UTEP Football: Can Miners start to turn things around in 2020?

Defense searching for answers

On the defensive side of the ball, the struggle has been similar. The Miner defense finished last in the C-USA in both scoring and rushing defense, 119th and 108th in the country, respectively. The pass defense is the unit’s strong suit, but even then, they finished just seventh in the conference and 70th in the country.

Mike Cox’s defense held opponents to three-and-out on just 20.6 percent of drives, the worst rate in the entire nation. As far as third down defense was concerned, the unit was just 129th nationally. In the entirety of 2019, the Miners sacked opposing quarterbacks just 12 times.

The answer, in the short term, will be junior college transfers. Linebacker Tyrice Knight and cornerback Dennis Barnes are the two headliners in that category, and along with seniors Jayson Vanhook and Josh Caldwell, they’ll help anchor the defense as younger players grow into leadership roles.

The most exciting of those young players is defensive end Praise Amaewhule. As a freshman, he led the team in sacks, and he should see significant growth as he enters year two in El Paso.

Cox has his work cut out for him, but with an influx of new talent, there should be improvement from the abysmal results of 2019.