UNLV defensive backs show they can back up their swagger
Swagger is a key ingredient that cornerbacks need to succeed and UNLV’s corners appear to have an ample supply of it.
“That’s all I’m about right there, swagger,” Rebels sophomore Tim Hough said. “That mindset that, ‘You’re the best.’ That’s what everybody should come in with. ‘You can’t beat me. You’re not going to catch a ball on me.’”
Cornerbacks seldom get the best of UNLV wide receiver Devonte Boyd, but Hough — a Desert Pines product who matched UNLV’s 42-year-old freshman record for interceptions last season with four — managed to do just that in a friendly rap battle with his buddy.
“He said our (defensive backs) are trash,” Hough said, smiling. “I said, ‘He can’t score. When they need plays, they count on 13 and 4.’”
Hough, who wears No. 13, and senior Torry McTyer, who wears No. 4, are the Rebels’ returning starters at cornerback and sophomore returnee Darius Mouton also is making a strong bid in camp for a starting spot. They will get to show their swagger at 8:10 a.m. Friday when UNLV will host an intrasquad scrimmage open to the public at Rebel Park.
“Nobody works harder,” UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said of Mouton. “Every day he comes out with his hair on fire and ready to go. He finishes everything and he’s so athletic. Right now he’s sitting there No. 2 (on the depth chart) right there with Hough, a local guy and kind of our inspirational leader out there.
“(Hough’s) probably the loudest guy out there and the guys all follow him. We feel really confident with those three guys being in that No. 1 role. They’ll rotate through.”
Mouton’s eyes lit up following Wednesday’s practice at the mere mention of the word swagger.
“You’ve got to have confidence. That’s just how (defensive backs) are,” he said. “You’ve just got to talk to yourself, ‘I know this receiver is not going to catch any ball on me. I know I’ve got my side (of the field) locked, so have your side locked.’”
Of course, Mouton doesn’t always talk only to himself. He enjoys talking trash with wideouts.
“All the time,” he said. “It starts in the locker room. We’re like, ‘Hey, y’all better get your mind right because we’re coming to work.’ And that just makes us all better. At the end of the day, if you’re a competitor, you’re going to trash talk a little.
“A lot of them know I’m kind of fast so I let them know, ‘Nobody’s beating me over the top.’ They might catch a slant if they get lucky.”
Mouton hails from the same Houston high school, North Shore, that produced former UNLV wide receiver Devante Davis and running back Tim Cornett and receivers coach Cedric Cormier. He credits his work ethic for helping him make big strides since last season, when he started five games at nickelback as a true freshman.
“Every day I just come to work,” he said. “If you continue to work every day, it’s going to become a habit. When you build good habits, good things happen.”
The 6-foot McTyer tied for third in the Mountain West in pass breakups last season with 10. A former Cal commit, McTyer’s father, Tim, is a former NFL player who was an All-Western Athletic Conference defensive back for Brigham Young.
“He’s a big, long kid. He can make plays,” Sanchez said. “He’s really matured since we got here about the way we have to work every day.”
Robert Jackson, a junior-college transfer, is expected to see action at cornerback and safety and Sanchez said freshman Tykenzie Daniels “has got a great future here.”
“It’s a deeper position,” Sanchez said. “That group is definitely a faster, more athletic group and it’s still a young group, but talented.”
And full of swag.
“Those guys have got the most swagger on the team,” Boyd said. “They carry themselves with swagger. That’s how they’ve got to be.
“I think they’ll end up being one of the best (defensive back) groups in the country. I’ve got a lot of confidence in them.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow on Twitter: @tdewey33
