Losing McClure big hit for UTEP

 Lost in the positive hype of Cliff Tucker and some new amenities to the Sun Bowl lockerrooms is that UTEP lost 127.7 yards a game in offense — from one player who has left the program.

Marlon McClure has had off-the-field woes and won't likely be back for his junior season. Last season he was good for 100-plus yards a game — that's a whole lot — as mainly a kick returner (he caught some passes, too).

A lot of people talk about a team's strength as related to its offense and defense. But any coach or pundit will tell you that the kicking game is just as important. In fact, it's generally said that if a team has a good season, with 7 or more wins, 2 or more of the wins came because somebody ran back a kickoff or a punt for a touchdown — or ran back a pass interception. Then there are FGs. Special teams, indeed, are just as important as passing, running from scrimmage and defending.

Perhaps  most electric scores are kickoff, punt and interception returns. And McClure was a gem, as fast as a sparkle off a diamond.

In 11 games last fall, he had 805 yards just in kickoff returns and another 182 returning punts. He wasn't just a threat to run a kicks back a long way, he was a force! He was allusive and fast. Give him daylight and he was gone. Stopping him was trying to make sure you didn't kick the ball to him.

One can argue that if a team isn't very good on defense, it then returns a lot of kickoffs after opponent TDs. UTEP was 6-7 last season. McClure returned 27 and averaged 30 yards up the field.

McClure was special. As an individual he was the biggest stat UTEP had coming back for 2011. The QB is a mystery, the runners are average and the receivers don't seem to fare well of late in Coach Mike Price's system (don't  know why). And positive talk about the defense starts like this: "Well, we're getting better."

Tucker returns home with one year of football eligibility after playing basketball four years at the University of Maryland. As a high-schooler here, he was recruited for football by several major colleges.

It's not the Miners' fault McClure won't be back. The team gave him a shot. He blew it.

Still, though, McClure leaves with a big part of UTEP's yardage in his suitcase.

Comments

[Canaima]

"Allusive" Joe? Really!!?

Are you talking about his academics and his football in the same sentence? Was he hard to tackle (elusive) or was it hard to get a straight answer out of him (allusive)? Which is it, please be clear.

[David]

One has to wonder what kind of life and opportunity McClure is leaving behind at UTEP. Nobody seems to know whether he couldn't pass his classes or if he is just a bad kid (since suspensions are always a big secret). It's not fair to him for us to speculate. Too bad for all the fans of McClure and UTEP but time to move on. The sad thing is what will happen to this kid who has such a bright athletic future.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

He was a very talented and gifted athlete. His personal problems ran deeper than simply not showing up to class. There is no guarantee that he would have been an NFL player because of his size. It is still sad that he wasted his opportunity to have an outstanding college career and better himself with an education. We should all hope that he straightens out his life.

[CLEOFITZWITZ]

Joe Banyard is not average. If Mike Price can coach anything, it's quarterbacks and wide receivers. Once again, the season hinges on the defense finishing in the top half of the nation.

[George in H Town]

Ah come on Joe. The kid was a bigger problem than he was an asset. Anyone with the kind of problems this kid demonstrated has to be disruptive in the locker room. Besides this team will be so bad this year that he couldn't save it anyway. But the failure of McClure to stick does say something about the recruiting ability, or lack thereof, of the current coaching staff. This kid was toxic, that is why he ended up at UTEP. Price has trouble recruiting strippers in Juarez, 'nuff said. Get rid of Price and most of his lackies and improve the team.

[Papillon]

Joe, wow what a joke of a "writer" you are. To begin it's "elusive" not "allusive" and not only can you not spell you cannot add either. In 13 games this year he had 661 kick return yards for an average of 50 yards. Thats 12 games not 11. Also his punt average was only 11 yards. Dude quit acting like you know football because your embarassing yourself. McClure won't be missed.

[Bill]

It's not like UTEP was going to have a winning season in football with or without him. Why not let a kid from El Paso have a chance on the team?

