UTEP coach Sean Kugler talks New Mexico Bowl, Utah State and more

(Opening Statement)

First off, I would like to thank Jeff Siembieda and the Gildan New Mexico Bowl for the invitation. It’s one that we are extremely exited about as a team and as a staff. I can’t say enough about our senior leadership. Our senior leadership is why we are in the bowl game this year. It was a group of young men who came together in January, right after last season and decided they were going to stop the bleeding on eight straight losing seasons. They made a commitment to each other and they fought through some adverse situations this year. In particular after our loss to LA Tech, things could’ve gone many different ways and the team could’ve fractured at that point. But they stuck together and became a team and really played with resiliency the rest of the year and all the way down to the last snap of the last game. I couldn’t be prouder of a group of young men as those guys and more importantly for some of the strides they made off the field. We had our highest GPA in school history and had our highest APR in school history. This group of senior leadership led the way and paved the way for all those younger players to do the right things on and off the field. We couldn’t be more excited about playing in this game. If I could pick one bowl game that our team could play in this year, it would be the Gildan New Mexico Bowl because our great fans of El Paso will have to opportunity to come up and see our team. Our fans have been outstanding allyear. I can’t tell you how vocal they are and how much stress they put on the opposing team’s offense. I think in the last game, Middle Tennessee had four false starts on third downs. That’s because of our great fans and passion for the UTEP Miners. I hope to see them all at the game. I know (the fans) will come up in full force and support these young men. We are going to start our bowl preparation today, as far as game planning. But we are going to start our practices on Wednesday. And then this Saturday most of these seniors will graduate with their degrees and will play in that game as UTEP graduates, which is something to be proud of. We’ll continue our practice preparation this week. We’ll head up to New Mexico on Wednesday and we’re really looking forward to these young men having a great time, but more importantly giving El Paso something that they can be proud of and doing our best to go up there to win that game. Thank you.

(On Utah State)

They are an outstanding football team. They are 9-4, 6-2 in the Mountain West Conference. Coach Wells has done an unbelievable job there. They have had many injuries on their team. They are a team who has fought through adversity as well. They are playing with a backup quarterback. He is doing a great job for them. He is a freshman; a kid that can really make plays with his legs and arm. They’ve got two RB’s who are equally skilled and average about five yards per carry. They have a very explosive and dynamic wideout who is also their punt returner. He got injured in their previous game (Boise State). I hope the young man can play in our game because he is a very dynamic player to watch. He is second on the team in receiving and rushing, and he leads the team in punt returns. He has to punt returns for touchdowns. They’ve got some weapons on offense. Defensively, this will be the best team UTEP faces the entire year. As I look at their stats, it’s really amazing. They’ve got 48 sacks, 107 tackles for loss (that is close to ten per game). They have basically an All-American linebacker in Vigil. There’s two brothers; they play a 3-4 scheme. The two brothers plays the inside linebacker position which I think is pretty cool.This one guy is the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. No. 53, he’s got 145 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 9 sacks, and his brother is second on the team in tackles with 116, 16 for loss and seven sacks. We’ve got our hands full with this defense, they are very physical up front. They are very big defensive front, and then they have a safety who has seven interceptions. Where they’ve made their living this year, they are plus ten in the turnover category. They’ve gotten ten more turnovers than they have given up on offense. Much like we have here at UTEP. They are pretty much relying on the same formula. They are trying to play good defense and trying to be very balanced on offense. They are a very physical team. I would anticipate a physical battle, and I know both teams will come ready to play. I know it will be a great game.

Two wins to seven wins, do you reflect on that?

Actually no, I told the team the first day of the fallseason. I don’t have rearview mirrors. I don’t look back; I always look forward. I don’t even think once about last year. It was a necessary step that we had to go through to get to where we are now. After this year, I won’t even look back at this year. Our wheels are going forward and we are always looking to improve on and off the field. That’s going to be motto for us, and our team moving forward. We aren’t ever looking back. We’re excited about being in a bowl, we’re going to live in the moment, and we’re going to enjoy the moment right now, and get ready to prepare for Utah State. When the season is done, we always reflect on the season. We start on recruiting and getting our team ready for next year. In the game of football, you don’t really have a lot of time to reflect.

(On Making History)

I think we would make history if we take the opportunity to win the bowl game. We’re not done yet. We’ve got a lot of work to prepare. We are going to have to play our best to beat a great Utah State team. That would put a punctuation on this season. Regardless of the outcome of this game, Icouldn’t be more proud of these kids the way that they have fought all year.

How great would it be to deliver a bowl win?

It would be awesome. This whole year has been exciting for everybody. The atmosphere around campus has been so energizing. To get a bowl win would top it off.

(On Elmendorff and other injured players)

(Derek) Elmendorff,Dashone SmithandJeremiah Laufasawill not be returning for this game. Just like it has been all year, the next guy up will step up. Just likeChris Thomasstepped in that last game and did an outstanding job along withPaulo Melendez. Whoever is in that game plan, weexpect them to do a good of job of the guy they are replacing.

Source: UTEP Athletics