11 Malcolm Trail 6-4/185, SO		LT #58 Brander Craighead 6-6/280, JR	LG #69 Jerel Watkins 6-3/285, SO	C #63 Elroy Atkinson 6-3/305, SR	RG #62 Kyle Brown 6-2/280, SO	RT #68 James Nelson 6-7/350, SR	TE #82 Kevin Perry 6-5/255, JR		WR #6 Michael Edwards 5-11/200, SR
				QB #7 Nick Lamaison 6-1/215, SR				WR #9 Jordan Leslie 6-2/210, SO
				RB #25 Nathan Jeffery 5-11/195, SO

To succeed in the running game you have to win the battle along the front and UTEP may have a disadvantage inside. Casey Walker has two years of experience and about 30 pounds on UTEP's right guard, Kyle Brown. He can help out defensive end Chuka Ndulue who is making his first start and will be going up against a senior who has almost one pounds on him. If Walker can be disruptive in the backfield by beating Brown then it makes things easier on Ndulue.

On the other side of the line, David King is pretty much a wash against Jerel Watkins size wise. He may have a speed advantage but he'll have to shoot the gap extremely quick to win on every snap. Its most likely going to be a give and take all night. R.J. Washington is also giving up some size to his opponent, left tackle Brander Craighead which makes me think that the Miners will try and attack to the left which will be Oklahoma's right side of the defense.

If that's the plan then they'll be running Nathan Jeffery at Oklahoma's linebackers Corey Nelson and Tom Wort who are both considerably larger than the 5-11/195 Jeffery. The key here may be nickel back Gabe Lynn and free safety Tony Jefferson who are also bigger than Jeffery but can also match his speed.

When it comes to defending the pass the Sooners are going to have to get pressure on Lamaison and use experience and body position against a receiving corps that across the board is bigger than Oklahoma's defensive backs. The guy that scares me here is tight end Kevin Perry who stands at 6-5/255 and could be a load to handle. That's where Casey Walker comes into play once again. Regardless of a pass or a run, it only takes one defensive player in the backfield to disrupt. It doesn't matter how big the receiver is, if the quarter back is on the run then he'll be that much more difficult to find.

UTEP Players To Watch

Running back Nathan Jeffery, he'll have more plays directed his way than any other player on the UTEP offense. Its a safe bet that their offensive game plan rises and falls on him.

Tight end Kevin Perry will be huge for UTEP on third downs and in the red zone.

Quarterback Nick Lamaison is going to have to throw the ball or UTEP will be raising the white flag of surrender. His decision making and ball security will ultimately tell the story for the Miner offense.

Oklahoma Players To Watch

If you can't already tell, I'm expecting defensive tackle Casey Walker to have a big game. If he's able to dominate Kyle Brown, as he should, it most likely means he'll draw a double-team from center Elroy Atkinson which only opens up middle linebacker Tom Wort to have free access to the play.

Nickel back Gabe Lynn is settling in more naturally at his new position than he did as a corner. He'll be all over the field on Saturday night providing support against both the pass and the run.

Middle linebacker Tom Wort could get his 2012 campaign off to a solid start if UTEP runs the ball as much as I'm expecting him to. Look for him to possibly be Oklahoma's leading tackler at the end of the night.

UTEP Football: Meet the Offense

asalom — Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:00:20 -0000

We are roughly 50 days away from the September 1st kickoff against Oklahoma, and with that, I figured it was time to take a look at the projected starters and depth charts for the UTEP football team. We'll go ahead and break that up into two segments: Offense, and Defense/Special Teams. This week, we'll be looking at the offense.

First up, is the quarterback spot. Of course, senior Nick Lamaison will be leading the way for the Miners. The 6'1 210 lb QB out of West Covina, CA is now in his second year at UTEP. Last year, as a junior, Lamaison was in and out of the lineup due to injuries, but showed plenty in his time on the field.

