Nebraska Football’s ‘Diverse Defense,’ ‘Elite Culture’ Await UTEP

The first-year head coach for the UTEP Miners, Scotty Walden, spoke earlier this week to the local media, previewing his team’s first outing and what he expects to see from the Huskers.

UTEP head football coach Scotty Walden at the spring game on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the Sun Bowl stadium in El Paso, TX. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK

The UTEP Miners are arriving in Lincoln with a young coach and plenty of optimism to begin their 2024 campaign.

Scotty Walden, UTEP football's first-year coach, was named the 27th coach in program history in early December after leading Austin Peay State to a 9-3 mark in the FCS last season. Walden also improved the Governors' fortunes into a 6-0 United Athletic Conference mark. The 34-year-old coach aims to keep that momentum in his new stint in El Paso.

This week, Walden spoke to the media and discussed Saturday's matchup in Lincoln against Nebraska. The Miners enter as road underdogs, with betting lines having the Huskers as a four-touchdown favorite.

Nov 11, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Maryland Terrapins running back Antwain Littleton II (7) is stopped short of a first down on a fourth down play by Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman Nash Hutmacher (0), linebacker Javin Wright (33), and defensive back Tommi Hill (31) during the third quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

"We have a big time test against a Power Four opponent. (We) have a ton of respect for Matt Rhule and his program," Walden said. "They are extremely physical on offense running the ball downhill. Defensively, I would be shocked if we played a better defense of what we're going to play (in) game one."

Walden continued to heap praise on the Blackshirts during his introductory comments, adding that Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson will be "the best defensive linemen" UTEP may face this season.

"It is by far the most diverse defense I have gone against in my career seeing on tape. Tony White, the defensive coordinator, is a heck of a football coach. No doubt he's going to be a head football coach sometime soon"

- Scotty Walden on Nebraska's defense

The first-year head coach also named his previous signal caller as his Week One starter, with quarterback Sklyer Locklear earning the start after a lengthy battle with returning starter Cade McConnell. Locklear, only a sophomore, played in two games last season for Austin Peay. He finished three-of-four passing for 59 yards and a touchdown against Lindenwood in his most notable appearance in 2023. Walden named the starter on Thursday.

Skylar Locklear (9) of the UTEP football Orange Swarm team works on drills before the spring game on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the Sun Bowl stadium in El Paso, TX. / GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK

"I wanted to get through the game plan with Nebraska to see how they handle it. See how they handle the first game week together," Walden said Tuesday. "I can do everything possible in my power to assess them, but until I put them in front of 100,000 people ... it will be a great test against Nebraska. They are going to test us."

Walden added later that the team has worked with added noise during their practices to prepare for an expected capacity crowd at Memorial Stadium, calling the 'Sea of Red' an "electric atmosphere." Walden's Austin Peay team had success last season on the road at Tennessee, a 30-13 loss to the Volunteers, in which 101,915 were present.

"We were able to have success, communication wise, against Tennessee using our hand signals," Walden said. "Now that we have the in-helmet communication, I really feel that will really help us tremendously to be able to communicate with our players.

Oct 21, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers fans cheer during the fourth quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The UTEP coach also answered questions relating to Nebraska's first-time starter Dylan Raiola, and how the visiting team will try to rattle the true freshman.

"I don't think we make too much of it. He may be a freshman, but he's one of the most talented freshman I've seen. This guy throws an elite deep ball," Walden said. "Everything I've read about him, seen about him, everything I've studied on him, he looks like a student of the game."

The UTEP coach continued adding praise to the rest of the Husker offense, stating that he expects the transfer receivers - Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor - to be recipients of deep-passes. Walden added that specifically Jaylen Lloyd's speed is "absolutely dynamic."

Oct 28, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Jaylen Lloyd (19) runs for a touchdown against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The Miners are also completely accepting the "underdog" role in their first contest of the season.

"We absolutely love it. I'm a Division III guy. (I've) pretty much been the underdog my whole life. This is not a new mentality for us. You're never going to see me prepare to lose a game ever," Walden said. "The amount of preparation we are putting in for Nebraska is the same amount we are putting in for Southern Utah."

Walden added that the game is going to be "who we are", and the goal is to not let the Big Red determine the flow and direction of the contest. However, he stated it is an uphill battle due to Nebraska's "elite" culture under Rhule.

"We are going against an elite opponent. Looking at the kickoff unit and field goal block unit, you can define a program's culture. This program's culture is elite."

- Scotty Walden on Nebraska

Nebraska and UTEP are set to kickoff on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CDT in Lincoln. Hear the coach's full commentary from his press conference below.

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