Even before the opening kickoff last season, UTEP's 2015 got definition from injuries.
The one that set the unfortunate tone, one the Miners never really recovered from, came shortly before camp. It was the worst news the defense could get: Safety Devin Cockrell, the hard-hitting tone setter and heart of his unit, was gone with a microfracture in his knee.
"I went through spring, then summer-one, I was going into summer-two when I felt something in my knee," Cockrell said. "I got it checked, learned I was going to be out.
"It was hard, knowing the seniors were going to go out without playing with me.