Injury puts Herring back behind center

Caleb Herring walked off the practice field Tuesday night wearing his red No. 8 wide receiver jersey rather than a yellow no-contact jersey assigned to quarterbacks.

"I like the red and white jerseys," Herring said.

That might be true, but it's likely the junior will line up behind center Saturday rather than split to the side when UNLV's offense is on the football field.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Nick Sherry is doubtful for the 1 p.m. game against Wyoming at Sam Boyd Stadium with what's listed as a back injury. Sherry has been dealing with an injured back, but his head also bounced off the field in the Rebels' 33-11 loss at Colorado State last weekend.

So Herring is preparing to step back into his old spot. He started eight games last season, completing 54.9 percent of his passes for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns, with six interceptions.

After spending this season at wide receiver, Herring went in at quarterback when Sherry went down with 5:58 left against Colorado State. He completed 2 of 4 passes for 33 yards.

"It's not like my first time playing, but it did help to shake off a little bit of rust to get out there in a game situation and throw it around a little bit," Herring said. "But not too much of a difference. Quarterback is like riding a bike, I guess."

■ SENIOR MOMENT - Saturday's game will be the final one at home for 15 UNLV seniors.

The mostly Mike Sanford-recruited class could've stopped playing hard long ago, but it's difficult to fault the seniors' efforts even with UNLV at 2-9.

"I think it's ingrained in them," coach Bobby Hauck said. "I don't think they know any other way at this point."

The seniors are part of a program that hasn't had a winning season since 2000.

"The senior class has been through a lot," senior offensive tackle Yusef Rodgers said. "Obviously, we've had some major changes in the program in the last few years. It's been a long road, but we've stuck it out. We've invested so much in this program, it's only right to go as hard as you can and just enjoy it while it's here."

The Rebels have one more game beyond Wyoming. They visit Hawaii on Nov. 24, and senior cornerback Kenny Brown hopes the next two weekends are memorable for the right reasons.

"I think it's the mindset that we've got to go out there and end on a good note and have something to leave an impression on further down the road the rest of our lives," Brown said.

■ GOOD HANDS PEOPLE - Junior Bradley Randle's lost fumble at Colorado State was the first of his college career. It occurred on his 254th carry.

That also was the first lost fumble by a Rebels running back since Dionza Bradford gave one away at Washington State on Sept. 10, 2011, a span of 1,388 plays.

Junior starter Tim Cornett has fumbled once - on Oct. 9, 2010, at West Virginia. The Rebels recovered that ball. Cornett has 474 career carries.

■ COACHING CONNECTIONS - UNLV quarterbacks coach Rob Phenicie (2000 to 2002) and offensive line coach Chad Germer (2003 to 2008) previously were assistants at Wyoming.

Current Cowboys linebackers coach Robin Ross held the same position at UNLV last season.

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