Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →UTEP Miners Quarterbacks and Receivers
Mountain West. Starting quarterbacks by year: 2026: EJ Colson Jr.; 2025: Skyler Locklear, Malachi Nelson; 2024: Skyler Locklear, Cade McConnell, JP Pickles; 2023: Cade McConnell, Gavin Hardison, Jake McNamara.
UTEP Starting Quarterbacks and Receivers by Season
| Season | Quarterbacks (starts) | Top receivers (targets) | Pass Yds | TD-INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | EJ Colson Jr. (5) | Carver Cheeks 19, Jaden Smith 16, Kam Thomas 10 | 607 | 6-4 |
| 2025 | Skyler Locklear (7), Malachi Nelson (5) | Kenny Odom 105, Wondame Davis Jr. 47, Eric Willis III 46 | 2,551 | 21-18 |
| 2024 | Skyler Locklear (9), Cade McConnell (2), JP Pickles (1) | Trey Goodman 50, Kenny Odom 48, Kam Thomas 44 | 2,401 | 15-12 |
| 2023 | Cade McConnell (6), Gavin Hardison (5), Jake McNamara (1) | Kelly Akharaiyi 59, Jeremiah Ballard 47, Tyrin Smith 20 | 2,569 | 13-12 |
| 2022 | Gavin Hardison (10), Calvin Brownholtz (2) | Tyrin Smith 90, Reynaldo Flores 63, Kelly Akharaiyi 26 | 2,460 | 15-8 |
| 2021 | Gavin Hardison (12) | Jacob Cowing 69, Justin Garrett 52, Tyrin Smith 25 | 2,649 | 16-12 |
| 2020 | Gavin Hardison (7), Calvin Brownholtz (1) | Jacob Cowing 71, Justin Garrett 54, Walter Dawn Jr. 32 | 1,639 | 7-9 |
| 2019 | Kai Locksley (7), Brandon Jones (5) | Jacob Cowing 61, Tre'Shon Wolf 53, Justin Garrett 50 | 2,277 | 9-8 |
| 2018 | Kai Locksley (8), Ryan Metz (3), Brandon Jones (1) | Warren Redix 53, Terry Juniel 48, Keynan Foster 34 | 2,200 | 10-19 |
| 2017 | Zack Greenlee (7), Ryan Metz (5) | Terry Juniel 42, Tyler Batson 38, Kavika Johnson 35 | 1,620 | 7-13 |
| 2016 | Ryan Metz (6), Zack Greenlee (4), Kavika Johnson (1) | Hayden Plinke 46, Cole Freytag 43, Eddie Sinegal 41 | 1,825 | 15-8 |
| 2015 | Mack Leftwich (6), Ryan Metz (5) | Jaquan White 54, Hayden Plinke 48, Autrey Golden 37 | 2,138 | 16-10 |
| 2014 | Jameill Showers (12) | Ian Hamilton 45, Autrey Golden 44, Aaron Jones 34 | 1,732 | 12-5 |
| 2013 | Jameill Showers (7), Mack Leftwich (4), Blaire Sullivan (1) | Jordan Leslie 64, Eric Tomlinson 42, Ian Hamilton 37 | 1,698 | 8-10 |
| 2012 | Nick Lamaison (9), Blaire Sullivan (1), Jim Jones (1) | Jordan Leslie 78, Michael Edwards 70, Devin Patterson 24 | 2,267 | 10-12 |
| 2011 | Nick Lamaison (8), Carson Meger (2), Javia Hall (1), Adrian James (1) | Mike Edwards 79, Donavon Kemp 47, Jordan Leslie 44 | 2,456 | 9-15 |
College starts are inferred: the team's first passer in each game.
2026 UTEP Target Tree
| Player | Pos | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carver Cheeks | WR | 19 | 13 | 168 | 3 |
| Jaden Smith | WR | 16 | 12 | 87 | 0 |
| Kam Thomas | RB | 10 | 6 | 142 | 1 |
| Jeremiah Nash | WR | 10 | 5 | 56 | 0 |
| Tavorus Jones | RB | 7 | 7 | 22 | 0 |
| Royal Capell | WR | 7 | 4 | 40 | 0 |
| Cash Cheeks | TE | 5 | 4 | 59 | 2 |
| Jaylan Brown | WR | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Marcus Torres | WR | 2 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Lamar Sperling | RB | 2 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Carmelo Taylor | WR | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Nik Henry | WR | 1 | 1 | 22 | 0 |
2026 UTEP Games
| Week | Opponent | Result | Quarterback | Cmp-Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | at OU | L 0-51 | EJ Colson Jr. | 10-18 | 86 | 0 | 0 |
| Week 2 | vs texas southern | W 51-10 | EJ Colson Jr. | 13-20 | 210 | 3 | 0 |
| Week 3 | at MICH | L 17-52 | EJ Colson Jr. | 10-14 | 93 | 2 | 0 |
| Week 4 | vs ORST | L 7-33 | EJ Colson Jr. | 17-24 | 117 | 1 | 1 |
| Week 5 | at UNM | L 7-61 | EJ Colson Jr. | 8-18 | 101 | 0 | 3 |
2026 UTEP Connections
| QB → Receiver | Tgt | Cmp | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EJ Colson Jr. → Carver Cheeks | 17 | 11 | 147 | 3 |
| EJ Colson Jr. → Jaden Smith | 15 | 11 | 81 | 0 |
| EJ Colson Jr. → Kam Thomas | 8 | 5 | 108 | 1 |
| EJ Colson Jr. → Jeremiah Nash | 8 | 4 | 27 | 0 |
| EJ Colson Jr. → Tavorus Jones | 6 | 6 | 25 | 0 |
| EJ Colson Jr. → Royal Capell | 6 | 3 | 28 | 0 |
| EJ Colson Jr. → Cash Cheeks | 5 | 4 | 59 | 1 |
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
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