As is the case at most college football programs, the UTEP football roster is constructed in many different ways.
It includes two highly-rated recruiting classes, a number of transfers from Austin Peay who came in with second-year coach Scottie Walden, a group of players who came in from other programs through the transfer portal and a small handful of players who preceded Walden.
Advertisement
Four of the best players on the defense present a representation of all of that. Safety Xavier Smith, who may be the best player on the team, is a transfer from Peay. Defensive lineman Joshua Rudolph also played at Peay with Walden and Smith, but spent last year at Indiana playing for the team that made the college football playoff.
More: Is UTEP going to the College Football Playoff? The New York Post thinks there’s a chance
Aug 31, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; UTEP Miners safety Xavier Smith (2) smiles during warmups before a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium.
Linebacker Stratton Shufelt, meanwhile, is on his first school. He was part of the recruiting class of 2024, a legacy following in the footsteps of his father Pete who was a UTEP great in the early 1990s, and Stratton made the All-CUSA freshman team last season in his first year out of Rio Rancho Cleveland High in New Mexico.
Advertisement
Throw in KD Johnson, in his third season with UTEP and the last of that Blinn Junior College connection the previous staff cultivated, and there’s a good illustrative overview of how this roster was constructed.
Xavier Smith: ‘We want to be the best’
That diverse group is led by Smith, the man in charge of getting the secondary lined up on the field. He was third on the team in tackles and the top returner in that category, and also led the Miners with five pass breakups.
“He’s been in the system a long time,” Walden said. “He’s the emotional leader, he’s the strategic leader, he gets guys lined up. He has the physical tools, but it’s his leadership where he’s stepped up.”
Advertisement
More: UTEP football’s freshman class may be special. Here are 3 West Texans making waves
That has come naturally to Smith, who has been a star in this system since 2023. There are new faces around him this year, which brings his leadership into focus.
“It’s the people who are different, but the intensity is the same, the focus is the same, the goals are definitely the same,” Smith said. “We want to be the best and that’s our goal. With all the new guys, we’ve been taking it day-by-day to come together. On defense we have to mesh and gel and trust each other.”
Joshua Rudolph making the most of reunion with coach Scotty Walden
On a defense built in diverse ways, Rudolph has taken a winding route to El Paso and UTEP is his third school. He was a captain at Peay in 2023, then when Walden left he took the chance to transfer to a power conference school at Indiana, which in fact was a power conference power last season when it went 11-2.
Advertisement
He was a backup at Indiana and with one last year of eligibility remaining, decided he wanted to reunite with Walden and play a major role on this defense. UTEP is retooling at linebacker after losing stalwart Nate Dyman to injury and Rudolph should slide right in there.
“It’s been great here,” Rudolph said. “I love the coaches, I love the culture we’re building right now. It’s been great building relationships with my teammates and relationships with the coaches.
“I am grateful and blessed to be back with coach Walden, he’s a great man. I had a great experience at Indiana, I grew up a lot and learned a lot. My growth there made me the man I am today.”
Walden has been reminded often of what he was getting back when Rudolph came back into his fold.
Advertisement
“It’s so cool to have his intensity, his competitiveness, his leadership on that side of the ball,” Walden said. “He knows the standard we are trying to build with the orange swarm and the physical brand of football on that side, especially in the box. He sets the tone culturally for those guys, then he’s a heck of a player.
“This kid’s a ballplayer and I’m excited he’s in El Paso.
More: UTEP Miners football team could roll with three El Pasoans on its starting offensive line
Stratton Shufelt learning his new teammates
Shufelt was a revelation last year as a true freshman when he played in 11 games with one start at linebacker. Walden repeatedly pointed to him as a big part of the future of the program and that future is quickly arriving.
Advertisement
With the linebacker mostly corp turning over, Shufelt represents some continuity.
Stratton Shufelt is a freshman linebacker for the UTEP football team
“It’s whole new different guys with the transfer portal,” Shufelt said. “It’s a ton of new faces, a ton of new names. It’s all a next level higher than where we were last year.
“Our linebacker room is stacked. As a leader I’ve emerged because I’ve been in this program two years now and my experience with coach Walden and the coaching staff. Our leadership as a team has grown for sure.”
The hope is that leadership across the board results in a big leap forward on the field for a retooled defense.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP Miners football: Defense leaders to know for 2025 season