Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, spoke to the UTEP football team today before practice started.  Greene is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive player in the National Football League.  He is considered by many to be one of the greatest defensive lineman ever and was the cornerstone of the legendary “Steel Curtain” defense.  He is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and a four-time Super Bowl champion. His nickname, "Mean Greene" stems from his alma mater, the University of North Texas' athletic teams, which are nicknamed the Mean Green.

UTEP Head Coach Mike Price did not discuss injuries today, largely due to the fact that Rice will not discuss their injuries.  Nearly a dozen Miners were injured in last Saturday's victory over New Mexico, in which the turf played a part.

"Playing on turf, the grass, even though in Houston we played on grass, but this was a little higher and wetter for some reason, so we have some pulled muscles and that kind of stuff. So we are banged up, so I decided not to go out and hit today. I am going to keep the injury update pretty close to the vest this week because we do have some guys that are questionable," said Mike Price.

Senior running back Donald Buckram participated in practice, though it was just in shorts. Buckram is likely to be a game time decision, though he did look good running today.