The Kyyote's Howl

Today’s practice had a special feel to it.  It was the final practice of the season, in the Sun Bowl, and for the seniors it was the last time they would put on pads and helmets, and walk down the steps to practice together, and with their team.

It was kind of an odd mixture of hard hits, cheers, good natured ribbing, and just plain fun.  The team wasn’t officially supposed to be tackling, as they didn’t have pads on below their waists, and the coaches didn’t want them to get injured a few days before their bowl game, but for many it was the last chance they would have to get to do what they have done for years.

Coaches were putting the final touches on the game plan, but they too were caught up in the mood of the practice.  There were plenty of drills to keep the players physically tuned up.  My favorite activity was when offensive linemen were allowed to rush against defensive linemen, in a reversal of the usual drill.  Instead of being beat on, and being the one having to keep the defensive lineman from getting to the quarterback, it was they who got to do the beating, try their swim moves and spins.  The defenders were just as fired up to prove that they could keep the bigger monsters from getting past them.  Often the bigger, stronger offensive linemen used their brute force to move the smaller defensive linemen back.  Both sides roared with pleasure as each of their men took the challenges.  The biggest roars came when a smaller defensive lineman would out muscle one of the offensive linemen.

Perhaps the tone was set when the team arrived , in pads, ready for practice, and the marching band was on the field.  I’m disappointed that I missed it, but the report was that Coach Patterson showed his dance moves, and left onlookers slack-jawed.

“Oh, my God, that man can move!  He can move!  I was impressed”, was Coach Price’s comment.  “I wanted the TV station to turn around and get him.  John(Teicher), did you see that one?”

“Oh, yeah!”, Teicher replied.

“Oh, man, he was movin’”, Coach Price said.

I have been writing for a long time that Coach Price has been trying to change the football culture that was entrenched here before he arrived, and that he is building a program and not just coaching the team.  I asked him how important this bowl game is to that process, and where the program is in the progress towards that end.

“I think it’s real important to me that we win this game, and that we play well.  We have been playing well.  We haven’t won as many as we would have liked to, this year.  But, I think with everyone healthy we’re going to give a great effort, and, gosh, you know, we’re going to be on national TV, it’s a chance to spotlight our program.  I would be very disappointed if we weren’t playing at our very best.  We’ll see how the ball, you never know how the ball bounces, or hits the goal post, or something like that, but I’m expecting us to play well.

As for the progress on changing the culture he responded this way;

“I think it’s changed.  I think it’s changed.  I think it’s changed in our community.  People are expecting us to win now, and when I came here they just wanted us to play good for four quarters.  That’s changed.  Hasn’t it?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes it has”, I said.

“Sure they have.  That’s the way we want ‘em to, the way we want it to be”, he finished, speaking seriously.

For many, in El Paso, and all over the country, this bowl game is seen as a match up of two teams, undeserving of continuing their seasons.  For others, it is a chance to continue the season, and get a last chance to watch their teams play before the long stretch between the end of the bowl game and spring drills.  For some Miners fans, this bowl game represents progress for a program that has seen so little in its history that even appearances in bowl games that others might deride, are welcomed with appreciating smiles.

Tanner Cullumber, the 6′ 4″, 300 pound offensive lineman, is preparing for his final game as a Miner.  The team is putting on the final touches as they prepare for the New Mexico Bowl.  The fifth year senior talked about his experience here at UTEP, with the Miners football team.

“It’s flown by.  You first get here, and you’re just on the scout team, you’re just a hitting dummy, and all of a sudden you’re somebody, and then all of a sudden you’re done.  You’ve just got to take advantage of the time you’ve got here.”

We talked about the positions he has played and learned, starting with the position he played at Hamilton High School, in Chandler, Arizona, and his eventual move to the center position on the UTEP team.

“I played left tackle in high school.  I came here playing offensive line, a little bit of both, a little bit of tackle, just experimenting, a little center and guard and stuff, so, but after a while they had me mainly at center.”

He spoke about learning the position from Robby Felix, who went on to the NFL.

“Oh, a lot of help, you know.  Like I’ve said, he’s left two years, and everyone still knows him, everyone still mentions his name.”

“How much help will it be to know those different positions on the offensive line, at the next level”, I asked?

