Dalton Sneed has held his own in the UNLV quarterback competition through the first half of the spring practice schedule, but the redshirt freshman infuriated offensive coordinator Barney Cotton on Friday morning when he called an ill-advised audible during a scrimmage at Rebel Park.
Thirteen former college football players performed for only two scouts — one from the San Diego Chargers and one from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League — to watch them work out at UNLV’s Pro Day.
Three years after running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash on UNLV’s Pro Day, former Rebels running back Bradley Randle will be back on campus Thursday trying to repeat that feat and catch the eye of an NFL scout.
Heading into spring football practice, UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said he hoped that either junior college transfer Johnny Stanton, returnee Kurt Palandech or redshirt freshman Dalton Sneed would emerge as the clear-cut winner of the quarterback competition.
College coaches are more likely to describe the increasingly popular 7-on-7 events as football’s version of the travel basketball circuit. A competitive, yet unregulated, environment that mostly serves to quench fans’ thirst for offseason recruiting news.
Despite being undersized last season, when the Rebels started three offensive linemen in their finale under 270 pounds, UNLV finished 36th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in rushing offense, with 193.7 yards per game, and averaged 4.65 yards per rush.
Each of the Rebels’ 14 spring practices are scheduled for 8:10 a.m., with the April 9th spring game slated for noon.
When Tony Samuel took the head coaching job at New Mexico State in 1997, a 22-year-old student assistant named Tony Sanchez helped him make a smooth transition. Now, almost 20 years later, Sanchez is helping Samuel transition to his job as defensive line coach at UNLV.
During UNLV’s first spring practice in full pads Saturday morning, a crowd of about 60 fans huddled near the north end zone on one of the two fields at Rebel Park to watch the team’s hard-hitting, four-on-three Rebel drill.
Brian Keyes sprained his ankle Monday during UNLV’s first day of spring football practice and was in a walking boot Tuesday. But the big middle linebacker returned to practice Wednesday and was a standout on defense in Friday’s practice at Rebel Park.
