EL PASO, Texas – UTEP defensive coordinator Bradley Dave Peveto joined the Miner coaching staff in January and is set to lead a new-look defense during the 2021 campaign.
We recently visited with Peveto on his first few months on the job and what to expect from the Miner defense in the future.
Q: After moving to El Paso to join the UTEP Football staff in January, what are your impressions of the city and culture?
Peveto: I love the city. It's a great place. El Paso is a city with a lot of heart. I love the people and love the culture. It's a fun place. There's a lot to do and there is great food everywhere you look. It's really one of the neatest places I've lived.
Q: You had the opportunity to experience playing in the 1983 Sun Bowl as a student-athlete at SMU. What is it going to be like coaching in the Sun Bowl for the Miners?
Peveto: It's going to be exciting. It has been a long time since I played in it, but now I get to coach in it. It's a great stadium. When I look out at the view from my office, I think it's as pretty of a venue that you can find in college football. The mountains are in the background and it's a beautiful place. I just look forward to going out and having that experience again. My last experience was a sold out crowd on a really cold day, so I am looking forward to it.
Q: When Coach Dimel called and asked if you were interested in joining the staff, what was your thought process in your decision to join the Miners after having coached on the same staff at Houston?
Peveto: It was a no brainer. I accepted the job right away. I didn't even ask him how much. He told me it was going to be a defensive coordinator job and I was excited to coordinate again. I love Coach Dimel. I worked for him at Houston and I've got the utmost respect for him as a person, as a coach, as a recruiter and as a leader. The chance to get back with him and a lot of the guys that were here that I worked with before was just awfully exciting. Now that I've gotten here, I've just loved the players. I've loved the city. The thing that makes these jobs so much fun sometimes is the camaraderie you have with the people and the camaraderie here is really neat with everybody. I love the unity that I feel. I think the upside of this place is great and it's just fun to be a part of it. But to go back to answer your question, it was a no brainer. I took the job and didn't even flinch.
Q: You have coached a handful of Conference USA schools over the course of your career. What are your impressions of the current quality of football in the league?
Peveto: I think it's a very good conference. I think there are a lot of good coaches, a lot of good players and it's a neat league. You have the opportunity to play in some great cities and I think there's some really great venues. It's big time football and you have to bring your A-game in this league every day. I've got a lot of respect for it.
Q: How crucial was it for you to be here in time for the start of spring football and get that time with the players?
Peveto: It's everything. I think the most important thing is getting to know the players and earning their trust. And, it is the same thing with the coaches. The first thing is all the coaches have to be on the same page, then you have to install and teach the players and then they have to buy in. Once you go through spring, you kind of get a good feeling for where you're at. I was really excited about being here because I think we have really smart players that have really bought into what we're teaching. We were able to move really fast in the spring and get a lot in. I just feel really good about where we are at as a defense. We have a long way to go, but it was huge to be here in the spring and get to know the guys and get to coach them and then again get to go back through the defense with them. Post-spring, we got done early because the spring game was April 9, so we were able to go back through the whole defense with them before they left after exams. This summer, we've installed the whole defense again with them. We've been able to spend a lot of time with them. We're really invested with our guys here. We spend a lot of time with them and they are always over here. It's just a good feeling and a good fit. I don't even know how you do it if you don't go through spring ball. You're just guessing because you don't know the players and you don't know exactly where they're at from a learning standpoint. We really know where we're at, we understand our depth, we understand what we have to do to get better, and our players understand that as well.
Q: What would you say Miner fans can expect to see from the defense during the 2021 season?
Peveto: We are going to be attacking and very multiple. We are going to play extremely hard with great effort, and we will be a great fundamentally-based defense. To me, if you get guys to play hard and you are fundamentally sound and very multiple, then that is going to solve a lot of problems. The thing in defense is you want to make sure that you are not giving up explosive plays and that you are making the offense earn it. If you do that, then you have a chance to be a good defense. I felt like we were able to get that accomplished this spring. I thought we were really good at not giving up explosive plays. We just have to continue that into the fall.
Q: After working in football for more than 30 years, how has recruiting and college athletics in general changed in your opinion since you first came into this business?
Peveto: I think I think we all have to adapt with the times. When I first got into coaching, I don't think the philosophy was to explain why you're doing things all the time. I think when you're coaching kids in today's world, they don't mind knowing what they have to do, but I think they like to know why. And I think when you can really explain in detail what you're doing from all angles, I just think it's makes for a healthy environment. The coach is still the boss, but I think kids handle things better, adapt better and adjust better when they know why. I think where times have really changed is you spend way more time with the student-athletes now. When I played and when I first got into coaching, you didn't have any time with them in the summers because it was against the rules. You didn't even see them. Now, we spend tons of time with them. We're meeting during the summer with the allotted time we have. The relationships you build with them, the time you get to invest in them is way different than it was when I played and when I got into coaching. There is also no real seasons anymore. You are recruiting all the time. You are practicing all the time. You are meeting all the time. Those are all good things, but when I first got into coaching, there were seasons. You had football season, then you had recruiting, then you had downtime and then you had spring ball. You didn't really think about recruiting again until May and back then we couldn't go out until May 1 and then you thought about recruiting then from May 1 to August 1. You didn't even see your players and then they came back, but you didn't bring the freshmen in until school started. Now, a lot of our players are here all summer so there's no offseason.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
New season tickets are now officially on sale for the 2021 UTEP Football season. Ticket prices start as low as $65 and flexible payment plans are available.
For additional questions and information, individuals can call the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office at (915) 747-UTEP, email tickets@utep.edu, visit www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or stop by in person (Brumbelow Building on UTEP campus, 201 Glory Road) Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The 2021 UTEP Football season opens on Saturday, Aug. 28 with the "Battle of I-10" versus NM State in Las Cruces. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MT at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
The UTEP Football home opener versus Bethune-Cookman is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 4 at the Sun Bowl and will kick off at 7 p.m. MT. The home schedule for the Miners features a 6-game slate, including contests against Bethune-Cookman (9/4), New Mexico (9/25), Old Dominion (10/2), Louisiana Tech (10/16), UTSA (11/6) and Rice (11/20).
For complete coverage of UTEP Football, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @UTEPFB (Twitter/Instagram/Facebook) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.
