Moving on up
CHS grad Scotty Walden returns to Texas as UT El Paso coach
STORY BY Lisa Magers
The Cleburne High School graduate who served two seasons as quarterback of the Jackets will hopefully strike gold for the University of Texas at El Paso Miners as their new head football coach .
Scotty Walden , a member of the CHS Class of 2008 , was officially announced as the new leader of Miner football in December and was introduced to the community in a campus press conference . He comes to UTEP following three successful seasons with Tennessee ’ s Austin Peay State University . Walden has an overall head coaching record of 34-20 .
“ He is one of the most innovative and energetic young coaches in the nation ,” UTEP Vice President and Director of Athletics Jim Senter said . “ He will put a product on the field that Miner fans will love to watch . His teams are characterized by fastpaced and high-scoring offenses and opportunistic defenses . We can ’ t be more excited to launch a new era of Miner football .”
Walden is coming home to Texas as a college head football coach for the second time , after landing his first leadership position in 2016 at East Texas Baptist University , where he first spent three seasons as offensive coordinator . He was 26 at the time of his promotion to lead the ETBU program and made headlines as the youngest head coach in NCAA football . A graduate of Sul Ross University , where he served as team captain in his senior season , his first assistant position was with the Lobos in 2012 , as an offensive coordinator and quarterback coach .
His coaching resume also includes four seasons at Southern Miss , serving as wide receiver coach , offensive co-coordinator , and in 2020 was named interim head coach . Later that year he accepted the head coaching position at Austin Peay , where he has taken the Governors to new heights , including back-to-back winning seasons and conference titles .
Jackets Freshman Football Coach Greg Funderburk witnessed Walden ’ s talents as a player and leader in his work with the varsity quarterbacks . Walden moved to Cleburne from Hurst and competed in varsity football as a junior and senior , along with basketball and track .
“ This is so awesome — I ’ m super excited for him ,” Funderburk said . “ Scotty is a natural born leader — period . I ’ ve never had a student , or a player , so committed and determined . The qualities he ’ s been praised for as a coach are what we saw when he was a student at Cleburne High School . He ’ s
Southern Miss photo In December , Cleburne High School graduate Scotty Walden was named the new head football coach for the University of Texas at El Paso Miners .
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