UNLV football’s Brandon Presley making up for lost time

One game into the 2016 football season, and it was all over for UNLV wide receiver Brandon Presley.

One catch for 14 yards. One broken foot.

One long road to recovery.

“I was super eager to get out there, and when I got hurt, it tore me down,” Presley said. “I was like, ‘How’s this going to work?’ But as I got into the offseason, I could feel myself getting back into the flow of things. I just knew I had to grind through the summer and through fall camp. It was tough, but it was worth sitting out because I learned a lot from (receivers) Devonte (Boyd) and Kendal (Keys).”

Now Presley is showing what UNLV fans missed last season, and he has become the Rebels’ top big-play wide receiver as they prepare to visit New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

He caught 15 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown through the first seven games. Over the past three, Presley had 13 receptions for 237 yards, an 18.2-yard average, and two touchdowns.

“Part of it is becoming more and more comfortable being a college football player,” coach Tony Sanchez said. “You see it every day at practice. You see it in the summer. Sometimes it takes a minute for those opportunities to come. I remember being a receiver myself, it was frustrating at times because you feel like there are opportunities, but you’re just part of the big read package. So it’s not always going to come to you.

“I think we’ve made an emphasis as of late of getting the ball to Brandon, and he’s done some amazing things with it. The more opportunities he gets, the more successful we are on offense.”

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a coincidence that Presley’s production picked up when Johnny Stanton began starting at quarterback three games ago. But Presley said he has the same chemistry with Armani Rogers, and both quarterbacks are expected to play against the Lobos. A starter has not been announced.

Presley’s recent play is far from a surprise. Much was expected of him going into what was supposed to be his sophomore season last year. Having been granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA, Presley (6 feet, 180 pounds) is getting another shot at a sophomore season, and showed enough in preseason practices that he should play an integral role.

But the Rebels also brought back Boyd and Keys, who were expected to be the top targets and draw most of the defensive attention. Boyd and Keys have combined for 53 catches for 777 yards and five touchdowns, but have been inconsistent.

Maybe Presley, who has 28 receptions for 461 yards and three TDs, now will see more attention from opposing defenses.

“New Mexico is a team that likes to play a lot of cover-zero (no deep safeties), a lot of cover-one (one deep),” Sanchez said. “They like to load the box and be disruptive and try to stop the run and put pressure on the quarterback. If that’s the case, we’re going to have to be able to throw the ball down the field to have a chance to win the football game.”

Which means chances for Presley to make more big plays.

Boyd and Keys will be gone next season, and Presley will be the face of the receivers. He’s showing he’s up to the task.

“Just being more in tune with the quarterbacks week after week and getting comfortable with the offense and understanding the game plan,” Presley said. “I’ve done a better job this year of watching film on my own, so I get a better understanding of what they’re going to run and how our game plan goes up against their defenses.”

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