“That’s going to help, tremendously, you know.  Being able to play center, you pretty much know what everyone else is going to do, or should be doing, I should say.  So the only difference is going out there and playing it, I mean playing guard.  I mean, you already know what to do.  It’s just a matter of getting out there and playing it.  Not a lot of guys can do that, playing from center to guard, and so forth.  So, I think that will help me out a lot.”

I mentioned that Coach Price has always said that the center position is the most important position in his offense.  The center calls out all of the blocking assignments for each play.  I asked him how helpful that will be to have that kind of knowledge.

“Oh, extremely helpful.  If you know the defenses already, when you get to the NFL, or wherever you are going to go,  it’s going to be that much easier if you already know everything, and can call out everything.”

Having both the physical skills and the knowledge needed to read the defenses, and call out the blocking assignments for the O-line has to give Cullumber an advantage.

We moved on to the subject of the New Mexico Bowl, and BYU.  ”How rewarding is it to finally get to a bowl game?”, I asked.

“Yeah, shoot, man, looking forward, right when I first got here they went to a bowl game right before I got here, and so it was like I was going to have five bowl rings on my fingers when I get out of here, and it obviously hasn’t fallen that way.  So, this is really nice.  It’s fantastic for the whole team to get these extra 15 practices in, all of these young guys to get good quality reps.”

Speaking of young guys, we’ve had a great run with the seniors on the offensive line, I wanted to know how ell we were going to be at that position, next year.

“Oh, you know, everyone knows Eloy(Atkinson).  Eloy, he’s a tremendous player.  He has it mentally.  He has it physically.  So, there’s going to be no problem at center, next year.  Guards are going to be filling in.  Santillan, and McCage are doing good.  James Nelson, at tackle, along with Craighead, and a couple of other guys are going to be coming in, so it’s going to be a pretty solid line, next year, too.”

I thanked him for all of his hard work for our school, and as I am a retired teacher, I asked about school.  He told me that he had three classes left, and would be graduating in May.  I asked about his future plans, after the NFL, of course.  He said he was considering the military, or possibly joining his father in business.

The best of luck to Tanner Cullumber.  For the five years that I have had the pleasure of watching him work, and talk with him after practices, I have seen effort, enthusiasm, and a very classy, down to earth young man.  The folks in Chandler, and his parents, can be very proud of the kid they sent to UTEP.

Practices have been very good.  The players have been giving great effort, and have been very competitive.  The seniors are excited at the prospect of going to a bowl game and getting a win, but are going about their practices in a very business like manner.

The BYU stuff has been put in, and the team is just doing the fine tuning at this point. 

One thing that may have hurt the team this season was the lack of a bye week during the regular season.  But, that may turn out to be a blessing, now.  Our regular season ended a week or two before most other team’s did.  That has given the team extra time to get players healed up.  Offensive lineman Will Osolinsky, unfortunately, hasn’t had quite enough time to heal his broken leg enough to play.  If the bowl game had been a later one, instead of the first one he might have been able to play.  But, the rest of the offensive line looks to be in good shape.

Trevor Vittatoe is practicing in full pads.  His ankle is being supported, but he is moving very well.  He appears to be able to plant to throw, and is able to move around to buy time.

It is no accident that UTEP gets a lot of yards and good field position on kickoffs.  Marlon McClure is a big reason, but so is Coach Banks.  He is a stickler for details, and has his kick return team well prepared.

There are many new jersey numbers for me to learn, as the green shirts of the scout team are coming off, and there were even a few greyshirt players able to get in their first practice today.  Coach Price mentioned one of them today, saying that wide receiver Davian Harper went up for a nice grab in the endzone.  Anthony McGhee, WR, made a couple of excellent catches, today.  I have mentioned Nathan Jeffery, RB, before, and he continues to make me take notice when he runs with the ball.  He has excellent straight ahead speed, is shifty enough to find the wholes in the line, and has plenty of power, enough to drag defensive players along with him after they do get a hold of him.  He will be fun to watch, in the future.

