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It's official. Twenty-three players signed national letters of intent today to play college football for the University of Texas at El Paso. These twenty-three round out coach Sean Kugler's first full recruiting class, and there's definitely plenty of talent to go around.
The former offensive line coach inked four offensive linemen, and two tight ends. Five other offensive players rounded out that side of the ball, including a pair of standout receivers from right here in the Sun City.
There was no question coming into the recruiting season, with a handful of graduations added to a lack of scholarship players on that side of the ball in 2013, the Miner coaching staff would certainly be looking to add quite a bit to the defensive unit, especially in the front seven.
They did just that, signing 12 defensive players, with most hailing from the Lone Star State, and California. Also in that group, are a pair of JUCO players who likely will see some game action immediately.
Of course, there's always the last minute hopefuls and surprises, and this year was no different. UTEP also signed four players that either hadn't committed, or were unknown to MinerRush as of this morning.
In all, Kugler and his staff signed 11 offensive and 12 defensive players, including 13 from Texas, five from California, and one from each of Ohio, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. Twenty of those players were high schoolers, while three come from the JUCO ranks.
Here's the complete list of today's signings:
| Stephen Forester | FR | DE | 6'1/230lbs | Mesquite, TX (Dallas Christian HS) |
| Alex Villarreal | JR | DT | 6'4/300lbs | Hidalgo, TX (Northeast Oklahoma A&M) |
| Jason Fao | FR | NG | 6'0/300lbs | Long Beach, CA (Long Beach Poly HS) |
| Mike Sota | FR | DT | 6'4/260lbs | Placenta, CA (Valencia HS) |
| Joseph Kraemer | FR | DE | 6'3/245lbs | Kettering, OH (Archbishop Alter HS) |
| Augie Touris | FR | DE | 6'4/235lbs | Buffalo, NY (Canisius HS) |
| Luke Elsner | FR | DE | 6'3/240lbs | Seymour, WI (Seymour HS) |
| Jimmy Musgrave | JR | LB | 6'0/235lbs | Victorville, CA (Victor Valley College) |
| Justen Tatum | FR | LB | 6'1/240lbs | Dallas, TX (First Baptist Academy) |
| Nik Needham | FR | DB | 5'11/185lbs | Buena Park, CA (Buena Park HS) |
| Adrian Hynson | FR | DB | 5'10/185lbs | Corpus Christi, TX (Flour Bluff HS) |
| Mookie Carlile | FR | DB | 6'1/200lbs | Stephenville, TX (Stephenville HS) |
| Chris Jones | FR | OC | 6'1/300lbs | Corsicana, TX (Corsicana HS) |
| Derron Gatewood | FR | OG | 6'3/295lbs | Odessa, TX (Permian HS) |
| Jerrod Brooks | FR | OT | 6'5/305lbs | Dallas, TX (Seagoville HS) |
| Christopher Misaalefua | FR | OT | 6'5/355lbs | Lindsay, CA (Lindsay HS) |
| Warren Redix | FR | WR | 5'10/175lbs | El Paso, TX (Montwood HS) |
| Eddie Sinegal | FR | WR | 6'0/170lbs | El Paso, TX (Andress HS) |
| David Hamm | FR | RB | 6'0/220lbs | Klein, TX (Klein HS) |
| Treyvon Hughes | FR | RB | 5'11/220lbs | Carrollton, TX (Hebron HS) |
| Sloan Spiller | FR | FB | 6'0/225lbs | Katy, TX (Katy HS) |
| Nick Jones | JR | TE | 6'7/260lbs | Buffalo, NY (Erie Community College) |
| Sterling Napier | FR | TE | 6'4/345lbs | Rio Rancho, NM (Cleveland HS) |
Make sure to stay tuned to MinerRush for more NSD coverage, including thoughts and player profiles. Also, make sure to Follow @sbnminerrush on Twitter and as always don't forget to like our Facebook Page. Picks Up, and Go Miners!