Preview: Q&A with 600 ESPN El Paso’s Adrian Broaddus

Football
1/11/2024 10:00:00 AM

Sam Doughton, MTSU Athletic Communications

MTSU heads to the Mountain time zone for their first weekend game since September

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Derek Mason is always straight forward in his weekly media availability. So, it was no surprise when he was asked how he was going to evaluate his roster in the final month of the season, the Middle Tennessee head coach acknowledged where his focus would be on the Blue Raiders’ final four games of the 2024 regular season .

“The rules have changed around things like bowl games and stuff like that,” Mason said of football’s redshirting rules. “I’m not worried about that. I’m just worried about seeing these guys in these next four games having an opportunity to show what their skillset is now and what it can be in the future.”

With MTSU sitting at 2-6 and 1-3 in Conference USA play ahead of a trip out to El Paso, Texas to take on UTEP this weekend (1-7, 1-4 CUSA), there’s myriad areas for the Blue Raiders to improve in the final month of the season, from having a more consistent run game and finishing drives on offense to tackling and setting the edge on defense. But with redshirt rules that allow players to appear in up to four regular season games and retain their redshirt status for the year, Mason is looking at his final CUSA contests of his first year in Murfreesboro as an opportunity to really know what he has on the roster.

“I’m not going to wait until spring ball to figure out whether or not a guy is talented enough or capable enough to help this football team,” Mason said. “I want to see what they can do. I’m going to see what they can do…Without losing the redshirt, they’re going to get ample opportunity to play for this football team.”

With some extra recovery time coming off a midweek loss to Jax State last week, facing the Miners on the road might be the perfect opportunity to test many of those Blue Raiders who have been waiting on the sidelines. Similar to MTSU, Mason noted, UTEP is also a team led by a coach in their first year in the program that’s still establishing their identity under their new leadership. Mason already sees that identity on tape on both sides of the ball.

“I look at that football team as a football team that’s looking to ascend,” Mason said of UTEP. “They have an identity on offense. They know who they what to be, just in terms of the spread offense…We face a team that defensively, in the last couple of weeks, has really hit their stride in terms of their run defense and how they look to play football there.”

In midweek play throughout October, the Miners have clearly improved defensively, picking up their first win of the season at home against FIU while holding the Panthers to just 21 points. The following week at LA Tech, the defense again was stout, holding the Bulldogs to just 14 points. Alas, the offense for the Miners managed only 10 points on the day for UTEP’s sixth loss in seven tries.

To learn more about the Miners, GoBlueRaiders.com Staff Writer once again welcomed Adrian Broaddus, who cohosts the Miner Talk podcast alongside his role on the air with 600 ESPN El Paso. The pair discussed Scott Walden’s first year with UTEP, the quarterback uncertainty heading into Saturday’s game for the Miners and some of the standouts on a defensive unit that has found its stride in CUSA play.

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1. Scotty Walden is a coach many of us in Middle Tennessee are familiar with from his time a few hours away at Austin Peay, where he had a lot of success at the FCS level with the Governors. What sort of energy has Walden brought to the UTEP program in Year 1 and how do you assess the job he’s done in the rebuild so far?

Scotty Walden has brought unbelievable energy to the program — and it’s all legit. He talks the talk and backs it up with the same energy behind closed doors. He’s as genuine as it gets. For year one, expectations for wins were low. However, the disappointment comes from the offense. They are one of the worst scoring offenses in the league.

2. Walden mentioned that quarterback Skyler Locklear might not be cleared from concussion protocol in time for Saturday’s game, which would result in the Miners leaning on two true freshman, Shay Smith and JP Pickles, at signal-caller. What, if anything, have you seen from the two freshmen so far in their time in El Paso? And in the event Locklear can go, what’s impressed you about the Austin Peay transfer’s game?

All signs point to the two freshmen playing in both JP Pickles and Shay Smith. Pickles will get the nod to start on Saturday, assuming Locklear is still in concussion protocol. Pickles is a run-oriented quarterback and Smith exhibits similar traits. Both of them are inexperienced at the position, which makes it interesting to see how they plan to use them in the passing game.

3. Speaking of Austin Peay transfers, there’s no question Walden brought in plenty with him when he took the UTEP job this offseason, particularly on offense, where as many as seven regular starters were in Clarksville a season ago. On paper, running back Jevon Jackson seems to have been the one who’s found the most success in his new home. What does the Decatur, Ala. native do well in the backfield and how have he broken out these last two weeks with over 100 yards rushing in back-to-back CUSA games?

I think if you talked to Jevon Jackson behind the scenes, he was playing through injuries and adversities that hit him early on. Now, he’s found his stride in the run game. Similarly, the offensive line dealt with a lot of shifting parts. Having more consistency up front has helped pave the way for Jackson, who’s blossomed into a stable back for the team.

4. Derek Mason described the Miner defense as a “hunt-and-seek” unit. Perhaps no two players do that better than Dorian Hopkins and Kory Chapman, who have both racked up TFLs while mostly playing in the second level of the defense. What should Blue Raider fans know about the linebacker and the “Spur’s” skillset on the defensive side of the ball?

Hopkins is a playmaker. He can sack the quarterback, intercept a pass and recover a fumble — something he did during the last home outing against Florida International. He has also provided leadership with the team, having mentored younger linebackers like Stratton Shufelt. For Chapman, he had been out two games due to a concussion. However, his first game back at LA Tech was excellent. He is hoping to translate his ball-hawking abilities and open field tackle skills to the MTSU game.

5. It’s been a Year 1 under new head coaches both programs wanted to be better, but Saturday represents an opportunity for both teams to get some momentum late in the season. What do you think will be keys to the game for the Miners to defend the home turf on Saturday afternoon in the Sun Bowl?

Score and play consistent defense. It sounds simple, but this game might be a low scoring affair, knowing how both teams struggle to score points. UTEP’s defense played near perfect at LA Tech and still lost. This week, they’ll need an inexperienced quarterback to score points for them. At the same time, they need the defense to create turnovers. Is it too much to ask the defense to also score points? Maybe they can help with a turnover or two to win the game.