In 2011, Lamaison went 130 of 224 (58%) for 1718 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He finished the year with a QB rating of 131.2. While his numbers aren't absolutely stellar, a lot of that can be attributed to his lack of protection. On the season, he was sacked 19 times. Hopefully that number will be greatly reduced in 2012.

The depth chart, I'm sure, isn't exactly set in stone, but here's what we are projecting:

Nick Lamaison
Carson Meger
Garrett Simpson
Blaire Sullivan

Up next are the running backs. In 2011, our rushing attack was a major strength for our offense, but after graduating our three top backs, we will need to figure out how to fill those voids in a hurry. The top returning back, and projected no. 1 is sophomore Nathan Jeffrey.

Last year, Jeffrey rushed 26 times for a total of 166 yards and one touchdown. While he didn't get the ball a ton, he showed flashes of brilliance on occasion. Against NMSU, he rushed 5 times for 48 yards, and had similar performances in games against Tulane (4 for 43), and South Florida (6 for 39).

Jeffrey also caught 10 passes for 124 yards and two scores. Overall, he held an average of 6.4 yards a carry, and 12.4 yards a reception. The only other returning back who had a carry last year is fellow sophomore Josh Bell (3 carries for 4 yards). Here's the projected depth chart at RB:

Nathan Jeffrey
Josh Bell
Laquintas Dowell/Paul Franklin/Autrey Golden

On to the wide receivers. Returning from 2011, are two of Nick Lamaison's top targets: senior Mike Edwards and sophomore Jordan Leslie. Edwards, who also transferred with Lamaison from Mt. San Antonio College (CA), was UTEP's leading receiver in 2011. He hauled in 50 catches for 657 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Leslie, in his freshman year, was the third leading receiver for the Miners, just behind senior Donovan Kemp. Leslie had 30 grabs, for 430 yards and two scores. Only two other Miners who recorded catches last year are back in 2012: Malcolm Trail (3 for 16) and Devin Patterson (1 for 12).

Here's a projected depth chart at wide receiver (keep in mind the top 2-3 receivers are considered starters):

Mike Edwards
Jordan Leslie
Malcolm Trail
Ishmael Harrison
Devin Patterson

Also returning from 2011, are the Miners' top three tight ends. Kevin Perry, who caught 17 balls for 203 yards and a score, will likely be the top tight end to begin the season. But, Eric Tomlinson (6 for 83, 2 TDs), and Craig Wenrick (4 for 103, 2 TDs) should also be getting significant playing time as well.

Here is the projected tight end depth chart:

Kevin Perry
Eric Tomlinson
Craig Wenrick
Katrae Ford

Last, but certainly not least for the Miner offense, will be the line. This unit suffered tons of injuries in 2011, and the spring of 2012 wasn't much different. The bad news in 2011 was that the lack of stability within this unit, due to injury, meant very inconsistent play.

On the other hand, because of those injuries, many key reserves were thrust into the starting lineup, and gained some very useful experience. Thus, this unit will turn out to be the most experienced groups that the offense has.

From left to right, the starting offensive line looks like this: LG - Brander Craighead, LT - Jerel Watkins, C - Eloy Atkinson, RT - Kyle Brown, and RG - James Nelson. But, considering the injuries, guys like James Robinson, James Martin, and Paul Santillan should be ready a moments' notice.

The success of the Miners' offensive unit will rely heavily on the play of the line. Last year, Nick Lamaison showed his ability, but because of a lack of protection he was unable to stay healthy, and the team as a whole suffered. If we want to see our Miners in a bowl game this year, the offensive line will have to be much improved from a year ago.

From QB Nick Lamaison to his top two receivers, and from an explosive sophomore tailback to an experienced offensive line, this group certainly has got some great pieces to work with. Of course, there is more to it than just having the talent, and the offense will have to put it all together quickly for a successful 2012.

