ADVERTISEMENT

Leftwich had shoulder surgery.... out indefinitely

MinerInWisconsin

MinerInWisconsin

MI Miner Maniac
Nov 28, 2001
5,100
2,626
113
Per the tweet below, Leftwich has had shoulder surgery. UTEP has only 2 QB's now until the fall when Torrez joins the team as a freshman. If Leftwich can't play in the fall, UTEP will be in a precarious position if injuries occur at the QB position.

Josh Puga Retweeted
Casey Viera ‏@CaseyCBS4 1h1 hour ago


UTEP coach Sean Kugler telling the media this morning QB Mack Leftwich underwent shoulder surgery. Out indefinitely, potentially into fall.
 
MinerInWisconsin said:
Per the tweet below, Leftwich has had shoulder surgery. UTEP has only 2 QB's now until the fall when Torrez joins the team as a freshman. If Leftwich can't play in the fall, UTEP will be in a precarious position if injuries occur at the QB position.

Josh Puga Retweeted
Casey Viera ‏@CaseyCBS4 1h1 hour ago


UTEP coach Sean Kugler telling the media this morning QB Mack Leftwich underwent shoulder surgery. Out indefinitely, potentially into fall.
Click to expand...

Whelp. Then there's that.
 
What a shame. Such a good kid, smart and competitive, a fabulous high school talent. At what point does his father and head coach sit him down for an honest "maybe it's time to move on with your life" conversation? This is serious stuff, injuries can pile up and have a devastating effect later in life. Hindsight is always a blessing, but never look back on your career with the realization that you left the game one injury too late.
 
LaserCoog said:
What a shame. Such a good kid, smart and competitive, a fabulous high school talent. At what point does his father and head coach sit him down for an honest "maybe it's time to move on with your life" conversation? This is serious stuff, injuries can pile up and have a devastating effect later in life. Hindsight is always a blessing, but never look back on your career with the realization that you left the game one injury too late.
Click to expand...

The flip side of it is running off your other QB, leaving you with two. The sins of the past sometimes come back to bite your ass hard.

Also, I just read where one of the TE's is transferring. Amazing.
 
Tribalwarriorx said:
The flip side of it is running off your other QB, leaving you with two. The sins of the past sometimes come back to bite your ass hard.

Also, I just read where one of the TE's is transferring. Amazing.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Since Leftwich received his only D1 offer from UTEP, Kugler has put a boatload of eggs in that basket, ran him out there every time he was healthy. And here you are, going into your fourth season and your spring starter is a totally unproven redshirt soph at QB? With about zero backup? Really? Kugler has been unwilling (or unable - same difference) to either recruit or develop a quality football player to play for his program at the most important position on the field? Ironically this is the same problem that plagued Price his final 3-4 years with the program and that, as much as anything, led to his demise.

Bottom line, as you suggest, this situation potentially has train wreck stamped all over it. But of course some will then again use the injury bug as an excuse for Kugler. Horsecrap. This is 100% on Kugler for putting the program in this position. Then again, with UTEP's '16 schedule, they could well become bowl eligible without beating single team with a winning record next year...
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Tribalwarriorx and liebestraum
I'm not so pesimistic. We have Metz and Tavika. Both have shown potential, especially for sophs. Kugler would be wise to go after a JUCO qb.

Is it possible that Kugler's tough nose attitude has something to do with the large number of injuries? Are they going to be better players after they were injured? Aren't they more prone to injury once they've been injured? Re Leftwich. Having a bunch of injured players returning is not really encouraging.
 
Last edited:
Not a question of being "pessimistic". Ignoring the talent level (or lack thereof) of the two remaining sophomore QBs, as Tribalwarriorx implied, it's a numbers game at this point. From a health and competition standpoint, you could argue UTEP was light on QB numbers before Leftwich was again injured, his physical well-being was already in question leading into the spring. Remember, Baylor lost four QBs during last season. My point was/is there's absolutely no excuse for Kugler not having a quality, experienced QB (or two) on your roster heading into his fourth season. None.

