Position changes helping Wolf Pack

Luke Lippincott was converted from safety to running back last season and has thrived in that role for UNR. Likewise, Ezra Butler has excelled at linebacker for the Wolf Pack after starting his college career as a defensive lineman.

Both players helped lead the Wolf Pack to a 38-21 win over Idaho on Saturday.

Lippincott rushed for 119 yards and two touchdowns a week after being named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week, and Butler returned an interception for a score against Idaho en route to WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

"He's starting to reach his own standards," UNR coach Chris Ault said of Butler, a 6-foot-2-inch, 248-pound junior who led the Wolf Pack with 71 tackles last year and has 43 tackles in six games this season. "We need him to be the productive player he has been the last couple weeks."

Butler had six tackles against the Vandals and returned his second career interception 11 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter to give UNR a 17-0 lead. He also helped hold conference-leading rusher Deonte' Jackson to 45 yards -- 71 under his average of 116.1 yards per game.

"We had a lot of room for improvement, but we played a lot better (on rush defense)," Ault said. "We got around the ball pretty good."

Butler, who ranked 18th in the nation with 171/2 tackles for a loss last year, has six tackles for a loss this season and one sack.

Lippincott, a junior, surpassed 100 yards rushing for the third straight game and the fifth time this season, and he leads the Wolf Pack with 11 touchdowns and 911 yards rushing, which is good for second in the WAC.

"Every game he's doing something different than he did the week before, and I think every week he's improved," Ault said. "He's a tough kid and he's been a great addition to our offense."

• JUST KICKING IT -- Bonanza High School graduate Brett Jaekle has made a field goal in nine straight games, dating to last year's MPC Computers Bowl game against Miami, after booting a 37-yarder for UNR in the first quarter of Saturday's victory.

Jaekle, a 6-4, 210-pound junior, has made 11 of 15 field-goal attempts this season. He missed on tries of 26 and 54 yards in the second quarter Saturday.

• A FIRST FOR THE FIRST -- The Wolf Pack (4-4, 2-2 WAC) held the Vandals (1-8, 0-5) scoreless in the first quarter, marking the first time this season a UNR opponent has not scored in the opening quarter.

• NATIONAL EXPOSURE -- UNR will play at New Mexico State (4-5, 1-3) at 5 p.m. Friday in a nationally televised game on ESPN2. The Aggies are armed with the sixth-best passing offense in the country at 322.2 yards per game.

"They're a very threatening team," Ault said. "They throw it all over the lot and have one of the best offenses in the country."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.