UTEP football gets deeper, better with additions of Tyrin Smith, Aaron Dumas

El Paso Times The quick analysis is that the UTEP football team got a lot better last week. As had been rumored for three months, Tyrin Smith, for the second consecutive year, exited the transfer portal back to UTEP. This time he had actually enrolled at Texas A&M, but realized he would rather be the No. 1 receiver for the Miners than a depth guy for an Aggies team loaded at receiver. Then UTEP got a transfer in tailback Aaron Dumas, an Americas alum who started as the No. 1 back for New Mexico two years ago before a transfer and redshirt at Washington. They also added Yamil Oaxaca, a Montwood alum who was at UT Permian Basin last season. How the new additions will help UTEP football The biggest pick-up was Smith, who was UTEP's No. 1 receiver last season. That position is perennially one of need for the Miners, who were looking at having to replace their top two pass catchers, just as they had to do last season. That went OK because of Smith and now his return helps everything else line up at receiver. It means Kelly Akharaiyi, who was emerging late last year, can settle in as the No. 2 and the cast behind him will be depth players. That will include Oaxaca, whose resume to this point doesn't look all that different from recent graduate Rey Flores, who started at UTEP as a walk-on before working his way up to No. 2 receiver last year. Receiver is still the biggest area of concern on offense but the position looks much better now than it did when Smith transferred to A&M. Put it this way: UTEP goes from having to replace 75 percent of its catches from last season to having to replace 30 percent. That's a dramatic difference. Where will Aaron Dumas fit in? Tailback, on the other hand, is the area on offense of least concern, but falls into the category of places where a team can never be too deep. Deion Hankins remains the top player on the depth chart and there were always options behind him to pick up another 15 carries a game. Adding Dumas certainly will make that more interesting. What UTEP unquestionably is getting in Dumas is a character player who who will be good in the locker room and should step right into what is shaping up to be quite a battle for No. 2 tailback. Coach Dana Dimel likes a tailback committee and UTEP is now loaded with options. June is not normally a month that grabs a lot of headlines for college football teams, but the Miners' roster took a step forward in the past week.