UNLV’s Devonte Boyd doesn’t drop chance to set records

MOSCOW, Idaho — Devonte Boyd is one of the best wide receivers in UNLV history and has realistic aspirations of playing in the NFL. But he had a key dropped pass in the season opener and two more drops — one that would have been a touchdown — Saturday.

But then in one play in a 44-16 victory over Idaho at the Kibbie Dome, Boyd showed why his coaches and teammates never stop believing in him.

He caught Armani Rogers’ strike at his 42-yard line and ran easily the rest of the way for a 94-yard touchdown, the longest in UNLV history. That beat the 40-year-old record of 87 yards from Carlton Kelley to Henry Vereen against Northern Arizona.

“I saw him running with the safety (Jordan Grabski) and nobody else by him, so I said, ‘I’m going to air this out and let him do what he does best with the ball in his hand,’” Rogers said.

That play broke two school records. It put Boyd, who caught two passes for 103 yards, past the 100-yard mark for the 13th time in his career. Ryan Wolfe, who played from 2006 to 2009, had shared the record.

Boyd also moved into second place at UNLV with 2,838 yards receiving. That places him 657 yards behind Wolfe.

That kind of production makes it easy to see why Boyd has so many supporters even when he drops a pass.

“I’m pretty tough on myself, so I have to remember I’ve been through way worse things in life than dropping a ball,” Boyd said. “I could always get through it, and I’ve got my team backing me. Armani was positive. He kept talking to me. Coach (Tony) Sanchez and everybody kept coming over and kept believing in me, so I made it a point to believe in myself.”

Thomas takes over

Lexington Thomas knew that with fellow running back Charles Williams out with an ankle injury, the burden was on him to produce.

And did he produce, rushing 17 times for 190 yards and three touchdowns, including ones of 60 and 62 yards.

“I did it for my brother today,” Thomas said, referring to Williams.

Thomas’ yardage production was a career high. His previous best was 160 last season, also against Idaho.

Beaten up

Rogers ran 16 times for 86 yards and a touchdown, taking some pretty serious hits along the way.

“The adrenaline is still pumping, especially after the win, but I’ll feel it in the morning most likely,” Rogers said.

Kept out

A walk-through the day before a game in an opposing stadium is common, but UNLV wasn’t able to do that at the Kibbie Dome on Friday.

Smoke from nearby forest fires moved two high school games to the dome. Many high schools in the Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho area canceled games.

The Rebels’ first look inside the dome was about two hours before kickoff.

Gold medal winner

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong handled the pregame coin toss. She is an Idaho graduate who won gold in cycling at the past three Olympic Games. Armstrong also is a two-time world champion and six-time national champ.

More Rebels: Follow all of our UNLV coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Rebels and @RJRebels on Twitter.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.