Hauck’s coaching staff thinks occasional scrum has its place

ELY — Football coaches are divided on whether fights in practice are beneficial are not.

UNLV's previous coaching staff didn't like fights, and quickly ended them when they began.

The new staff, under coach Bobby Hauck, thinks an occasional scrum can have its place.

"If it's kind of a clean play and guys getting after each other, it's a combative sport," he said. "It's not for everybody, and you have to be an aggressive, combative individual to play it. So we don't want to temper that too much."

The issue came up after a fight today between sophomore wide receiver Aaron Reed and redshirt freshman safety Courtney Bridget. Both players were told to get back into their drill rather than pay a penalty such as running laps around the field.

"We want our guys to be aggressive, so we don't want to rein them in," Hauck said. "I think it's a lot easier to bring a dog out of a fight than push him into it."

TOP PLAYS

— Senior safety Travis Dixon made an interception, but he should've had two. He dropped a second one.

— Freshman linebacker William Vea did a nice job of knocking down a swing pass.

— Redshirt freshman quarterback Caleb Herring faked a pass and took off for a 40-yard gain.

— Junior quarterback Mike Clausen completed a pinpoint pass over the middle between two defenders to junior wide receiver Phillip Payne.