And bringing in a JC at this point (e.g. after spring training) will not help next season, that ship already sailed...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tribalwarriorx
We will find out this coming season if Kugler is the coach most of us hope he is. His 4th season is going to start out with a lot of experience and depth. The QB position is now lacking depth but with Johnson and Metz we have 2 decent ones plus a good freshman coming in the fall. Kugler is looking to add a QB before fall practice starts in August so look for a graduate transfer or JC transfer before long. As for having a weak schedule, yes, on paper only 2 teams on the schedule that had a winning season last year. Of those teams, several look to be improved and have winning seasons this coming year. The schedule will likely turn out to be tougher than it looks while still manageable. I predict UTEP will be bowling this coming season but the proof will be in the actual season, not the pessimistic or overly optimistic viewpoints.

And Leftwich is confirmed to be out this coming season due to the shoulder surgery, which is why Kugler is looking for another QB. You can't go into a season with 2 QB's and a freshman.

http://www.minerrush.com/2016/4/15/...acks-around-offense-in-final-spring-scrimmage
 
Last edited:
Miner, you're right, you can't go into a CFB season with only two QBs on your roster. Even with the freshman coming in the fall, you only have two viable ones. Recruiting a QB, hopefully, after this season will be a point of emphasis for them. However, you can't recruit one and then run off the others. Last season, and I will go to my grave believing they made the wrong choice at QB. Then not only making the wrong choice, but treating the other one indifferently afterwards.

I'm really interested to see how the new offense shapes up, but from the news I've been getting it's more of the same (within +/- 3 %).
 
Tribalwarriorx said:
Miner, you're right, you can't go into a CFB season with only two QBs on your roster. Even with the freshman coming in the fall, you only have two viable ones. Recruiting a QB, hopefully, after this season will be a point of emphasis for them. However, you can't recruit one and then run off the others. Last season, and I will go to my grave believing they made the wrong choice at QB. Then not only making the wrong choice, but treating the other one indifferently afterwards.


I'm really interested to see how the new offense shapes up, but from the news I've been getting it's more of the same (within +/- 3 %).
Click to expand...

They have already offered three qbs for the class of 2017. I dont think they have ran off any qbs. Simpson left on his own. What we all forget is that Kugler told Simpson to go in when Leftwich was hurt against NMSU. Simpson couldnt find his helmet and Metz went in instead. Things apparently went downhill after that. I think we have three viable qbs. I think Kavika will be the starter. I fully expect a winning season. After, the season we will know what we have in Kugler. Like MinerinWisconsin I hope hes the coach we think he is. In year four with an easy schedule there are no excuses. I think we will have a big year.
 
Minerforlife said:
They have already offered three qbs for the class of 2017. I dont think they have ran off any qbs. Simpson left on his own. What we all forget is that Kugler told Simpson to go in when Leftwich was hurt against NMSU. Simpson couldnt find his helmet and Metz went in instead. Things apparently went downhill after that. I think we have three viable qbs. I think Kavika will be the starter. I fully expect a winning season. After, the season we will know what we have in Kugler. Like MinerinWisconsin I hope hes the coach we think he is. In year four with an easy schedule there are no excuses. I think we will have a big year.
Click to expand...

Things were downhill long before that incident. It started when Leftwich was given the starting position. Frankly speaking neither camp, Kugs or Simpson, did themselves any favors. But since Kugs is the head coach and made the decision, Simpson probably could've gotten a better explanation than what he got. Toss in that the players, although they circled the wagons (like most players will) around Leftwich, most were of the opinion the better QB wasn't chosen that day. As for whether or not they ran him off - that's a matter of perception. You don't always have to be shown the door when you're being handed your hat. Did they push him out the door? I doubt it. But they also didn't establish an environment that encouraged him to stay either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: miner661
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C

Other Quotes from Leftwich Story

Replies
3
Views
666
MinerDigs
HookemMiners
H
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back