Boyd ready to assume leadership role as sophomore for UNLV

Leadership is often thought to come from seniors and maybe some juniors.

UNLV wide receiver Devonte Boyd is ready to lead as a sophomore, and he has the credentials to do it.

He was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year last season and also was selected a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

“I think a lot of people are looking at me to be a leader, because even though I was a freshman last year, I had a lot of playing time,” Boyd said. “I had more playing time than a lot of guys on our team. So a lot of them are looking for me to try to help them out and guide them, and I’m fine with it. I feel like I was born to be a leader.”

UNLV needs Boyd (6 feet 1 inch, 175 pounds) to do more than lead. The Rebels need him to produce the way he did last season when he caught 65 passes for 980 yards, both UNLV freshman records. The yardage figure led all freshmen nationally in the regular season.

With fellow sophomore Kendal Keys (6-3, 200), the Rebels have as good a one-two combination as any other Mountain West team. Senior Anthony Williams (5-11, 190) also returns, and senior Aaron Criswell (5-10, 175) has shown promise in practice.

UNLV will need at least one of the incoming freshmen — Brandon Presley (6-0, 175) or Darren Woods Jr. (6-0, 210) — to come in and contribute right away.

“We’re in spring football with four scholarship wide receivers,” coach Tony Sanchez said. “That’s tough. Even with the kids coming in the fall, that’s six. You should have eight guys on scholarship at all times. We’ve got to change that. The number of running backs is too big. The number of receivers is too small. But that’s something that takes a couple of years to change. You’ve got to get a couple of recruiting classes in.”

Boyd, who played at Basic High School, is no stranger to facing a daunting challenge. Devante Davis went down in midseason last year with a wrist injury that cost him five games.

That put the onus on Boyd to step up. It was a lot to ask of a freshman, but Boyd delivered, filling a role he didn’t expect to take on when the season began.

“I didn’t think that I was going to be that player that everybody was looking at,” Boyd said. “I thought I was going to be a role player, like a spark that the team needed when the team was down. But when I realized that I could be that player and I am that player that people are looking to to make plays, then it hit me, like, ‘All right, you can do this. You’ve got to do this because they’re looking at you.’”

USING THE TIGHT END — Previous UNLV coach Bobby Hauck believed in the tight end, and Sanchez also will emphasize a position that often has disappeared nationally with the influx of spread offenses.

Sanchez and offensive coordinator Barney Cotton want to run a power offense, and though they don’t have the personnel to abandon the spread, that doesn’t mean they won’t use the tight end.

Which is good news for senior Jake Phillips (6-6, 255), who said he was fired up with the staff’s commitment to a strong run game. Phillips’ blocking will be part of any success from the ground game.

“Coach Cotton and his son (Ben, a graduate assistant) have taught me so much already in this short time,” Phillips said. “It’s really great so far.”

LOOKING AHEAD — UNLV practices at 1 p.m. today at Rebel Park and at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Rebels will practice again next week before concluding with the spring game at noon on April 18.

All practices are open to the public.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.