Miners to NFL: Dolphins Sign Hardison & Meyer, Patriots Ink Henry
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- UTEP football’s Gavin Hardison, Zuri Henry and Andrew Meyer have agreed to terms on free-agent deals with National Football League teams on Saturday afternoon.
Hardison, a 6-1 7/8, 206-pound quarterback, and Meyer, a 6-7, 313-pound center, came to deals with the Miami Dolphins. Henry, a 6-5, 310-pound offensive tackle signed with the New England Patriots.
Hardison started the first five games of 2023 before an injury sidelined him. Hardison threw for 947 yards with five touchdowns. He threw a pair of touchdowns during UTEP’s win over UIW. In 2022, Hardison started the first 10 games, throwing for 2,044 yards on 164-of-315 passing with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The 2021 season with his most successful, leading the Miners to a 7-win season with a New Mexico Bowl appearance. He threw for 3,217 yards with 18 touchdowns in 13 games started. The Hobbs, N.M., product was the first UTEP quarterback to throw for 3,000+ yards since the 2009 season.
Hardison concluded his career at UTEP with 7,963 yards passing in along with 1,061 passing attempts and 570 completions. He ranks third in all three categories on the program’s top 10 lists. Trevor Vittatoe (12,439 yards/1,641 attempts/914 completions) and Jordan Palmer (11,084 yards/1,427 attempts/851 completions) rank no. 1 and 2 in each respective category. Hardison's 40 career touchdown passes rank fourth on the program’s top-10 list while ranking sixth with 43 touchdowns responsible for. Hardison started in 35 of 38 career games played under center.
Meyer started all 12 contests at center in 2023. The San Marcos, Calif., product started in 43 of 54 games played in his career.
Henry started in 11 of 11 games played in 2023. The native of Dallas started in 36 of 53 games played in his career.
Meyer and Henry’s efforts in 2021 helped surge the Miners to their first winning season and bowl berth in seven seasons.
The pair of UTEP offensive linemen were part of a group that helped the rushing attack average over 159 yards rushing per game (1,439 rushing yards) and rush for 12 touchdowns. Their combined efforts helped pave the way for a pair of UTEP running backs, Hankins (812 rushing yards) and Burgess Jr. (620 yards), to rank in the top seven on the CUSA rushing list following the conclusion of the regular season. UTEP hit 200+ rushing yards in a trio of games, including a season-high 329 rushing yards in a 28-14 win against UIW. The Miners rushed for 224 yards against LA Tech and 222 during a come-from-behind win at Sam Houston. The Miners also found pay dirt on three rush attempts in the 37-34 victory against the Bearkats.
A total of five Miners were either drafted or signed as free agents. Tyrice Knight was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, and Elijah Klein was taken by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier in the day.
