59°F
weather icon Clear

Rebels seek improved running game

Replacing Tim Cornett was always going to be tough, and exactly how difficult was made clear Friday.

UNLV rushed for 119 yards in the season-opening 58-13 loss at Arizona, with quarterback Blake Decker gaining a team-high 56 of those yards.

But coach Bobby Hauck pointed out judging the ground game on a night the Rebels often had to take the air after falling behind early isn’t easy.

“I think the more those guys play, the better they’re going to be,” Hauck said Monday at his weekly news conference. “You know, it looked like a bunch of young guys playing their first game.”

The Rebels (0-1) next play their home opener at 7 p.m. Saturday against Northern Colorado at Sam Boyd Stadium. This is the Bears’ season opener.

Maybe facing a Football Championship Subdivision team that is on an 11-game losing streak is what UNLV needs to get its running game going.

Not that it’s easy to replace Cornett, the school’s all-time leading rusher who departed following back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons. He also was one of those players capable of carrying the offense when it needed him to, last season finishing with 1,284 yards and 15 touchdowns.

With Cornett as the lead back, the Rebels averaged 172.5 yards rushing per game. Only twice did they rush for fewer yards than the 119 they had against Arizona.

UNLV is going with a committee that includes David Greene, George Naufahu and Keith Whitely, and Hauck said the rotation against Northern Colorado will be determined during the week.

“For those guys in particular, practice counts in terms of who’s going to get the first snap,” Hauck said. “Then it will be more about how the game plays out, I suppose, on Saturday.”

Naufahu, a junior college transfer, led the trio against the Wildcats, gaining 27 yards on eight carries.

Greene, who converted from safety late in spring practices, rushed three times for 14 yards. His playing time was limited because he missed almost a week of training camp because of a pulled muscle.

Whitely, one of the Rebels’ top recruits last year, gained a yard on six rushes, and his night was ended after a fumble in the second quarter. Whitely was in the process of giving UNLV a second-and-short around the 10-yard line when the ball popped out of his arm straight backward for a 6-yard loss. Instead of a strong shot at a touchdown, the Rebels had to settle for a field goal.

“Certainly, the fumble going in the red zone was a huge play in the game,” Hauck said.

Hauck hates fumbling, and he was asked if that was why Shaquille Murray-Lawrence isn’t part of the rotation. Murray-Lawrence rushed for 418 yards on an 8.9-per-carry average last season, but had problems holding on to the ball.

Though Hauck said Murray-Lawrence was “down the list” on the depth chart, it wasn’t because of fumbling.

“It was more of a team matter,” Hauck said.

■ NOTES — Saturday’s game will be streamed online through the Mountain West Network. Last season’s starting quarterback, Caleb Herring, will be the analyst, and former UNLV radio announcer Tony Cordasco will handle play by play. … As part of National Preparedness Month, 250 first-responders will unfurl the field-covering American flag during the national anthem.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST