El Pasoans will always be the biggest contingent on the UTEP football team.
Most of the 18 locals on the current roster going through this spring are walkons, not all will see the field, but some will. In many of these cases that will be the fulfillment of a dream held since watching the Miners years ago in the Sun Bowl.
“Gotta love playing here,” said tight end Julian Lopez, a Chapin alum. “I grew up here, I grew up coming to the games. I love playing on that field.”
“It means the world,” coach Scotty Walden said Wednesday after his team wrapped up the seventh of 15 spring workouts. “It’s fun watching them everyday, they’re living a dream every day. There’s a sense of pride. I said when we got here, we want to recruit the best players in El Paso, we want to start in El Paso first and work out.
“It just means more to those guys. That’s the thing I see, they take an enormous amount of pride in detail and what we do and it’s fun to watch those guys every day come battle. They are doing it in their hometown, for their family and for the city they grew up in.”
Here are a look at a few of the El Pasoans who could make an impact for UTEP this year.
Lopez emerged last year as a redshirt junior when he played all 12 games. A lot of his time was on special teams but caught three passes for 16 yards and with starter Zach Fryar graduated and gone, this could be a year for Lopez to make a splash as a playmaker.
He’s excited about the direction of the program under Walden.
“I love the change, it’s completely different, especially the energy,” he said. “I love coming to meetings early in the morning and coach Walden is already up there screaming, getting us ready to practice. It’s really fun.”
Last season the Montwood alum was one of three El Pasoans on the second-team offensive line, and now he’s moved up with the ones. In his third season with the program Escobar is poised to be an anchor for the team.
“It’s my time, I have to take charge, especially being a center,” Escobar said. “I have to get the guys ready. I’m ready and I’m blessed to be where I am right now.
“We’re getting better and better every day, we’re getting closer as a team.”
As for getting a chance to play in the Sun Bowl, “It’s one of the reasons I came here,” he said. “It’s a blessing to be at home, showing out in front of my family.”
Per Walden: “He’s killing it right now, we love what he’s doing. He’s doing great. … Ivan is spot-on with the calls, doing a great job. He’s killing it.”
An Eastwood graduate, Immediato worked his way up through the ranks in his first three years in the program and now looks ready to contribute.
The Parkland alum initially signed with Colorado for the 2023 season, but after a coaching change there he switched plans and came to UTEP. He spent last year redshirting and is ready to make an impact this year. This is his first spring with the Miners.
“It’s going great,” McDuffie said. “My teammates, especially the seniors, Bennan Smith and Otis Pitts, have been leading me in my first spring. We’re all working hard together getting things done. It’s going to be a great camaraderie. I just want to keep working, keep getting better, keep improving. (Playing time) will come as the journey goes along.”
As for playing in El Paso, “I’ve been coming to games here since I was 7 years old,” McDuffie said. “I’ve been watching guys before me in this Miner uniform, so it means a lot to me to put on the uniform and continue that legacy in my hometown.”
In the last two seasons, the Coronado grad has emerged as a special teams ace, playing in every game. He arrived in 2020 as a wide receiver when his father Keith Burns was on staff and has seen quite a few changes in his time.
He’s entrenched on special teams and also looking to break into the depth chart as a safety.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on Twitter.
