WARRIORS NOTEBOOK
Texas-El Paso coach Nord sees bright future for Miners
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
These do not appear to be the best of times for the Texas-El Paso football team.
The Miners (2-5 overall, 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference) are on track to suffer their 14th losing season in the last 15 years.
Similar to Hawai'i — Saturday's opponent at Aloha Stadium — UTEP will be one of seven Western Athletic Conference schools abandoned after Rice, Southern Methodist and Tulsa officially depart on July 1, 2005.
But UTEP officials remain optimistic. Negotiations have started to allow the Sun Bowl — played on the UTEP campus but administered by a separate organization — to invite the champion of the Mountain West Conference. Such a deal, which is subject to approval by CBS Sports, would enhance UTEP's long-shot campaign to earn membership in the Mountain West. The Sun Bowl matches teams from the Big Ten and Pac-10.
UTEP coach Gary Nord said he is confident his youthful team will develop into a contender next season. In 2000, Nord's first season at UTEP, the Miners won a share of the WAC title. But that team had 23 seniors, and in Nord's rebuilding movement there were seven seniors in 2001 and five this year.
"It's a very difficult time you have to go through, but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel," Nord said. "On our open date (last weekend), I did an inventory check of our personnel, and I gave them grades of where I think they are now and where I think they're going to be when they're juniors and seniors. I was very pleased.
"It will be a very solid football team coming up next year. The year after that we're going to have an outstanding football team. And after that we'll have a great football team."
Nord said he has felt the fans' restlessness.
"When you're not winning you're going to have your critics," he said. "But you want that, because that means they care. If they didn't care, then they wouldn't say anything. I don't want them to be happy (with the record). I want them to be upset. I also want them to be realistic of where we're at."
Early in, early out: The Miners arrived in town yesterday, a day earlier than usual for a game in Hawai'i. The Miners were budgeted for three nights in a hotel, but because they were able to book an 11 p.m. departure flight Saturday, they were able to arrive a day early.
Rivers out: UH wide receiver Jason Rivers said he will not play Saturday because of a strained left hamstring. He aggravated the injury last week.
He spent yesterday's practice on an exercise bicycle and jogging around the grass field.
Rivers started the last two games at left wideout as part of a lineup shuffle triggered by right wideout Jeremiah Cockheran's sprained right ankle. Cockheran, who played last week, is healthy. Britton Komine, who filled in at right wideout, will return to left wideout.
Tossing around an idea: Ikaika Alama-Francis, a converted basketball player who has played defensive end since joining the football team in April, said he is experimenting with the idea of playing receiver. Yesterday, he said, "I ran a few patterns for the DBs. It was a little something I wanted to do."
Reach Stephen Tsai at 525-8051 or stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.
