UTEP looks for production at linebacker Bret Bloomquist, Wochit
UTEP's linebacking corps was one of its best stories of 2018.
Expected to drop off in the first year of a new system after losing Alvin Jones to the NFL, the Miners plugged in graduate transfer AJ Hotchkins, got a monster senior year from Jumar Smith and ended up having one of the best years for an entire linebacker unit in recent UTEP history.
That makes the challenge this year a little different. While the bodies to replace are just as imposing, the bar is suddenly higher, and so is the confidence.