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09/07/10 09:00:00
Printable Page
09/07 20:58 CDT Wyo. tries to maintain routine after player death
Wyo. tries to maintain routine after player death
By BOB MOEN
Associated Press Writer
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) -- Wyoming coach Dave Christensen says his team is trying to
maintain its normal routine to help players cope with the death of a teammate
in a car accident and prepare for the Cowboys' game against No. 5 Texas.
"We think it will help the kids get their mind on something different at
different points of time throughout the day," Christensen said Tuesday during
the Mountain West Conference's regular coach's conference call. "And we'll take
it one day at a time. There's not a manual on how to do these things."
The team held its regularly scheduled position meetings and practices on
Tuesday in preparation for its game Saturday at Texas.
"I thought we had a physical practice, a pretty spirited practice, and it was
good the way that they came out and competed today," Christensen said Tuesday
evening. "I think that they had an opportunity to take two, two-and-a-half
hours to get their minds on something else. I thought they performed well
today."
Freshman linebacker Ruben Narcisse, 19, of Miami, died in the wreck Monday
after he and several other UW teammates visited friends in Fort Collins, Colo.,
over the weekend.
"Just a great young man, had a smile on his face all the time," Christensen
said of Narcisse, who preferred to be called Rube.
One player remained hospitalized Tuesday, while two others were treated and
released. Christensen said wide receiver Christian Morgan, 18, of Aurora,
Colo., had surgery on his elbow and may be released Wednesday.
The Colorado Highway Patrol says the wreck occurred at about 5:30 a.m. Monday
when the players' pickup drifted off U.S. 287 south of the Wyoming state line.
Narcisse was a passenger in the back seat of a vehicle driven by freshman
cornerback Trey Fox, 19, of Glenwood Springs, Colo., the patrol said. Another
passenger was redshirt freshman linebacker J.J. Quinlan, 19, of Everett, Wash.
Police said it appeared Fox fell asleep and that alcohol and drugs weren't
believed to be factors.
None of the four played in Wyoming's 28-20 win over Southern Utah on Saturday.
Christensen said the team plans to wear a helmet decal with Narcisse's
initials, and one member of the team will wear Narcisse's No. 12 jersey each
game the rest of the season.
Cowboy senior wide receiver David Leonard said it will mean a lot to have
Narcisse's jersey on the field.
"It's one of those things where we can't forget what kind of a player and
person that he was and so going out and honoring him like that, we just know
that when you have his number on, you better play with a lot of heart and
enthusiasm because that's what he brought," Leonard said.
Leonard and others talked of being a family and sticking together, something
Christensen said was important.
"You know kids are fragile. They're invincible at this age, they think, and how
they react to the situation is yet to be seen," the coach said.
The highway on which the accident occurred was the same road where eight UW
track and cross country athletes died in a collision with a pickup driven by a
drunken driver, who was a member of the UW rodeo team, on Sept. 16, 2001.
"I know that road has claimed a number of lives and that it's been a very
tragic road, but in this situation I guess tragedy could have struck if they
had taken (Interstate) 80 up also," Christensen said.
Nina McConigley, who taught freshman English, said Narcisse was one of 16
students in her class. She said he sat in the front row, was "very talkative"
and was proud of being from Miami.
"He did have a big personality and in a class that small, it's just ... he'll
be missed," McConigley said.
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