By the numbers, linebacker should be the big question mark for the UTEP football team.
The Miners return 20 starters from 2020, needing to replace graduated linebackers Stephen Forester and Jayson VanHook.
A look inside the numbers paints a rosier picture.
New look, more athleticism
With UTEP switching to a defense that now bases out of two linebackers, the Miners need to find one new starter alongside returner Tyrice Knight.
At the moment, that’s Breon Hayward, a transfer from Marshall who started, and led the team with 16 tackles, in last season’s finale against North Texas.