UTEP Loses 4 Juco Players

[ponydawg]

Don't think any of them were starting yet.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Miners lose four players

Matthew Aguilar
El Paso Times

Four UTEP football players -- two on the offensive line and two in the secondary -- left the team during the summer and will not participate in the 2005 season, head coach Mike Price said Wednesday. All are former junior college transfers.

Junior defensive backs Andre Bailey and Arthur Giddens, and junior offensive linemen Clay Salima and Anthony Casey, departed for academic and personal reasons.

Price said none were kicked off the team and all left with a good personal standing with UTEP.

"We're going to make sure it doesn't affect us," Price said. "We won't allow it to affect us. None of the four players were legitimate starters, but they could have been contributors."

The departures affect two areas of concern for the Miners. The secondary lost all-conference performers Jahmal Fenner and Adrian Ward to graduation, and the offensive line lost dependable seniors Bo Morris, Luis Espinosa and Ben Graniello, who also exhausted their eligibility.

The most glaring loss is the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Bailey, a 2004 junior college transfer from Mesa (Ariz.) Community College who was one of the more gifted players in the secondary. Price was in the process of moving Bailey from safety to cornerback, where he could utilize the Phoenix native's combination of speed, quickness and size.

However, academic issues never allowed him to set foot on the field.

The 6-1, 190-pound Giddens, a 2005 junior college transfer from Compton Community College, enjoyed a fine spring and was expected to receive considerable playing time this year at either safety or cornerback. He recorded two interceptions (three unofficially) in the spring game.

Now, the Miners will be depending heavily on junior college transfers Josh Ferguson, Bryant Tisdale and Tim McCullouch at corner. Starters are expected to be senior Sir James Delgardo at left corner and junior Nate Draughon at right corner.

"We overrecruited in the defensive back position," Price said. "So if there was any place to lose a guy, secondary was it."

A greater problem area could be offensive line, which was overwhelmed during the spring by a stronger, more experienced defensive line. The departures of Salima and Casey leave projected starters Josh House, Jose Garcia, Andy Smith, James Riley and Tyler Ribitzki, and projected backups Mark Parrish, Alex DiMatteo, Robby Felix, Jordan Tubig, Austin Chestnut, Luis Espinosa and Oniel Cousins.

"Depth-wise, it will affect us," Price said. "We have to make sure we keep our starters healthy. That Cousins is playing so well has helped."

Price said the offensive line was so depleted upon his arrival that he relied on more junior transfers than usual last year.

"We (had) recruited more junior college players than normal," he said. "It's not abnormal that you lose some. We took chances on guys. It didn't work out."

Brooks not on scholarship in '05: Prized recruit Don Brooks is among three incoming freshmen who will be playing the 2005 season without a scholarship, Price said.

Besides Brooks, a running back from Houston Waller, tight end Rayford Wright (Odessa Permian) and defensive lineman Aaron L. King (Houston Elsik) will also be playing scholarship-free.

"They're going to be coming to school and paying their own way (this season)," Price said. "They have to earn a 2.0 grade-point average in 24 hours (of curriculum) to be eligible for next year."

Sir James: Delgardo's full name is "Sir James Delgardo", as listed in the 2005 media guide, which was released Wednesday.

[Stallion]

the second part of the article dealing with the freshman was one of the best attempts to cover the obvious fact that these guys were non-qualifiers-and the newspaper just let's it slide. If they were partial qualifiers they could have received academic aide. So I guess we have been served notice that UTEP intends to become the next Fresno St/Marshall.

[jtstang]

the second part of the article dealing with the freshman was one of the best attempts to cover the obvious fact that these guys were non-qualifiers-and the newspaper just let's it slide. If they were partial qualifiers they could have received academic aide. So I guess we have been served notice that UTEP intends to become the next Fresno St/Marshall.

But I thought non-qualifiers could not play. The article says he will be playing without a scholarship. Doesn't that mean he is a partial?

[Stallion]

you're right if they were playing they would have to be qualifiers but I think they should have said going to school. Partial qualifiers can receive academic aid so that would not be the explanation. Non-qualifiers can now go to school if they pay their own way which the article said they were doing. The Brooks kid was one of their more highly thought of kids so the sentence about them needing to get a 2.0 to be "eligible for next season" indicates they aren't eligible right now.

[The PonyGrad]

I wonder if these JC transfers dropping out affects the grad rate?

Great player name in the article: "Tubig"

[Pony Up]

Is anyone else not surprised that a team full of JUCOs has a few who didn't qualify?