What a weekend former UTEP safety Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith is going to have. Earlier today, it was announced that he was activated to the active roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Da'Mon will play in tonight's Thursday NFL matchup between Pittsburgh and the Cleveland Browns.
On Saturday, Da'mon will earn his college degree from UTEP. During the NFL lockout, Da'Mon returned to El Paso to work towards his degree in Communications. Yesterday, he was among the list of twenty five past and present UTEP athletes who made the school's official athlete graduation list.
SBNation's Pittsburgh Steelers blog, Behind the Steel Curtain, discussed Da'Mon with his current secondary coach, Carnell Lake. Lake had some very nice things to say about him.
"He is a safety who we think has a lot of potential. We were able to retain him on the practice squad—he's not on the active squad. We think he has a bright future with us."
So, I think all Miner fans are rooting for Da'Mon tonight, regardless of NFL fan affiliation.
Also, congratulations to the newest UTEP athletes who completed their degrees. Here is the full list of UTEP athletes who graduate Saturday.
UTEP Athletics 2011 December Graduates
Amanda Apodaca (Track & Field) Multidisciplinary Studies
Joe Banyard (Football) Multidisciplinary Studies
Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith (Football) Communication
Katie Dorman (Soccer) Nursing
Sharif Fajardo (Men’s Basketball) Criminal Justice
Vernon Frazier (Football) Multidisciplinary Studies
Dimitrios Fylladitakis (Track & Field) General Business
Brittany Gonzalez (Soccer) Nursing
Anoop Josan (Soccer) Nursing
Sara Kaltwasser (Soccer) Biology
Donavon Kemp (Football) Management
Milton Mallard (Track & Field) Multidisciplinary Studies
Demetrious Maxie (Football) Multidisciplinary Studies
Nathan McCage (Football) Kinesiology
Kyla Muela (Volleyball) Education
Blessing Okagbare (Track & Field) Management
Ana Pastor (Women’s Golf) International Business
Wayne Portalatin (Men’s Basketball) Criminal Justice
Amanda Pulido (Track & Field) Communication
Amy Sanders (Volleyball) Education
Tate Smith (Football) Multidisciplinary Studies
Kitria Stewart (Track & Field) Multimedia Journalism
Chris Whatley (Football) Multidisciplinary Studies
Jon Wiley (Football) Marketing
Tracy Wittebolle (Women’s Basketball) Communication
Thanks to KTSM for posting the above list here.