UTEP Miners Football Recruiting Update

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our UTEP Correspondent Carlos Silva Jr. updates how the UTEP football recruiting is going so far.

Welcome everyone! As you all know the Miners have 13 commitments, and are looking for more. I will breakdown each recruit, and keep updating you guys throughout the season.

UTEP Football Recruiting Breakdown

as of 8/9/06

Commits: 13
5 star: 0
4 star: 0
3 star: 1
2 star: 12
Unranked: 0

Positional Breakdown

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Quarterback: 1

Name: Chasen Stangel

Pro-style quarterback
San Jacinto (CA) San Jacinto

Ht: 6-foot-0
Wt: 184 lbs
Forty: 4.96 secs
Bench max: 265 pounds
Bench reps: 13
Squat max: 340 pounds
Vertical: 26 inches
Shuttle: 4.56 secs
GPA: 3.20
SAT: 1400

Stangel, who ranked 56 in the Rivals.com California top 100, committed to the UTEP Miners on July 10 th.

Stangel wanted to get the college selection process over early and believed he took enough time to make the right choice. Now he is focused on taking his San Jacinto team to the playoffs.

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Running Back: 2

Name: Vernon Frazier

All-purpose back
Duncanville (TX) Duncanville

Ht: 5-foot-6
Wt: 152 lbs
Forty: 4.4 secs
Bench reps: 13
Vertical: 31 inches
Shuttle: 4.19 secs

The Duncanville product sports a very small frame, but what he lacks in size he makes up for with pure speed. Coach Mike Price took notice of this and knew he wanted this recruit bad.

More than likely Frazier will replace Johnnie Lee Higgins Jr. on punt return duties, but he hopes to be a running back when he comes to campus.

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Name: Daniel Palmer

Running back
College Station (TX) A&M Consolidated

Ht: 5-foot-9
Wt: 189 lbs
Forty: 4.57 secs
Bench max: 320 pounds
Bench reps: 20
Squat max: 450 pounds

Palmer, another small framed player was ready to make his commitment early. With offers from Oklahoma State, Texas A&M. and UTEP, Palmer had a hard decision on his hands. Texas A&M was recruiting Palmer as a cornerback, but fortunately for the Miners Palmer did not want to play cornerback.

Instead he chose the team from the West Texas town of El Paso because of how professional the UTEP coaching staff treated him.

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Wide Receiver: 1

Name: Rishard Matthews

Wide Receiver
Clovis (NM) Clovis

Ht: 6-foot-0
Wt: 186 lbs
Forty: 4.5 secs
Bench reps: 14
Vertical: 30 inches
Shuttle: 4.16 secs

Matthews sports a big time receiver frame, and decided that he wanted to play in a big time conference. Although he got offers from his in state team the UNM Lobos, Rishard declined the offer and instead committed to the Miners.

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Offensive Lineman: 2

Name: Nathan McCage

Offensive tackle
Klein (TX) Collins

Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 240 lbs

The UTEP coaching staffs, who are always looking for big offensive line prospects, found a gem in McCage and offered immediately. McCage enjoyed all of the UTEP camps he attended, and decided to commit since the Miners are the only offer he received at the time.

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Name: Simpson Rushing

Offensive guard
Athens (TX)

Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 300 lbs
Forty: 5.01 secs
Bench max: 305 pounds
Squat max: 525 pounds

Rushing is another big frame that looks to improve the offensive line. The Miner coaching staff is setting a tone for the offense; protect the quarterback to score more touchdowns.

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Defensive Lineman: 0

There are no known defensive line commitments for the Miners.

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Defensive End: 2

Name: Odrick Ray

Weakside DE
Athens (TX) Athens

Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 220 lbs
Forty: 4.59 secs

Ray is a special player, and the coaching staff realized this very soon. Although he is being recruited as a defensive lineman, Ray earned first-team all-district selection at wide receiver, which gives an added athlete status which intrigued colleges such as: Houston, Rice and Baylor.

The Miners had an ace up their sleeve though, Ray’s high school teammate Simpson Rushing made the commitment to UTEP, and rallied for them to play on the same team. Ray did not have a second thought and committed to UTEP.

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Name: Craig Wood

Strongside DE
Copperas Cove (TX) Copperas Cove

Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 245 lbs

Wood looks to provide depth at the defensive line, when seniors Alfonso Auelua, Ricky Van, Justin Hanel, Joe Ward, Justin Watson, and company exhaust their eligibility.

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Linebacker: 3

Name: Richard Brooks

Outside linebacker
Mesquite (TX) West Mesquite

Ht: 6-foot-0
Wt: 200 lbs
Forty: 4.57 secs
Bench reps: 10
Vertical: 28 inches
Shuttle: 4.19 secs

Brooks attended the Miners satellite camp, and committed to the Miners immediately because he liked the Miner coaching staff.

Beware though Miner fans, Brooks is keeping his options open. Especially when you are hearing from schools such as: Tennessee, Arkansas, TCU, and UTEP conference rival Tulsa.

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Name: Chris Dowell

Outside linebacker
El Paso (TX) Andress

Ht: 6-foot-2
Wt: 205 lbs
Forty: 4.6 secs

The El Paso native has been concealed by his four star teammate Andre Jones, but he still got the offer from the Miners and decided to commit for the time being.

Other teams that have contacted Dowell are: SMU, Kansas, Vanderbilt, and Illinois. Although he is being recruited as linebacker by the Miners, he is open to playing the running back position which a rival team (SMU) is offering.

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Name: Gerald Gooden

Outside linebacker
Hooks (TX) Hooks

Ht: 6-foot-3
Wt: 210 lbs
Forty: 4.6 secs

Being the cousin of Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jeremiah Trotter was not enough for the Hooks native. Gerald Gooden is making a name for himself on both sides of the ball at tight end and defensive end.

Once he received the offer from the Miners at their satellite camps, he decided to commit.

Although Gooden is open to change positions in college, he is also open to the idea of looking at other college offers.

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Defensive Back: 2

Name: Dominique Drew

Cornerback
San Antonio (TX) Rooselvelt

Ht: 5-foot-11
Wt: 170 lbs
Forty: 4.48 secs
Bench max: 185 pounds
Squat max: 325 pounds
Shuttle: 4.18 secs

The Miners were looking for size at the cornerback position, and they may have found it in the San Antonio native. At 5-11, Drew still has a year to grow mentally and physically, but he hopes he grows into a UTEP Miner uniform.

Unfortunately, the mental aspect has not matured as of yet because Drew still plans to look around; even though, he made his commitment to the Miners

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Name: Ervin Jefferson

Safety
Houston (TX) Furr

Ht: 6-foot-0
Wt: 189 lbs
Forty: 4.71 secs
Bench reps: 12
Vertical: 31 inches
Shuttle: 4.35 secs

Although Jefferson was recruited as a safety, the Miner coaching staff considers him an athlete, and with good reason. The Houston native is excited at the prospect of being in the Miner offense, which was one of the reasons he committed.

Rivals has Jefferson projected as a receiver, and that suits him well because he is thrilled on how the Miners get the ball to all of their receivers.

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Kicker: 0

There are no known kicker commitments for the Miners.

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Punter: 0

There are no known punter commitments for the Miners.

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Final Thoughts:

The Miner squad will have a totally different look in the fall of 2007 with the loss of 29 seniors, but with the incoming freshman it gives the coaching staff something to build on. With the Texas Longhorns coming to El Paso in two years, UTEP must recruit the best talent they can because they will be on the field when that day comes.

Keep it here for more up to date information on the Miner recruits. If you would like more information or want to find out more about the Miner recruits, you can visit the Miners Rivals.com website below.