UTEP Football Recruiting Radar: 11 Commits, Miners Lose a Few Prospects
Although the Miners announced via Twitter that they will wait until February 6 to recognize their 2019 signing class, there have been commits that have already signed and are set to be Miners.
The Commits:
- (Signed) QB TJ Goodwin - 6-4 | Cy Falls (Houston) | 3-star
- RB Deion Hankins - 6-1 | Parkland (El Paso) | 3-star
- WR Ajani Carter - 6-2 | North Shore (Houston) | 3-star
- WR Quintavius Workman - 6-4 | Chapin (El Paso)
- DT Sua'ava Tupua - 6-1 | Narbonne (Harbor City, CA)
- (Signed) OLB Joe Jay Smith Jr. - 6-2 | Garden City C.C.
- (Signed) CB Miles Banks - 6-1 | Blinn College
- EDGE/OLB Ronathon Elmore - 6-6 | Mesa Community College | 3-star
- (Signed) DT Justin Mayers - 6-4 | Reedy (Frisco, TX)
- CB Adam Cousins - 6-1 | Hendrickson (Pflugerville, TX)
- DB Duron Lowe - 5-11 | Butler Community College (Overland Park, KS)
Leading the way for UTEP signees are quarterback TJ Goodwin, outside linebacker Joe Jay Smith Jr. and defensive tackle Justin Mayers. Goodwin, a three-star, 6-foot-4 gunslinger out of the Houston area, will be primed for his spot on the Miners. He can either be in the place to redshirt next year or contend for a spot on the quarterback depth chart. Smith Jr. was a late signee on Wednesday, but is coming from Garden City Community College and may see the field for UTEP as early as 2019. Mayers also signed on Wednesday and will help out UTEP's depth on the defensive line. Aside to UTEP, Mayers received interest from the likes of Houston, New Mexico and Tulane. Another late signing came from Miles Banks, a cornerback out of Blinn College, who committed to UTEP last week.
The Miners got commits out of Elmore and Cousins within the past week. As mentioned earlier, Elmore's Hudl makes him look like the exact pass rusher that the Miners needed and is a three-star recruit out of Mesa Community College. Cousins went under the radar as a commit for the Miners and might serve as a PWO for the team.
UTEP got a late commit out of defensive back Duron Lowe, a 5-foot-11 prospect out of Butler Community College. His Hudl shows that he's a physical and aggressive cornerback, and he received looks from the likes of Texas Tech, Duquesne, North Dakota State, among others.
Jonathan Alexander (6-3, 205) - Safety - Kilgore Junior College
Another JUCO prospect the Miners are actively pursuing is Jonathan Alexander, who has lived and played in Texas his whole life. The downside for Alexander, however, is the fact that he is being actively recruited by Old Dominion, Prairie View A&M, Texas State and Grambling State, among others. But here's a positive nugget: Alexander and UTEP offensive lineman Darta Lee both played at Kilgore Junior College, so there's a connection already established there. He's ranked the 13th best safety and 14th overall prospect in Texas by 24/7 Sports.
Max Pierce - Tight End - City College of San Francisco (San Francisco, CA)
UTEP is actively pursuing Max Pierce, a JUCO prospect out of California. His ability to catch the ball is something that the Miners have been missing out on. If he were to commit to UTEP, the Miners may use Pierce as early as next season to replace Josh Weeks, who announced his intentions to transfer from UTEP last night.
Robert Mervin (6-4, 325) - Center - Hutchinson Junior College (Kansas)
UTEP offered center Robert Mervin, who is a 6-foot-4, 325-pound big man out of Hutchinson Community College. Former UTEP offensive coordinator and tight end Brian Natkin is now at Hutchinson junior college, who also probably had some good words of advice to tell Mervin.
Tobias Gilliam (6-0, 190) - Defensive back - Arizona Western College (Yuma, AZ)
Later on early signing day, Arizona Western cornerback Tobias Gilliam announced that he had been offered by UTEP. He was a recipient of the Defensive MVP at the El Toro Bowl and was named second team all-conference. Gilliam is a hard-hitting defensive back and would mix well with the plenty of secondary men that UTEP is recruiting.
Just Missed Out:
In a turn of events, El Paso Parkland wideout Khatib Lyles was mentioned in North Texas' 2019 signing class via Twitter today. The Mean Green captured Lyles from UTEP, who finished with 1,012 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns for the Matadors this fall.
Chapin defensive tackle Lama Lavea signed to New Mexico State today over UTEP, who showed interest in signing the local product earlier this fall.
Jaylin Bannerman was a member of this last weekend's official visit list at UTEP, but earlier he announced his commitment to the University of Massachusetts. He was ranked the seventh best in his position by 24/7 Sports.
They previously also offered Kelvin Clemmons, a highly sought after cornerback from Hutchinson as well, who announced his commitment to Minnesota. He received offers from Kentucky, South Florida, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, among others.
Send UTEP football recruiting tips to us at adrian.broaddus@townsquaremedia.com.