5 players to watch in UNLV-San Jose State game

Here are five players to watch when UNLV’s football team plays at San Jose State at 5 p.m. Saturday.

1. San Jose State sophomore wide receiver Tyler Winston. He leads the Mountain West with 32 catches and is a possession receiver, averaging 9 yards per reception. Not a great number, but the Spartans rely on him to move the chains and that’s an underrated asset.

2. UNLV junior quarterback Blake Decker. He has proven he can play, averaging 245.8 yards passing per game, putting him on pace to have the Rebels’ highest season total since 1996. But Decker also has thrown at least one interception in each game, and those turnovers have been killers that must be cleaned up.

3. UNLV freshman wide receiver Devonte Boyd. With Devante Davis possibly out for an extended amount of time because of a hand injury, the onus is on Boyd to be the go-to receiver. Boyd showed Saturday at San Diego State he can handle the load, catching four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.

4. San Jose State junior quarterback Joe Gray. He was handed the offense last week against UNR, and passed for 276 yards, but was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter. Sounds a lot like Decker. If Gray can play mistake-free football, that gives the Spartans a big edge.

5. UNLV senior cornerbacks Kenneth Penny and Tajh Hasson. They’re combined into one because both will defend Winston. If they can take away Winston, that puts more pressure on Gray to find other ways to move the offense.