UTEP’s Scotty Walden defends former Colorado, current Miners player after Shedeur Sanders criticism

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – UTEP head football coach Scotty Walden took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday in defense of Miners safety Xavier Smith after Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders took a shot at his former teammate on social media earlier this week.

The social media spat stems from an interview Smith gave The Athletic about the approach Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders, or “Coach Prime” as he refers to himself, has had with his roster since taking over the program.

While the Buffaloes have recruited some of the country’s best talent to Boulder, Colorado, they have also seen a mass exodus of players entering the transfer portal, including Smith, following the 2022 season. In the interview, Smith told The Athletic Coach Prime “was destroying guys’ confidence and belief in themselves.”

The article was shared by Shedeur Sanders to his X account, saying he doesn’t remember Smith and that he [Smith] had to be “mid at best.” The post and the article have gotten the attention of Walden, who came to Smith’s defense in a post of his own to X.

“I coached Xavier [Smith] at AP (Austin Peay) and now here at UTEP. He is the furthest thing from soft. He is a great kid/player, leading us to a conference title. In an interview, he answered a question honestly and told his side. He was a freshman AA (All-American) and has an extremely bright future on and off the field. I am glad he is on my team—check the tape,” Walden wrote.

Smith spent the 2022 season in Colorado battling back from a hamstring injury, compounded by a broken leg he endured during his senior year of high school in Atlanta, Georgia. In an interview with The Athletic, he shared his optimism about a meeting he had with Coach Prime and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly after the season. Smith recounted Coach Prime’s advice, encouraging him to “probably hit the portal” and not to “waste a year thinking I could earn a spot.”

“I was actually getting mad, like tears coming to my eyes. Because, bro, you never even tried to get to know me,” Smith added in his interview with The Athletic.

Smith wound up transferring to Austin Peay where Walden coached him in 2023. As Walden mentioned in his post, Smith starred for the Governors last year, tallying 75 tackles en route to being named an FCS Fourth Team Freshman All-American by Phil Steele.

Walden was named UTEP’s 27th head football coach in December, and Smith signed his national letter of intent with the Miners in January. He participated in spring ball and is expected to contribute significantly to UTEP in 2024.

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