When Alex Delton announced that he would be transferring from Kansas State earlier this month, UTEP made immediate sense. The quarterback did not divulge that to the Wichita Eagle when they interviewed him about transferring. Rather, he eluded to Bill Snyder's retirement as a big factor in his decision.

"It wasn’t necessarily the reason I did it, but it definitely was a reason I decided to transfer," Delton told the Wichita Eagle. "I have tremendous respect for that man. No one works harder. I can’t say enough good things about Coach. It had a big impact. Once he said he was retiring, it was like a light bulb went off in my head."

Delton tweeted out yesterday that he was coming to El Paso to reunite with Dana Dimel, who had been his offensive coordinator at K-State. He will be a graduate and have one year of eligibility left.

Cactus Bowl - Kansas State v UCLA
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The highlight of Delton's time in Manhattan was his Cactus Bowl performance last year when he came off the bench to rush for 158 yards and three touchdowns to help the Wildcats beat UCLA. He was a captain at K-State and very popular in the locker room as well as in the community.

The addition of Delton gives UTEP much needed depth at the quarterback position for the 2019 season. The Miners have three quarterbacks with one year of eligibility remaining (Kai Locksley and Brandon Jones are the other two), and Delton's familiarity with Dimel's offense is a huge plus for next season. Locksley spent a good portion of 2018 playing on an injured ankle and Ryan Metz's career-ending concussion forced UTEP to go with Jones, their third string quarterback. The results were mixed as Jones threw for 340 yards against Western Kentucky, but he also struggled against Southern Miss.

Delton has never been known as a big passer and most of his production at K-State was on the ground. However, his leadership skills will be well received in the Miners locker room and he can also help tutor young quarterbacks like Calvin Brownholtz and incoming freshman T.J. Goodwin. In his four years in Manhattan, Delton never seized the starting quarterback job and he might not beat out Kai Locksley next season. Rather, the two will give Coach Dimel a nice 1-2 punch and insurance in case Locksley goes down again in 2019. It will also be interesting to watch Delton's play in Conference USA and see if it mirrors that of linebacker A.J. Hotchkins, who shined for the Miners after limited opportunities at Oregon.

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