UTEP Gets Walk On Kicker
EL PASO, Texas - The UTEP football team will be getting a big boost on special teams this week after it was announced last week Dakota Warren had injuries that would prevent him from playing to his full potential during Mike Price's press conference last week.
Enrique Flores, a graduate of El Paso's Bel Air High School, is expected to finalize paperwork and take a physical this afternoon with the notion he will report to practice tomorrow morning in preparation for this week's contest against Wisconsin.
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"Coach Jeff Banks gave me a call and I'll be reporting to the Durham Center at 1:30 this afternoon to finish signing my paperwork and to get a physical," Flores said.
Flores originally signed a letter of intent in the spring with another academic institution but decided against it when UTEP came calling.
"I had signed with West Texas on national signing day and a couple days later I got a call from UTEP," Flores said. "After that, I had to put everything on a balancing scale and I decided to stay here ... This is a better school, better program and a better division."
"I was supposed to try and go to Camp Socorro, but there was a problem with the paperwork and I couldn't go," Flores continued. "I've been working on my strength and technique with other kickers and I'm pretty much ready to go with my field goals and punts."
Flores has been attending UTEP this fall, paying his own way, and is excited to finally get a shot at playing on the football team.
"I'm just excited that I'm gong to get to start practicing," Flores said. "It's exciting to play (here at UTEP) … this sport has become my passion."
Enrique Flores attended the Kohls Kicking Camp and finished 10th place out of 130 kickers, He might have finished with a higher ranking had he made a 55-yard fieldgoal. Despite missing, he cleared in distance by 5 to 7 yards.
His grades from the event:
Fielgoals:96
Kickoffs:90
Punts:92
Watch his YouTube video here.
Staff writer Angel Luna contributed to this story.
Chris Avila can be reached at show@minerillustrated.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @chrisavila_01. Make sure to follow Miner Illustrated on Twitter at @minermaniac for more up-to-date news and information about UTEP.