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Mixed emotions for CSU's Davis
Posted: Wednesday November 03, 1999 06:09 PM
By Michael C. Lewis, Special to CNN/SI You'd think Colorado State's Dallas Davis would have spent the weekend watching and rewinding the videotape of his two punt returns for touchdowns in the Rams' victory over Utah on national television, and preparing to sit in the esteemed "Man Chair" during special teams meetings this week. But he had more serious thoughts on his mind. Moments after his second touchdown return gave the Rams a 31-24 victory last week, Davis learned of the death, earlier that day, of an old friend. Laura Wile was Davis' first sweetheart in junior high school, and had been battling bone cancer for five years. "When I was in the seventh grade, I told her I wanted to take her to the senior prom," said Davis. "She was a special girl. She found a good thing out of everyone." As if that tragedy was not enough, Davis also learned that the mother of another longtime friend had died unexpectedly of a heart attack. All of that was more than enough to keep Davis from getting too caught up in the 214 return yards against the Utes that made him the fourth-leading punt returner in the nation. But the performance did earn the junior the Mountain West Conference's special teams player of the week award, as well as the right to sit in "The Man Chair" -- a beat-up blue recliner in the Rams' meeting room, reserved for the team's special teams player of the week. "It's all about the chair," said CSU's Chad McGuckin. "You don't know how great it is unless you're 'The Man.' You always want to be 'The Man.' " And Davis most certainly was "The Man" last week. He only wishes it could have come under more pleasant circumstances.
One mean streakThe UNLV Rebels have a bye this week, but you could make the argument that they have not been playing over the last two weeks, either. The Rebels have scored only six points in their last 11 quarters, leading Coach John Robinson to consider some changes in the lineup before meeting Air Force.
Bird's eye viewDana Dimel spent a dozen years coaching from the press box as an assistant coach for the Kansas State Wildcats, and after only 31 games as the head coach at Wyoming, he's headed back upstairs.Worried particularly about adjustments in the secondary that his staff might be missing, Dimel plans to coach his Cowboys against Utah on Saturday using a headset and a seat near the media and the stat crew. "Our experience up in the press box right now is not what I'd like it to be," said Dimel. "So it's important for me to get up there." Dimel said his staff has been shorthanded since the unexpected death in August of wide receivers coach Derrick Shepard, and that he saw several things on the film of the Cowboys' 24-13 loss to Colorado State last week that might have been corrected with a more veteran view from upstairs. Dimel said he's not concerned about communication problems with his coordinators on the field because they will be in touch over headsets, but he does plan to phone Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez for advice on the plan. Alvarez has coached six games this season from the press box while he prepared for and recovered from knee surgery. Dimel said he's not trying to be amusing or start any new trends. "I'm just hoping to get Wyoming back on track."
Enough is enoughCoach LaVell Edwards has been answering questions from fans live on the radio following BYU games for years, and remains one of the few -- if not the only -- coach in America to do so.But perhaps not for much longer. In the wake of an embarrassing display of criticism from fans after the Cougars' 27-20 victory over Air Force last week, the legendary coach said he might discontinue his post-game show after the season. Although one media report said he already had decided to quit, Edwards insisted he is merely considering it. "I just made the comment that, 'Oh, maybe I've had enough of that,' and all of the sudden I'm not doing it anymore," he said. That doesn't mean he loves the show. Fans following the Air Force game criticized Edwards in increasingly harsh terms -- one actually told the coach what plays he should have been calling -- for using running plays to try to run out the clock in the final four minutes against the Falcons. "It was unbelievable," said Edwards. Leading 27-10, the Cougars fumbled and lost an onside kick that led to 10 points for Air Force, then had to punt after three straight running plays lost yards. But the Falcons did not have any timeouts, and the Cougars were never in serious jeopardy of losing the game. Michael C. Lewis covers college football for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Check back each Wednesday for his latest CNN/SI Insider
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