UNLV’s Wolfe deserved better

Somewhere out there, or up there, or wherever they exist, the football gods owe Ryan Wolfe one.

Or two.

Or 100.

Imagine training year after year to ascend K2, preparing your body and mind to conquer that savage of a mountain on the border of Pakistan and China.

Imagine being able to climb farther each time, pushing yourself up steeper and steeper routes, but always encountering some obstacle that doesn't allow you to reach the summit or, well, the New Mexico Bowl.

Maybe harsh weather.

Maybe a delay-of-game penalty when attempting a game-winning field goal.

Maybe some guy named Kaepernick your teammates still haven't tackled.

It shouldn't end this way, not for all Wolfe did for UNLV's football program these past four years, not for all his terrific numbers, not for his supreme effort in the classroom, not for his willingness to be a leading public face of a struggling team, not for the tireless exertion he gave in trying to will the Rebels a winning record and bowl invitation.

He will walk with the team's other 15 seniors before UNLV ends yet another season without the hope of postseason life Saturday night against San Diego State at Sam Boyd Stadium. Make that, he will hobble.

The most productive wide receiver in school history and the Mountain West Conference's all-time leader in catches saw his college career end last week in practice.

Wolfe, on a day his participation was limited to fielding punts in shorts and a helmet, broke his left foot when it got stuck in the turf and rolled. He had surgery Monday and will be on crutches four to six weeks. The recovery time is eight to 12 weeks.

If it's true there is no education like adversity, Wolfe has had enough of that particular course, thank you very much.

"It's unfortunate, because I always wanted to have that last game with my teammates, to be able to go out on a high note," Wolfe said. "It didn't work out that way, so I have to refocus my plans and make sure I get better."

Statistics are just a prologue for what Wolfe meant to UNLV. He finishes with 283 receptions, which ranks 12th in Football Bowl Subdivision history. His 3,495 receiving yards is fourth all time in the Mountain West and just 139 short of the conference record held by David Anderson of Colorado State.

He should be named first-team all-conference for a third consecutive year but is not guaranteed that honor because for some inexplicable reason, UNLV's offensive coaches forgot Wolfe was on the field several weeks this season.

(Just checking: Was that also the locker room's fault?)

This defines Wolfe most: He graduated in May with a degree in kinesiology and has a 4.0 grade-point average in graduate school while pursuing a master's in sports education and leadership.

He has certainly gained valuable experience with the latter. Wolfe has been a principal figure on the team's leadership committee, which means he sat among a group of players responsible for considering policies and issues while helping to maintain and improve team chemistry, one that promoted the positive in the lowest of times, that discovered and preached about silver linings in the face of a loss.

There was plenty of losing.

UNLV is 13-34 since Wolfe first caught a pass for the Rebels, and his head coach (Mike Sanford) will instruct the team for a final time Saturday, having been fired after a loss at Air Force on Nov. 14. The closest Wolfe came to a bowl game was last year, when the Rebels at 5-6 needed a win at San Diego State to end the season.

They lost, 42-21.

"Sure, there have been times of frustration over (four years), but feeling sorry for yourself doesn't help anyone," said Wolfe, a 2009 CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Eight Team member. "What happened happened. You get over it.

"I came to UNLV to get my degree and to play football second. A big part of being a student-athlete is finding that balance. I tried my best to accept my role as a leader and get the guys together each week and ready to play. We looked out for each other."

It is unknown who will next coach UNLV and, for that matter, who will hire that person. It is unknown how long it might take for the Rebels to have their first winning season since 2000. It is unknown whether Wolfe's foot will completely heal in time for NFL scouts to properly judge his progress and skill.

This much is known: A wide receiver will hobble across the Sam Boyd Stadium turf Saturday night with his parents to be honored along with 15 other seniors, a player whom university media relations officials praise as the finest example of a student-athlete representative UNLV has known and who saw his career as one of the best Rebels ever cut a game short.

Ryan Wolfe deserved a better ending.

A better beginning and middle, too.

He deserved to reach the summit.

Or at least the New Mexico Bowl.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He also can be heard weeknights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on "The Sports Scribes" on KDWN-AM (720) and www.kdwn.com.