I saw something today that I could hardly believe.  There was a giant in street clothes on the sidelines.  Standing next to Tanner Cullumber, who is 6′ 4, 300 pounds, Tanner looked tiny.  I mentioned him, he is a recruit, to Cullumber and he laughed.  Cullumber said that he was bigger than Alex Solot.  Alex is 6′ 8″, and weighs 310 pounds ormore.  The recruit was tall, very tall, and very stout.

This is the recruit, and Cullumber is number 79.

There are some more pictures from today’s practice here;

http://kyyotesden.com/DenGallery/thumbnails.php?album=45

There is one player at UTEP’s football practices that almost always has a big smile on his face.  He is one of the most polite, respectful persons you will ever meet.  But, he hits like a freight train.  The coaches sometimes have to remind him that the players he hits so hard in practice are on his team.  His personal story of hard work, not allowing personal misfortunes to become excuses, using a helping hand to elevate his standing in life, and a desire to give others the same chances he got, is right for this time of year.

He was born in Haiti.  He really doesn’t speak in ways that hint a complaint, or allows an excuse.  He described his life this way;

“I was raised in Haiti.  I was born in Haiti, and as you people know how things go down in Haiti, it’s not the safest place.  But, it was tough growing up in Haiti, but life wasn’t too hard.  I strived to make my day better every single day and work hard to overcome what I went through back there.”

Then, at the age of 12, his father brought him to the United States, to Boston, Massachusetts.

“Well, the biggest thing that you could say that happened was me getting a chance to come to the United States of America, and come to the U.S. and get a chance to go to school for free, playing football, you know, something that I love to do.  As I said, that’s the biggest thing that happened when I was twelve years old is that I got a chance to move to the United States and get an opportunity to be out here(nodding at the UTEP football field), doing what I’m doing, right now.”

But, there came a time, when his life would change dramatically, once again.  I had heard that he might have spent some time homeless.  I asked him about that.

“Well, I wouldn’t say homeless.  Close to it, because when I was a sophomore in high school the relationship between me and my dad wasn’t quite the relationship of a father and son.  So, we went through it, and at the age of 16 , I was a sophomore in high school, going on my junior year, then my dad kicked me out of the house, you know, I ended up leaving my dad’s house when I was 16.  I’ve been on my own since I was 16, you know.  So, I moved out of my dad’s house, you know, moved to a friend’s you know.  Not having my dad, that kind of make it hard for me, you know, trying to finish high school, and moving on to college.  So, that was the hardest thing for me, was not having my dad behind me.”

I asked him about those who had helped him in his time of need.

“That’s for sure.  I’ve had some good friends, you know.  Like one of the things I told my dad, I was able to go with my friends, and even though if things were not like how I wanted it to be, you know, but that still gave me a place to stay, you know, put a cover on my back, put some food in my stomach”

He was the one who had to take charge of his life, and do what he had to do to make his way.

“Yes, sir.  After my dad’s house a lot of people thought I wouldn’t finish high school.  A lot of people thought I would just be outside on the street, doing the wrong things.  But, I took it upon myself to finish high school.  Like I said, I was on my own since my sophomore year in high school, so I took it upon myself to finish my junior in high school, and my senior in high school, and finish strong.”

On Seniors Night, he was suited up for the game against SMU.  He had some special guests sitting in the Sun Bowl to watch him play.

“Yes, sir.  That was probably one of the greatest feelings I’ve had since I’ve been playing sports, I’ve had all of my life.  MY coaches back all the way from Boston was able to make the trip to come here against when we played SMU on our Senior Night, come in here, my Athletic Director, police officer back home that used to come watch me, and my coaches, they all came and showed me support.  Came from all the way from Boston to El Paso to come out here and support me.  That was one of the greatest days of my life, I must admit.”

Remember, the very best thing about coming to the United States of America was the opportunity to get an education.  That was the thing he was going to make sure of.  So, I had to ask how he was doing in his classes here at UTEP.

“Well, right now, I’m doing really good.  I’m doing really good.  I’m taking four classes this semester.  I’m about done, and after this semester I’ve got about four more classes to take in the Spring Semester.  I should be able to graduate in May.  I’m right on track, sir.”  

What will he be getting his degree in?

“I’m getting a degree in Sports Management, and I’m hoping that after I’m done with UTEP, and graduated, to move on to something better.  I love little kids, so, I’m thinking of something, maybe something in a gym working with little kids.  I love being around little kids, and helping little kids.”

