Loyalty to the program has been UTEP football's secret to success

El Paso Times
The transfer portal transformed the landscape of college football, but it's main impact at UTEP has been more subtle.
In a new era when players come and go, the portal has cast a light on the biggest strength of what coach Dana Dimel has built. It's cast a light on the loyalty of the players the Miners have recruited.
The program has lost two players of note to the portal: Jacob Cowing to Arizona, who wanted to be closer to his mother and son; and Jeremiah Byers, who went to Florida State.
Those are understandable transfers, just as it would have been understandable if players such as Praise Amaewhule, Tyrice Knight and Kobe Hylton had left for power conference schools. They didn't, which speaks to a culture at UTEP.
"Coach Dimel, he looked out for me," said the safety Hylton, an every-game starter and star last year. "I'm going to stay here and stick my neck out for him, too. It's a big loyalty thing. I see it as trusting each other, trusting each other to get it done.
"It's easy to hit the transfer portal, go to another school, try to get an easy championship, but it's something about earning it — sticking through and earning it makes you feel way better."
The loyalty has been returned.
"Kobe is a stud," Dimel said. "He’s a physical player, he’s smart, fast athletic, a lot like Tyrice. He’s a leader out there because the kids really respect him. He’s a great teammate, he cares about the football team, he’s unselfish. He checks all the boxes as far as the intangibles and athletic ability."
Another big impact of the transfer portal on UTEP is that other schools have put an emphasis on that instead of the junior college route, enabling the Miners to get a player such as the linebacker Knight from Independence Community College.
He stepped in as UTEP's best player, he was fifth in Conference USA in tackles last season and would have been a big get for anyone in the transfer portal. That wasn't the route he took.
"I was in JUCO there was no one else looking at me," Knight said. "They are the only ones who took me in. I feel like since they took a chance on me, I had to return the favor."
So what did UTEP get?
"Tyrice is a sensational player, as good a linebacker as I’ve ever been around," Dimel said. "Same type of person, too. He loves his teammates, he loves his team, he loves the coaching staff, he’s been completely loyal to us in every form and fashion.
"He can play for anyone in the country, everybody knows that, but he knows he’s in a good place. He’s done some special things for us. His abilities are outstanding, as good as you could ever have at linebacker. But also the type of person he is. His mom raised him right. I’m a big, big fan of Tyrice Knight."
He's the undisputed leader of the defense.
"Everyone looks up to me to keep things in control," Knight said. "I feel like if I don't play to the best of my abilities the defense won't play to its potential. I feel like as long as I play the best I can play the defense will be in good shape.
"We'll have the No. 1 defense in our conference this year. We're going to keep getting better."
The defensive end Amaewhule will also be a part of that. Underrecruited out of Katy Taylor High in 2018, he has been first-team all-conference and with an 82-inch wingspan on his 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame, he is UTEP's best pro prospect among its upperclassmen.
He is the prototype of a player who develops into a star at a mid-major before transferring to a power conference, but he broke that mold by staying at UTEP.
Why?
"A great coach, first of all," he said. "We have a great staff with coach Dimel, (defensive coordinator Bradley Dale) Peveto, coach Wally (line coach Matt Wallerstedt), it feels like more of a family. When I come in here to work with my guys, we have fun.
"The bond we've shared over the past couple of years, it's unbreakable. I don't want to break it. We have the talent here at UTEP. We have the guys, we have the coaching staff, we just have to put it all together and battle each week."
While the players point to Dimel and his staff as the source of their loyalty, Dimel points back at the players.
"It's good young men who understand how important it is to be committed to something, being in a good place, understanding they care about the people they are around and have something to be proud of when they leave college," Dimel said.
"It's nothing we're doing. It's a blessing. We're blessed to have good kids. It's been unique. It's finding kids who want to be here and care about the program.
"We've been fortunate."