[PJ]

He could go to one of the halfway houses for convicts like the Southeast Criminal Conference,the Big 10-20 years,the Big Heist,or the other major conferences that look the other way.The problem today is colleges got away from academics for the almighty dollar that attract these athletic thugs, and these schools could care less about their grades,honesty,or integrity just as long as they can play.

[El Presidente]

I say let Joe write. He gets people talking UTEP football. Good or bad, right or wrong, he gets people talking up UTEP football. To me, that's important. People are saying they're done already. Our league's weak enough to where anything's possible. Lamaison or Hall could turn out to be better than Vittatoe. Banyard's likely to have his best season. People are frightened about the O-Line, but they may surprise. And this is the first time in the Price era where I feel like we may win games with defense. The defense has some real players. I think Reed may be as good as they come in the conference. And a lot of younger guys got thrown into the fire last season and they held their own, so I expect them to be even better. And we open with Stoney Brook, so they'll jump right into things at 1-0 and a win to start off may be just what they need to keep that confidence going. South Florida will likely be a loss, but they can compete in the other games. Cliff Tucker is an X-Factor. He's got Randy Moss height. If he can catch a ball and run and can take a hit, who knows? What it all boils down to is that you can talk good or bad about UTEP Football, just keep it out front and center the way it should be. Can miracles happen? I'd say as bad as they finished down the stretch last season, it was a miracle to just get a bowl invite. Then they got to go to ABQ and the fans got to travel and they got those extra workouts. So miracles do happen.

[Lorenzo]

I think El Presidente hits the nail right on the head. Unlike other years in the Mike Price era, this year's team has really, really low expectations. It seemed like every year Joe's blog would fill up with optimistic fans claiming that Palmer/Vittatoe would have a big year and help the Miners turn the corner. This year, we have the second-fewest returning starters in the conference and no one believes in the Miners. I'm not gonna say that UTEP will make it to a bowl game. But hey there's no pressure on this year's team. If they go 3-9, no one will be surprised. If they go 6-6, people will say, "Oh, well whaddaya know, good for them." If they win 8 or 9 games, well then this city will catch Miner fever again. The McClure dismissal only adds to the 'back against the wall' feel of this season.

[ScoutWest]

There is so much parity in CUSA this year that anyone can beat anyone on any given day... players come and players go....

There are three exceptional teams in the west division this season, SMU, UH and Tulsa; Its scary how good those three teams will be; One of those teams is going to win the west division title and play in the CUSA championship game;...so UTEP, Rice and Tulane will be battling it out for 4th, 5th and 6th place in the West division.....

Heres hoping UTEP gets to another bowl game in 2011......

[NineteenRabbit]

Joe Munch is a silly man with a silly face who "writes" sillyness and pins it on the Miners. As a UTEP alum and Miner supporter I resent it. His column is an embarrassment to the school, the students who attend it and to the City of El Paso.

[Morgan]

Joe Munch is a silly man with a silly face who "writes" sillyness and pins it on the Miners. As a UTEP alum and Miner supporter I resent it. His column is an embarrassment to the school, the students who attend it and to the City of El Paso.

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Silliness is fielding a football team that only has five winning seasons in last 40 years. How can you NOT write silliness when you talk about the Miners...

[andyspringer]

We have two killer games, Ole Miss and WI. Badgers. All we can do is play as well as we can, collect a check and hope we stay healthy. All of the other games are winable. if our defense improves, our offense plays well we will be competitive. I hate catching SMU the second game in Dallas. I think they will be much improved, however we have had their number. Hope that remains true. The games we have lost in Dallas were games we could have won.

[El Presidente]

Everybody's saying Houston, but they don't have much on defense. They'll have to win 45-42 games - which UTEP always seems to play with them. To me there is no complete team in C-USA. They all have weaknesses. And Keenum's coming off that knee, so maybe he's not even the same confident QB he once was. Anybody who has had a knee injury knows that it can change you both physically and mentally. Their running backs are great, but the defense isn't nearly as good.

[Best Jerseys]

Time heals all wounds

[קרני תכלת]

It maybe the results are the returns of most electric kick, punt and an interception and McClure was a gem, as fast as a spark of a diamond.