Wiston knows just how much it means to have others around, to provide the support for those who need it for their success.

“From the day, the minute I stepped into middle school, I’ve always had great friends, and great leaders around me, and people to show me support.  To me, that’s always been the number one thing for me, is that I always have great people around me, that show me support, and always on my back trying to make me be better, and help me do good things.”

I wanted him to have a chance to mention the names of some of those great people that helped him get to where he is now.

“It all started back in high school.  I’m going to have to say it started with my freshman coach, Coach Poppa Gallo(?), my very first coach, from my middle school, Coach Ray Buggus, Coach Burns.  Then I moved to the high school, that’s when I came out here.  Coach Natalie, he’s been my basketball coach since my sophomore year in high school, through my senior year,  My Athletic Director, Mike Dooby.  He’s been a great help.  He helped me throughout the community school, he helped me get into a school.  He also came out here and watched me, and showed support.  My high school staff, I have to admit, my whole high school staff, they’ve been behind me throughout the whole process.  They follow up on me.”

What’s the name of your high school?

“My high school is Malden High School, in Boston, Massachusetts.  A lot of people have reached out tome.  So many people.  High school, college, even out here in UTEP the coaches have been great.  The coaches have been great,on and off of the field.  They give me the support that I need to make it through.  So, I want to thank all of them, from my middle school to UTEP.  All of my staff, coaches, I want to thank you guys, and everybody else.”

I asked if he had a girlfriend to thank.  he said that he had had his girlfriends but, right now he is focused on this bowl game, getting his finals done this weekend, and getting ready for BYU.

Wiston Jeune is UTEP’s number 29 on defense.  He will be the free safety with the big friendly smile on his face when he is hitting BUY players so hard that their grandchildren will hurt.

I had a chance to visit with Linebackers Coach, Robert Rodriguez, before practice.  We talked about the upcoming New Mexico Bowl, his linebackers, and BYU.

Kyyote:  Robert, you’re getting to take a team back to a bowl game.  Tell me a little about what that’s like.

Coach Rodriguez:  Oh, man, it’s exciting.  It’s very rewarding, you know, the opportunity to take these guys there.  Really, they took themselves there.  It’s kind of neat to be a part of it, to watch these kids bust their tails, and start reaping the rewards for what they did, because they had to overcome a lot of stuff this year, with all of the injuries, and all of the things that they had to overcome.  It’s really nice to see them overcome those things, get it done, and take us to a bowl, you know.  I’m just privileged to be a part of it.

Kyyote:  How much of a rivalry is BYU, even though we haven’t played them for more than ten years?

Coach Rodriguez:  No, it’s still in my blood.  I know it’s still in the blood of all of the El Pasoans that came up in the old WAC, and there’s so many things that you learn as a kid, but one of them is, you hate BYU, and that’s it.  There’s no, there’s really no explanation.  It’s kind of like Red Sox, Yankees you know.  It’s kind of like those rivalries.  Really, there’s nothing wrong with those people, it’s just they wear that BYU logo, and that means you hate ‘em.  So, that’s kind of how it works.

Kyyote:  Were you here when the goal posts got thrown over the edge?

Coach Rodriguez:  No, actually it’s funny, because the second time, in what was it, ’96, my high school girlfriend had tickets to that, and I couldn’t go.  For some reason, I couldn’t go, and I missed it.  So, I still talk to Kilangi Muagututia about that day.  He really played a big game.  He remembers that day, fondly.  Obviously, ’85 I was like three years old, or four years old, so I didn’t make that on.  I might have been there, but I don’t think I was.

Kyyote:  Tell me about your linebacker corps.  Is there anything BYU will be doing that will give you guys anything special?

Coach Rodriguez:  Well, they’re going to be trying to be overly physical with us.  You know, they’re going to try and beat us into the ground, run iso power, and all of the things that are just going to push you back, which is a challenge for us, as a linebacking corps and defensive line.  But, you know what, and I’ve grown to really respect my group, and I’ve grown to really appreciate them, and most of all, I’ve grown to trust them.  So, I expect us to be physical, I expect us to be fast, I expect us to be aggressive, and I expect us to play with a downhill mentality, and I expect us to make plays because of it.

