Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
IT'S a good thing UNLV coach Jeff Horton believes in giving second chances to his players. Otherwise, Bobby Coffman's next interception could have come in a touch football game aboard an aircraft carrier.
The sophomore cornerback from San Diego was ready to give up football last month and join the Navy. But just before he was going to enlist, he realized how much he missed playing.
"I've been playing football since I was six. I guess it was in my blood," he said. "When I was back in California, I realized how much the game meant to me. I didn't think I could walk away."
Instead, he walked into Horton's office just days before the season-opener at Tennessee and asked to rejoin the team. Saturday, he's likely to see his first action of 1996 when the Rebels resume WAC play at Colorado State.
"It was kinda hard to ask Coach Horton to come back," Coffman said. "I was having some family problems and some financial problems when I left, but I also felt like I was letting the team down by leaving. I had to set my pride back."
Horton said as long as Coffman had his priorities back in order, he was welcome to return.
"Kids today have a lot of things to deal with," he said. "In Bobby's case, there were a lot of things happening back home that he felt he needed to be there and address. But the reality was, there wasn't a whole lot he could do there. He could get a job and probably make five, six bucks an hour, but that's not going to improve his life financially.
And if he joined the Navy, he's still away from his family and he wouldn't know anybody. Here, he knows he has friends and people who care about him."
Coffman said he appreciated the support of the coaches and his teammates.
"I apologized to the team for walking out and they didn't even worry about it," he said. "Everyone accepted me back and that meant a lot, because I wasn't sure how they'd react. But they were cool about it and everything's been fine. They made me feel welcome."
Coffman, who started five games at the corner as a true freshman last season and finished with 25 tackles and an interception, said his game didn't erode that much while he was away for three weeks.
"I lost some of my timing and probably some conditioning," he said. "But I've got it back now."
Upon his return, Coffman literally started from scratch, first working on the offensive scout team, then moving back with the DBs, and finally moving up the depth chart. He's not slated to start Saturday against CSU, but Horton said he could get in for about 25 plays.
"He's probably at 80 percent right now," he said. "But having Bobby back gives us some much-needed depth at corner."
Coffman finds himself in an almost identical situation from last year. UNLV was struggling in its secondary and the coaches felt it couldn't hurt to play a true freshman. And even though Coffman has a year's experience under his belt, Saturday will be his first opportunity to play in the WAC. Even from the sidelines, he can tell it's a different game than what he competed against in the Big West last year.
"The thing I noticed is the teams we're playing against this year are better organized," he said. "They're in sync all the time and that's forcing us to raise our level of play as a team."
Still, Coffman said he thinks he can make a difference.
"I feel like I can contribute," he said. "I'm bigger and stronger than last year and I've got that experience from last season, which will help.
"I really didn't know what to expect last season, it was all so new to me. They kinda threw me in the fire and I didn't think I was ready. But somebody had to go."
Given Coffman's desire to join the Navy, Horton's analogy was more appropriate.
"It was like throwing him into the deep end of the pool and forcing him to swim," he said.
Extra points
* INJURY UPDATE: RB Dahrin Footman is doubtful for Colorado State with a sprained ankle and LB Daniel Martin is questionable with a sprained ankle. UNLV hopes to have NG Mac Smith back after Smith sprained his knee against Air Force and sat out the Wisconsin game. LB Justin Simo, who has been out all season with a pulled hamstring, is expected to suit up Saturday. CB Randy Black had successful surgery on his broken left hand last week and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
* KICKER CONTROVERSY?: For the second time in as many years, Alan DiLeo is in and Marshall Mathews is out as UNLV's placekicker. Mathews missed from 49 yards Saturday against Wisconsin and coach Jeff Horton went to DiLeo, who delivered from 22 yards and converted two extra points. Last year, Mathews got the hook after missing a long field goal attempt, though Horton said it is nothing personal. "I like Marshall," Horton said. "He's a great kid. It's just that we need to get some consistency out of that position." Last year, DiLeo was 2 of 3 on field goals and 13 of 15 on PATs.
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