'Very unique': UTEP's first spring game in six years will be a different experience

To answer the obvious question — what exactly is the UTEP football team going to be doing Saturday morning when it steps out from behind closed doors after an off-limits-to-fans spring? The Miners are going to play a football game.

In one sense Saturday's spring game revives a tradition that died after 2018, but in another sense this starts a new direction in Scotty Walden's first year. There will be no goal line sessions, no situational drills, no seven-on-seven.

There will be an orange team and a blue team, drafted on Thursday by athletic director Jim Senter and UTEP president Dr. Heather Wilson. Tickets will cost $5, there will be a kickoff, then four 15 minute quarters with a halftime that will showcase honorary coaches Will Hernandez and Quinten Demps.

The calendar says April but, other than Miners playing against Miners, this will look like football looks in September.

Spring football: 'Like a real game'

"We're going to broadcast it like a real game, we have ESPN radio, we've got guys doing sideline interviews and TV timeouts," Walden said. "It's a real game-like deal. I want to see who, when the lights are on, steps up and who steps back.

"It's going to be a competitive environment but it's also going to be a fun environment."

For fans and media — for anyone not connected with the team, a local high school team, a recruit or an alum — this will be the first look at what UTEP is starting to build under Walden. Team sessions have been closed, the staff is even trying to keep a lid on what basic alignments will look like.

This, then, is a first look.

"I’m excited for our fan base to get to watch us," Walden said. "I wanted to make sure we had 14 practices under our belt before we let them watch us. We wanted to make sure we could take a snap and tackle somebody first. I didn’t want them to make a bad first impression.

"The guys have worked extremely hard, we’ve really pushed these guys. We’ve treated this as a fall camp as close as we possibly can. I’m excited to see all their hard work pay off. It’s another spring game, but it’s extra special as the first one here in El Paso."

For players new to Walden, which is the bulk of the team, this is a first spring game for all of them.

Quarterback battle takes center stage

"I've never played in a spring game, haven't been a part of that but I'm so excited for it," said Cade McConnell, who sources indicate is in a two-way battle for starting quarterback with Austin Peay transfer Skyler Locklear. "It's an opportunity to come out and play in front of people, showcase all the hard work we've been able to do here.

"Coach Walden has been doing so many different things that I've never been a part of on a football team. This coaching staff and the players are very unique and different from anything I've ever experienced so I'm excited to go out and display that for people to enjoy and watch."

The player he's competing with, Locklear, has been through spring games with Walden at Austin Peay.

"It means no more than a scrimmage, but it still matters, everything is important when we’re out here," Locklear said. "I’m not going to come out here and go through the motions. I’m going to come out every time and give all I got.

"Our spring practices are closed so I’m super excited for them to get a taste of what it’s going to feel like in the fall."

From a fan perspective, the battle between McConnell and Locklear will be something to watch. Regardless of how this scrimmage goes, those two figure to battle through the week of the Aug. 31 Nebraska opener so too much shouldn't be read into who has a statistical edge Saturday.

But on Saturday, it will matter deeply for McConnell and Locklear.

Repping the UTEP brand

"The QB room is making each other better every single day," McConnell said. "Skyler, JP (Pickles), Seth (Mauser), Zach (Rodriguez) and myself, everybody who is in there is doing well, we're pushing each other, asking questions, trying to elevate on and off the field as much as we can."

As for what fans should expect to see, "What I would like to put out there, what our team wants to put out there, is our brand," McConnell said. "We want to go out and show the type of football that's being instilled in us, the values instilled in us and the energy and excitement.

"We want to show our fans, this is what you can expect in the fall, this is the kind of football we're going to play."

While there won't be a winner in the quarterback battle coming out of Saturday, Walden laid out what he hopes to see from McConnell, Locklear and the other quarterbacks.

Goal for QBs: 'Efficiency'

"Efficiency," he said. "Play clean. I want them to get us in the right plays, play fast, and even if it's an incompletion or a negative run, I want to see we're going to the right place with the football.

"We've been talking about our eyes, training our eyes on the right spot. We train our quarterbacks in a very specific way and I want to see eyes in the correct spot and I want to see the ball getting distributed to the right people. Play loose, play fast, don't overthink it."

For the first time Saturday, there will be new eyes on UTEP. They'll see something much different than anyone has seen at a spring game before.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.

UTEP spring game

When, where: 10 a.m. Saturday, Sun Bowl

Tickets: $5

Format: Teams drafted by athletic director Jim Senter and president Dr. Heather Wilson. Game will be played as a regulation football game.

Garage sale: The team will have thousands of former Nike official team apparel items. Fans will be required to have a ticket to access the sale in the Sun Bowl concourse

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP's first spring game in six years will be a different experience