UNLV Spring Football Recap No. 1: Practice on high note

The music blaring at Rebel Park at 8:10 a.m. Monday morning was hip-hop, but it kicked off a symphony of fast-paced drills featuring 90 players on the first day of spring football practice at UNLV.

High-energy second-year coach Tony Sanchez, who guided the Rebels to a 3-9 mark in his inaugural season, was happy to report that the deeper, more experienced squad was way ahead of where it was last year during his first spring practice.

“We have a whole lot more installed and we got a lot more done,” he said. “We didn’t have to pause practice because we were going too slow. We were able to get through our scripts at a good, fast pace. That’s the biggest thing. We want to create a good, fast tempo. When we huddle up, we want to get in and out fast, and we did a really good job of that today.

“There are so many things we’ve got to get better at and I think everybody’s the same way when you go into your first day of spring ball practice. But as far as where we are as an offense and a defense, special teams and installing stuff, we’re night and day from where we were a year ago.”

Here’s a quick recap of Monday’s practice:

Highlights: Quarterback Johnny Stanton, a junior college midyear transfer, lofted a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Presley, who beat defensive back Torry McTyer on the play.

* Wideout Kendal Keys made a nice diving catch of a pass from redshirt freshman Dalton Sneed. Keys was shaken up on the play but continued to practice.

Notes: Middle linebacker Brian Keyes looked all of his listed weight of 255 pounds as the 6-foot-1-inch junior college midyear transfer worked with the first-string defense, but he sat out the second half of practice after limping off the field with an undisclosed injury. Keyes had his right ankle taped as he watched the end of practice from a training table on the sidelines.

* Six walk-on players earned their spots in spring practice at an open tryout attended by more than 40 players on Feb. 26 at UNLV. The walk-ons include local products Salah Boyce, a 5-foot-7-inch defensive back from Arbor View; Lantz Worthington, a 5-7 running back from Centennial; and Jalil Briley, a defensive lineman from Bonanza. The others are 5-4 kicker Dorian Naditch and 5-5 wide receiver Allan Cui.

* The next practice is scheduled for 8:10 a.m. Wednesday at Rebel Park.

Quotes: Sanchez on the team’s attitude entering his second season at UNLV, which has had only one winning season since 2000: “There’s a sense that we can get this thing done. I don’t think that anybody here doubts that we can win football games now after last year and all those close calls. They realize that the devil’s in the details. They’ve got to show up and do everything right. They’ve got to be coachable, they’ve got to be hungry and push the entire group. If we’re all willing to do that and check our egos at the door, we have a great shot to get this program rolling.”