March 25, 2010

The UTEP football team opened spring drills with a 22-period, two-hour practice on Thursday afternoon at Glory Field.

"It was a really good practice," head coach Mike Price said. "There was lots of enthusiasm and intensity, and that's the way it should be the first practice of the spring. Everybody had a great attitude and the practice was very well organized."

The Miners will practice at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Glory Field and at 7 p.m. on Sunday under the lights in the Sun Bowl. The first padded practice is slated for Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

UTEP has a lot of fresh faces on the field this spring -- and a familiar one in Robert Rodriguez, who is making the transition from graduate assistant to linebackers coach.

"I'm excited," he said after going through his first practice as a full-time coach. "I was nervous with anticipation all day. We had a little bit of a hiccup during yesterday's walk-through with one of the things we're trying to get through to the defense. But our guys are focusing and taking it to heart. They made the coach look good today."

Rodriguez likes what he sees in UTEP's linebacking corps, a mixture of veterans like Jeremy Springer, Anthony Morrow and Royzell Smith mixed with promising youngsters like Cooper Brock and Hunter Nix.

"We have a lot of athleticism and play-making ability at the linebacker position," he said. "We're well suited for this defense."