Miners not EL PASO, Texas >> Today, the Texas-El Paso athletic department inducts the first class into its spanking new Hall of Fame. And it's no surprise the inaugural group is dominated -- actually, completely comprised of -- basketball and track and field figures.
ready to give up
UTEP tries to stay optimistic
Gilmore, Ala ready to start
despite 2 lopsided lossesBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comTwo legendary coaches, Don Haskins of basketball and Ted Banks of track, the 1966 basketball national champions and four track squads are the first entrants.
Of course, Don Maynard and Seth Joyner will eventually join them. But the fact that they're not in the first group gives you an idea of where football has been in the pecking order at UTEP, at least when it comes to tradition.
That's not to say the Miners haven't had their moments on the gridiron; as recently as two years ago UTEP went 8-4 and had a consensus All-American in tight end Brian Natkin.
But it's mostly been mediocrity, and sometimes, just plain bad. Like the last two weeks, when Kentucky and Oklahoma clobbered the Miners to the combined tune of 145-17. That's why Hawaii is a 20-point favorite to beat UTEP tomorrow, although UH hasn't won here in 10 years.
Still, nobody around El Paso is giving up, from the players to the boosters.
New facilities with an $11 million pricetag -- much of which was paid for by former Miner Larry Durham -- include plush new workout, training and meeting rooms and offices. The add-on to the Sun Bowl opened in August and still has new car smell.
UTEP has somehow found a way to remain optimistic despite being knocked silly twice in its first three games. One reason is the Miners are 1-0 at home. They started the season three weeks ago with a 42-12 victory over Sacramento State at the Sun Bowl.
"We're definitely glad to be home," senior safety D.J. Walker said. "We've got our fans cheering for us now."
While it remains to be seen what kind of psychic scars the blowouts left on the Miners, coach Gary Nord said UTEP didn't have to limp away in the literal sense after last week in Norman.
"The good thing is we didn't get physically beat up," Nord said. "Against Kentucky, we got beat up physically, but not against Oklahoma last week.
"I haven't seen anyone moping around. But to see how quickly we bounce back, we won't really know, we'll have to wait until Saturday night to find out."
UTEP is very young, with 36 freshmen and sophomores among the 59 names on the two-deeps.
"We as coaches have to make sure they learn from their mistakes," Nord said. "But as a head coach of a young team the worst thing you can do is overreact."
Part of the job of bringing the Miners' morale back up falls on Walker, a bright engineering student and team captain who has intercepted 12 passes in his career (the second most of anyone currently in Division I).
"I just encourage the guys to work hard in practice. That's about all you can do," Walker said. "Everybody knows what they have to do now.
"(The two big losses) was somewhat disappointing. I especially thought we should have had a better showing against Kentucky. Oklahoma's one of the best teams in the nation, but we still should've played a lot better."
Sophomore quarterback Jon Schaper took the beatings as educational sessions.
"It was an opportunity, a chance to get better. You can learn a lot when you play against one of the top teams in the nation," he said. "You can't make mistakes against great teams and good teams, and we're playing another one this week."
As strange as it might sound, Walker said Oklahoma was good practice for Hawaii.
"Anytime you play against some of the best receivers in the nation, a team that throws the ball like Oklahoma, that helps you," he said. "And Hawaii's right up there, with four or five receivers every play. It's a defensive back's dream, a chance to show what you can do."
Schaper and many of his teammates were still smiling yesterday as they prepared for practice. The season is young. Regardless of the past two weeks, they're in the hunt for the conference championship, and they're at home.
"We've pretty much put those two games behind us," Schaper said. "One of our goals is to get into a bowl game, and we can still do that. This is a big game for us."
Who: Hawaii (1-1) at Texas-El Paso (1-2) UH football
When: Tomorrow, 3 p.m. Hawaii time
TV: KFVE (Channel 5)
Radio: 1420-AM
UH Athletics