BEAT SMU: UTEP Miners at SMU Open Thread

Adrian Mac — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:00:54 -0000

The UTEP Miners (1-0, 0-0 C-USA) at the SMU Mustangs (0-1, 0-0 C-USA)

Saturday, September 10, 2011 (5:00 pm MST)

GERALD J. FORD STADIUM

SMU Leads Series Record 10-8, but UTEP has won 6 of the last 8 Meetings

TV: Fox Sports Southwest

Here are some quick gameday links I wanted to pass on.

The Preview: USA Today has a comprehensive game preview available here.

The Switch: ESPN takes one last look at the SMU quarterback switch from Kyle Padron to J.J. McDermott.

Getting Comfy: Bret Bloomquist has some nice quotes from Nick Lamaison on getting the first game under his belt.

It's gameday in Dallas. I'll be attending tonight's game so I'm extra excited for this one. Any Rusher's in the DFW area leave a comment and maybe we can meet up before the game or after to drink a celebratory beer.

In my mind, this game will come down to whether or not UTEP can get anything going on the ground. Joe Banyard and Vernon Frazier didn't have much to work with last week. Here's hoping, the return of Jerel Watkins and some other UTEP offensive linemen, and the experience of getting a game under their belt, will help the line begin to gel and develop chemistry.

Go Miners!

The Dig: Kyle Padron Benched and UTSA Football Mania Edition

Adrian Mac — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 13:23:43 -0000

The Dig: The lead story for UTEP vs. SMU is undoubtedly the switch by June Jones to J.J. McDermott at quarterback. Why the quick hook against the #8 team in the nation? Memphis is ranked... well you'll see...... Also, while UTEP had the lowest attendance at a season opener in the Price era Saturday, the UT-San Antonio Road Runners smashed an attendance record in the opposite direction.

The Road Runners doubled us up in Week 1. The question is, will the novelty last?

The UTEP Miners

Everyone Has One: UTEP's offensive line wasn't at full strength against Stony Brook. It looks like Jerel Watkins will be back at guard this week against SMU. Anybody who thinks UTEP's 1.6 yard per carry average would have been drastically improved with Watkins in the lineup is dreaming. Also, note that Paul Santillan broke his thumb and is practicing in a cast.

There were mitigating factors. Guard Jerel Watkins is returning to the lineup and James Robinson should be back soon. Tackle James Nelson, though, is at least three weeks away from returning.

Smart as a Whip: Bret Bloomquist has a nice profile of UTEP DT Germard Reed. Reed could have been UTEP's best defensive end. But, he offered to move inside to tackle to help the team. Good read.

Reed's response: "To me in football, there is not an 'I' in team. I guess there is an 'ME', you can spell 'me' in team. But that's not the point. I want to help everybody however I can." So he moved to tackle.

Time to Plan Your Watch Party: UTEP and SMU will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest. This is fantastic news for the Miners who had only one game televised last season (a Friday game vs. Houston). Last week I was able to see UCLA vs. Houston on Fox Sports Southwest as well. We're starting to see how good a TV deal we got by leaving ESPN. The Fox Sports analyists have a game preview here. They believe defense is the key and SMU will come out with the 1-0 C-USA Record.

"As the C-USA opener for both SMU and UTEP, each team will look to do what they do best. For SMU, it's a June Jones offensive spin on his run-and-shoot offense that has questions at quarterback, but a firm ground game with Zach Line. After week one, UTEP boasts the league's top passing leader in Nick Lamaison, a junior college transfer who put up a 365 yard passing performance in the Miners' Week One victory over Stoney Brook. I really think the defense that can muster a few stops and takeaways will steal the show. Edge to SMU's defense at home for the Mustangs' first C-USA league victory in 2011."

Profiling Obi: The Prospector has a nice profile up of UTEP DE Bernard Obi. Obi had perhaps the most disappointing 2010 season of any UTEP defender. Hopefully, he's due for a big 2011.

Wrapping Up Stone Brook: Below are some video highlights from the Stony Brook game. These highlights were prepared by SBU so they highlight SBU's good plays- they do capture an awesome angle for Travaun Nixons interception which was incredible. Ever seen a RB score from 34 yards out untouched? UTEP's rush defense was terrible.

