The starting position battle this summer has narrowed to Metz and Locksley, with room for Jones and Torrez to make some noise in the mix. Assuming Locksley stays with the Miners, he would probably be the favored candidate to take the starting reigns next season.
“[UTEP] is a great school and the reason why I picked UTEP was because of coach [Mike] Canales,” said Hawkins. “He is a great man and a great coach. I am going to miss not getting to play for him.”
Hawkins said his reasoning behind leaving was he did not “want to sit out for two years,” but reemphasized his strong admiration for Canales.
“It’s not coach Canales. I would have loved to play for him,” he said.