It’s going to be a challenge, without a doubt.  They’re big, they’re fast, they’re physical, and so it’s going to be a challenge for my guys, but one thing I’ve developed over this time, we’re at a bowl for a reason.  It’s because I trust my guys, I trust that they’re going to get the job done.  Those are the guys, again, I’d bet my paycheck on them because I have to, but I’d do it anyway because I appreciate them, and their hard work.  A lot of people don’t get to see it.  I think I should have had a couple more guys on the All-Conference list, personally.  But, that’s me.  Obviously I’m always going to see it a certain way.  I appreciate the guys, I’ve got enough guys to get the job done, and we’re going to come out, all I know is, we’re going to fight.  We’re going to fight to the bitter end.  You know, when it says zero, hopefully we’re going to be proud of what we did.  Hopefully, we’ll come out with a “W”, and bring it back to El Paso, and make some people happy.

Kyyote:  BYU”s freshman quarterback?

Coach Rodriguez:  He’s still a BYU quarterback.  He’s going to be good.  We all know.  Watching the film, he don’t play like a freshman.  He’s going to be really good, when he’s older.  But, he’s good now.  I don’t fall for that bait, you know, that freshman, because I was a freshman linebacker, so I’m sure they said the same thing about me.  I really wasn’t that good, but this kid’s good, and the whole team is good.  So, I’m not bitin’ the cheese, man.  People keep trying to tell me, “Oh, they’re down, they’ve lost. . .”.  No they’re not.  They’re fine.  If you watched the game against Utah, they’re just fine.  They’re a very good football team, still.  They’re a top caliber football team.  We have our hands full.  But, that’s what’s fun about bowl games.  We played Colorado, and nobody thought we’d have a chance against those guys.  We had them up on those ropes for awhile.  So, God willing, we’re going to get out there and compete at a high level, and like I said, be physical, and play with heart, play with great effort, and great intensity.  When my guys play with great intensity, and the d-line plays with great intensity, you’d better think about throwing that ball, because it ain’t going through those gaps.  We’ve got to put it together, and it’s always easier said than done, but, hey man, that’s the fun about it.  I’m excited.  I mean, I’m fired up.  Just privileged to be a part of it, you know.

At today’s practice, Coach Price talked about using practice, and preparing for the BYU Cougars.

“Well, we’re kind of using these practices as a spring ball for our younger kids.  Half of the practice is preparing for the bowl game, and half of the practice is preparing for next season with our younger players, who won’t be playing in the bowl game.  We’ll do that today, and then after today we’re going to break off more and do a little bit of BYU stuff today, and more and more of it the rest of the week.  So, get into scout teams like we normally do approaching a game.”

He mentioned that the team has had a chance to get healed up  a bit.

“We’re going to be as strong as we’ve been in a long time with Vittatoe, and Buckram, and some of the offensive linemen that were hurt, who play at the center position, specifically, is really going to help us.”

He was asked what kind of team BYU is.

“Well, BYU looks like BYU of the past, and BYU of the future.  Big, solid, offensive line, 6-5, 315 pounds.  They have a freshman quarterback that’s played all season for them, a couple of big, bruising running backs, and receivers that can catch the ball, and a defense that plays really, really hard, really aggressive.  They’re moving all of the time, slanting, linebackers are plugging.  Bronco Mendenhall has taken over the defense there at BYU and they won their last four games.  So, we’re playing a team that’s red hot in college football right now.”

I asked Coach Price about the color of the uniforms the players would be wearing.

“It’s going to be an Orange Out, dude!  It’s going to be an Orange Out!  Orange Out in Albuquerque.  Everybody’s wearing orange”, he said.

“Will the coaches be wearing orange, too?”, I asked.

“Well, the coaches, we want to wear something different, so the players can see you better, when we give signals.  So, but the team’s oranging it out.  The fans are oranging it out.  Buy orange.  Buy an extra large orange shirt and put it over a heavy jacket if it’s going to be cold.  Be there, right behind the bench, too.  That’s where you want to sit, because we’ll be on national television”, he said.

