Offense, defense trade high moments as UNLV goes into shoulder pads

Friday’s UNLV football practice report from Rebel Park:

Tony’s take

Coach Tony Sanchez on the third day of training camp:

“First day in shoulder pads, so obviously it’s a lot more physical. We worked on third downs for the first time, and we had two periods of that, so that was good. The defense got after the offense a little bit, and our offense came on at the end. We did tempo for the first time, and in that first series, the offense did a good job of moving the ball right down the field. It was one of those deals it was great to see the offense start fast. We want to see the defense start fast, too. On the flip side, the defense did a great job on the third downs of really pinning their ears back and getting after the quarterback.

“I liked the practice. I thought it was good. I thought our guys did a good job of bringing a workmanlike attitude. There are no lulls in practice. You don’t have to be high, you don’t have to be too low, you’ve got to stay in that pocket where you’re working. Our guys have done a really good job of being mature.”

Notes

— J’Ondray Sanders, a senior from Basic High School, worked at No. 1 center. He’s competing with junior Zack Singer, who went to Bishop Gorman and ran with the starters the first two days. Sanchez said the two are splitting opportunities. The expected starter, junior Sid Acosta, has not returned from a knee injury suffered in spring practices and isn’t expected to play until after the season begins Sept. 2 against Howard at Sam Boyd Stadium.

— Former standout UNLV offensive lineman Jerry Reynolds attended practice. His son, Jackson, is a freshman preferred walk-on from Foothill. Jerry Reynolds was a sixth-round draft pick in 1994 by the Cincinnati Bengals, and he went on to spend one season with the Dallas Cowboys and four with the New York Giants.

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Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.