Keith Belton’s goal was to get Rebels ship-shape before shaping up

One of the most important hires Tony Sanchez made when he became the football coach at UNLV first met all those players under his guidance — meaning every last one — outside the team’s weight room.

He opened a large hamper, removed over 100 towels and rags, and began handing them out.

Keith Belton will have as much to say about how improved the Rebels are this season and beyond as anyone else, his responsibility to grow the physiques of boys into men and men into bigger men so that the Rebels can reach the fourth quarter of a November game and not feel as though they just completed a few month’s worth of Ironman triathlons.

But before one weight was lifted last year, before one bench press or squat or curl was completed, Belton gave an order: Clean things up.

“The entire weight room,” he said. “We must have cleaned for a week and a half before we actually lifted. We had to first work on doing things the right way and lay a foundation of trust and worth ethic. I needed to trust them, and they needed to trust me. Their attention to detail was horrible. Their effort was horrible. But by the time we began lifting, they were so tired of cleaning and running, they were ready to go. I ran them a lot, probably too much. We had to change habits.

“We’re still changing them. What to eat, what to drink, be on time, get enough sleep. They’re kids who have done things the same way their entire lives. It’s a process. It takes time.”

There is no one closer and perhaps more important to college football players than a program’s director of strength and conditioning. Nobody understands more about what inspires or motivates specific kids. He knows all their secrets, their worries, their goals, their shortcomings, their fortitude.

Belton played at Syracuse and was a fullback in the NFL for three teams over four seasons, and yet he looks now as though he could start at defensive back in the league. He arrived at UNLV from Southern California, where he was an assistant strength coach under Steve Sarkisian and probably never encountered the depth issues the Rebels dealt with last season, when they had offensive linemen in the 270-pound range and three linebackers play 90-plus snaps for three consecutive weeks.

Nathan Jacobson played offensive line as a 279-pound freshman. He’s 295 now.

Kyle Saxelid played around 273 as a sophomore. He’s also in the mid-290s today.

There are stories of such gains up and down the roster, including skill players who have been able to maintain and even increase speed as their weight climbed. Bigger, stronger bodies across a team’s two-deep usually means better results on special teams, meaning Sanchez no longer will have to include as many (tired) starters on the kicking game.

Winning teams are often defined on how good their second units prove to be.

“Coach Belton has meant everything to us,” Saxelid said. “He gets us going like no one else. We are with him more than anyone else. He has us in shape, strong, hyped for the season. I learned last year you can’t compete at this level as a 270-pound lineman.”

Belton said the previous coaching staff did a solid job teaching the technique of weight lifting, that most Rebels knew their way around the equipment and how best to use it. But the most significant gains are often made above one’s neck, meaning when you approach a bench and stacked plates, are you doing so because you have a passion for it or because it’s the next stop on a card of your scripted daily routine?

Are you working for the right reasons?

Are you there because you love it or because you are required to be?

“These things are perceived as special, but they’re the norm in organizations that are successful,” Sanchez said. “If I walk into our locker room, I don’t want to see a towel on the ground next to the towel bin. If you can’t put the towel inside the bin, you can’t win football games. People say that’s not a big deal, but it is. It’s everything. It’s caring about what you have and being accountable. We all need to have that blue-collar work ethic.”

When the Rebels reported for fall practice this week, Sanchez happened past where his players would eat. It was 5 a.m., and someone had already begun cooking eggs for the team.

It was Keith Belton.

“You won’t find many head strength and conditioning coaches across the country at that hour doing that,” Sanchez said. “He’s really, really good at what he does. He got offers to go other places for more money after last season but stayed with us. He’s a loyal son of a gun.”

Who demands things be neat and tidy and clean.

Who demands those UNLV players under his guidance — meaning every last one — do things the right way.

Then, and only then, can they lift.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on “Seat and Ed” on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney