Price Is Right for New Miners as UTEP Announces National LOI Signings [VIDEO]
UTEP announced the addition of 20 new names to its football roster on National Letter of Intent Signing Day. The class includes two players -- DB Leon Hayes and LB Darnell Murray -- who greyshirted with the program in 2011, bringing the total number of scholarships awarded to 22.
Fans can watch video and read information on the Miners newest recruits at www.utepathletics.com.
UTEP head coach Mike Price looked cautiously optimistic with the Miners haul, terming the class "very balanced" in addressing team needs.
If the class pans out, then it could be said good things come in fours. UTEP garnered commitments from four players each in four key positions: offensive line, defensive line, defensive back and linebacker.
Add to that a pair of recruits each at the wide receiver, running back and quarterback positions -- all high-schoolers -- and it is one of the more balanced classes in recent memory.
Last year, the Miners had to hit the junior college ranks hard to fill immediate needs, especially at the quarterback spot. Nick Lamaison provided a steady hand in 2011, despite injuries that kept him out of games.
But Lamaison also gave Price time to focus on landing Garrett Simpson, a two-year recruiting project that paid off -- at least as far as getting The Colony, TX, native on campus.
Simpson is a prototypical Mike Price quarterback. At 6-6, 240-pounds, Simpson has the size and, apparently, the arm to be next in a long line of solid signal-callers coached by Price, despite being in a run-first high school offense.
Simpson's high school career seems a bit like former UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe, who won a state championship at Euless Trinity running the triple option before setting numerous passing records as a Miner.
Price answered questions about the new recruits after running down their stats and stories for the media for the press.