Columnist Dean Juipe: Robinson hits it off with fans

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999 | 10:39 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

Everyone in his audience wanted to be convinced, wanted to be reassured.

And by the time John Robinson was through with them, they were.

Mixing a hearty dose of honesty with what amounted to nonstop levity, the new UNLV head football coach delivered what may have been the most interesting sports-related speech in the history of the university. Speaking Monday at the UNLV Football Foundation luncheon, Robinson wasn't so much preaching to the choir as he was soliciting compassion and pleading for understanding as the Rebels go into Thursday's season opener with North Texas on a 16-game losing streak.

It was a textbook display of how to work a crowd, with Robinson effortlessly exposing his team's many weaknesses while promising remarkable success down the road.

One by one he went through his starters and poked fun at some element of their game or being, while, at the same time, underscoring their potential or their importance to the team. No one was spared a review that served the dual purpose of motivating both players and fans.

Amusing snippets and humorous sound bites warmed a gathering that included a table of former NFL players as well as the governor of the state and a room full of anxious, if initially guarded, supporters.

Dale Carnegie could not have made a more effective presentation.

"Our goal is to build this program to one we can be proud of and that's a long way off," Robinson said. "I don't know what's going to happen Thursday night and I get uncertain about what kind of football team we'll be.

"But we're eager to play."

His bluntness, as well as his long-term optimism, fascinated the well-coifed crowd.

"Hugh, can you play?" Robinson called out to Hall of Fame running back (and Henderson resident) Hugh McElhenny, who anchored the NFL alumni table. With McElhenny's eligibility long since expired, Robinson had little choice but to fall back on assessing the talent he does have at his disposal.

He was amazingly comfortable in coloring the big picture.

"We do not have any depth," he said. "Depth does not exist for us at all.

"We're also not going to take many chances. If we've got a third and 17, we're going to run a draw."

There were hints of his serious side as he outlined his goals, yet more often than not Robinson merely feigned anxiety.

For example: "I'm serious about this," he said. "This spring we would have taken anyone in this room" willing to play on the Rebels' defensive line.

The laugh track was cued but wasn't necessary as Robinson garnered his own chuckles.

For instance: "Our punter, Ryan McDonald, is only 14 years old," he said. "He's so young his voice hasn't changed."

And: "Our center, Danny ... Danny ... Danny Pacheco ... well, I don't know Danny very well."

In truth he knows these players very well even if the names sometimes escape him. He knows right guard Tony Terrell "is scared right now" and that wide receiver Nate Turner "is erratic" and that left tackle Brandon Bair "is a little shaky."

Yet he guarantees some day, some year, it will all come together. And as he asks the audience "to stay with us and multiply" there is a tangible sense of bonding within the room.