How Nice of Us: UTEP's performance against SBU has given their team homes of a promising season.

The SMU Mustangs

Benched: Kyle Padron is facing the toughest test of his young career. He was replaced by senior J.J. McDermott and he will not start this week against UTEP. Amazing that June Jones have Padron such a quick hook against the #8 team in the nation. The speed of the hook tells me that maybe Padron hasn't looked too great in practice either.

Padron started the game by throwing two interceptions in his first four passes as SMU fell behind early. McDermott came in for the third series and played the rest of the game. He threw a 27-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter as the Mustangs got as close as 20-14 before A&M went on to a 46-14 win. Jones never did re-insert Padron in the game. "He was playing pretty well," Jones said of McDermott. "I thought I was going to put Kyle [Padron] back in the game, but I wanted him to gather himself, and it looked like it was the right decision."

Conference Wide

And Here We Go: The Memphis Tigers are ranked #1......... hundred and twenty! Really, the Tigers are #1 on ESPN's Bottom 10...... Even so, the Tigers are sticking with Taylor Reed at QB.......UAB finally kicks off their season but the Blazers and it won't be easy against Will Muschamp's boys at the Swamp.......Rick Heuheisel says that Case Keenum didn't torch UCLA's defense (310 yards, 30/40 passing), it was his over eager defensive backs who blew it...... Speaking of Dr. Case Keenum, he looked phenomenal against UCLA, especially on scrambles that showed no signs of a recent ACL injury, and the C-USA named him the Player of the Week..........

Something to Watch

The Rush: The NMSU Aggies play a Minnesota team that nearly knocked off USC last week. The good news for UTEP is that NMSU's run defense might actually be worse than ours right now.

For the New Mexico State Aggies - who surrendered 241 yards on the ground last weekend to Ohio - it doesn't seem like the ideal matchup. "We just have to be more consistent in stopping the run," NMSU head coach DeWayne Walker said.

How Many? The UTSA Roadrunners played the first football game in school history last Saturday. The Roadrunners beat up on Northeastern State 31-3. While Miner fans are lamenting the attendance of the Stony Brook game (lowest season opening attendance in Price era), UTSA is at the other end of the spectrum. They're breaking attendance records. I'm going to try and verify this, but I believe that UTSA had more fans in game one than UTEP has ever had at a single home game. I know, in terms of week one, they doubled us up.

UTSA beat Northeastern State 31-3 Saturday afternoon at the Alamodome in the first game in the history of Roadrunners football. From Richard Oliver: Official attendance today at the Alamodome: 56,743. Smashes all-time attendance mark for first-time football program.

We have to keep an eye on the Roadrunners this season to see if the novelty wears off. This is a program that UTEP consistently recruits against in central Texas.

Rocky Start: UTEP Loses Starting OT James Nelson for 4 Weeks

Adrian Mac — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:03:27 -0000

What else is new? Last year it was Donald Buckram that suffered a tough injury the week before opening day. This year, it's starting offensive tackle James Nelson. The 6'7, 330 pound veteran suffered a high angle sprain in the second half of UTEP's "mock game" scrimmage Saturday night.

Why was Nelson playing in the second half of a "mock game?" Mike Price blames his "competitive juices."

"Everything I do, I think of injuries and the health of the players first. I’m kicking myself in the butt on why I didn’t stop it at halftime. I had that opportunity but my competitive juices were flowing and I wanted to do better.
"I should have closed it down at halftime. I’d feel better about myself and my team today. I’m gunshy, snake-bit because of all the injuries."

It looks like junior college transfer James Martin will get the bump into the starting line-up. Martin, of course, played for Mt. SAC with UTEP's starting QB Nick Lamaison last year.

Bret Bloomquist also reports that linebacker Aubrey Alexius and guard Jerel Watkins will likely miss the team's season opener against Stony Brook. This years season can't start soon enough.