An argument could be made that there really is no rivalry between UTEP and BYU.  It could be said that a rivalry requires there to be competition, and that UTEP really wasn’t any competition for BYU when it came to football.  Sure, each school had a team on the field, but if you put helmets and shoulder pads on the Dallas Cheerleaders and pitted them against the Cowboys would they fit the definition of competitors?

BYU has a record of 28-7-1 all time versus the Miners.  The Cougars have won 25 of the last 27 football games between the two schools.  So, when it comes to football, I’m not sure the word rivalry is appropriate.

But, that doesn’t mean that the Miners fans don’t have any feelings towards BYU.  The Miners and the Cougars played basketball and football against each other for 31 years. For an historically horrible football team, one of  UTEP’s biggest football wins came against BYU.  In order to understand to importance of the win, you have to realize that UTEP, during that  period from 1967-1998 only averaged 3 wins per season.  In 1985, defending National Champion and 7th ranked BYU came to El Paso riding a 24 game WAC winning streak.  UTEP beat BYU, winning their only game of a 1-10 season.  Miners fans stormed the field, tore down the goal posts and threw them over the wall of the Sun Bowl stadium.

Basketball, on the other hand, was a very different story.  During the years that UTEP and BYU competed in the WAC, UTEP won 14 WAC Championships and BYU won 10.  UTEP went to the NCAA Tournament 14 times, and so did BYU.  UTEP went to the NIT 7 times and BYU went 3 times.

The Cougars hold a 38-24 record over the Miners in head to head play on the hardwood during that period.  They played 9 overtime games during those years, including 2 that went to triple overtime.  In overtime games UTEP holds the edge 5-4.  During the time that the two teams were members of the WAC the Miners played ranked BYU basketball teams 10 times, beating them 4 of those times.

There was a brawl, in one of those triple overtime games.  In 1985,  when  BYU’s  Scott Sinek split Luster Goodwin’s lip,  Goodwin dropped Sinek like a bad habit.  UTEP’s Kevin Lockhart jumped into the ensuing fray and was trying to fight any player with a BYU jersey on.  The three players mentioned were ejected, but the Miners won the game 97-86.

Things have changed since then.  The two teams have only met once, when the 23rd ranked BYU basketball team played UTEP at the Don Haskins Center on January 10, 2010.  The game was a highly contested game between two familiar foes.  The Cougars escaped with an 83-77 win.

So, the rivalry has died down.  But the intense dislike, hatred even, for some, has never left the Miners fans for the Cougars of BYU.  Meeting secretly, and led by BYU, 8 members of the WAC formed a new conference, the Mountain West Conference.  Despite having been members of the WAC along with most of the eight from almost the beginning of the WAC, and having been conference mates for over 30 years, the Miners were left in a WAC conference that was, with the defections of the MWC teams, stretched very thin.  UTEP’s Miners had been stabbed in the back, by a bunch of conniving, disloyal, sneaks, led by BYU.

Since the formation of the Mountain West Conference, the UTEP Miners football program has made a dramatic turnaround.  In 2000, the Miners won the WAC Championship, and played in their first bowl game since 1988.  Then, in 2004 the Miners brought in former Coach of the Year, Mike Price, and the Miners went 8-4 and to their second bowl game in four years.  The team followed that season with another 8-4 season in 2005, and yet another bowl game, their third in 5 years.  Now, the Miners are once again going to a bowl game.

On December the 18th, the UTEP Miners will once again put on the helmets and pads to do battle with the BYU Cougars.  The Cougars are 6-6, and so are the Miners.  BYU has been coming on strong, and UTEP is limping into the game.  For BYU fans, and for many UTEP fans it must seem like Deja Vu all over again, as Yogi would say.  But, these Miners are not the same as those Miners that BYU used to kick sand in the faces of.  BYU may win, but they will find a UTEP team that will fight them, tooth and nail, hammer and tong, until the scoreboard clock has no time left. 

People talk about signature wins.  Usually, those are wins against highly ranked teams.  Know this.  If the Miners beat a 6-6 BYU team in the New Mexico Bowl it will be Coach Mike Price’s signature win with UTEP, and UTEP  fans.   Last season’s win over 12th ranked Houston will be all but forgotten.  If these Miners beat BYU they will take their place in UTEP history as one of the best teams to ever wear the Orange and Blue.