When UNLV honors its 1984 football team Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium, fans might want to take a good, long look. The way things are going for the Rebels, who knows when such success will be repeated.
UNLV Football
New Mexico football coach Mike Locksley opened his portion of Tuesday’s league conference call by talking about the fortuitous timing of this week’s bye, saying it would give his staff a chance to “evaluate everything we do in the program.”
Today’s Q&A is with senior kicker and punter Kyle Watson, a white player from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., who began his college career at historically black college Texas Southern.
HOW THEY SCORED
Omar Clayton had the kind of roller-coaster ride that was exhilarating and nauseating Saturday night.
UNLV president Neal Smatresk promised early last week he would be closely watching the football program, and said Rebels coach Mike Sanford was being evaluated on a weekly basis.
If this is bouncing back, I’d hate to see what UNLV’s football team looks like when it’s not focused.
Effort should be the one guaranteed trait a football player owns. Speed. Strength. Skill. Smarts. You can lack in all of these and still play hard.
Junior college players are usually signed to address a need on a football team but often don’t provide instant help.
Brigham Young senior quarterback Max Hall was careful not to criticize UNLV’s defense after watching videotape of the Rebels’ 63-28 loss at UNR. He said the football game wasn’t indicative of what he expects to face when the No. 18 Cougars play UNLV at 7 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.
I have met UNLV president Neal Smatresk once. I have spoken to him twice. I know he ran track and swam in high school. I know he has a daughter who played soccer and a son who played baseball. I know his wife enjoys watching volleyball.
Brigham Young coach Bronco Mendenhall can’t control perception, but he knows the implications are real.
UNLV football coach Mike Sanford now is under the microscope of the university president’s office. … President Neal Smatresk said Monday he was troubled by the state of the program following Saturday’s 63-28 loss at the University of Nevada, Reno, in which the Rebels gave up 773 yards. … The Rebels dropped to 2-3 and are 13-39 under Sanford, who is in his fifth season.
Mike Sanford has to be coaching for his job on a weekly basis now. If he’s not, it will be because his superiors at UNLV have forgotten the most significant rule: the program comes first.
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