UNLV is young but also confident about playing in a bowl

Much of the focus in Saturday’s UNLV’s scrimmage was to evaluate the youngsters.

That process, however, didn’t begin with the scrimmage at Rebel Park. This training camp largely has focused on players not old enough to legally drink a Corona.

It all starts at the top with redshirt freshman quarterback Armani Rogers, who carries the heavy load of expectations of trying to lead the Rebels out of the football wilderness. He can hand off to sophomore running back Charles Williams or pass to sophomore wide receiver Brandon Presley. And part of his protection comes from sophomore guards Jaron Caldwell and Justin Polu.

On the other side, the Rebels hope sophomore linebacker Gabe McCoy causes havoc, while sophomore cornerback Jericho Flowers helps protect the back end.

“It’s interesting, you look at how young they are, but then you look at the opportunities they’ve had to play,” coach Tony Sanchez said. “A lot of them have experience, so it’s a young, experienced team, which you don’t have very often.”

Any experience the young players have received is crucial as the Rebels prepare for their Sept. 2 season opener against Howard at Sam Boyd Stadium, but this is a confident team. While many UNLV fans would gladly take a bowl appearance even in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the players and coaches have their sights set higher.

“We’re going to have a good year this year,” Sanchez said. “I fully believe we can get ourselves into the postseason if we do the things we need to. We want to compete for that Western Division championship and get into a conference championship. Not putting the cart before the horse. We’ve got to go 1-0, and we’ve got to go 2-0 for the first time since 1999.”

It’s true that the Rebels can’t afford to lose sight of following the old cliche of taking one opponent at a time, because if any program can’t afford to look past anyone, it’s UNLV.

But the Rebels are talented, and nothing can replace skill, no matter the experience level.

“One of our goals is the Mountain West championship, and we strive for that every day in practice,” Presley said. “I think it’s beyond possible. This team has so much potential that it can be unstoppable, and we just have to be able to put that together and execute the way that we can.”

Much is expected of Presley, who broke his right foot in last year’s season opener. He played well in the spring and has followed with a strong training camp. Another sophomore, Darren Woods Jr., also is among the top four receivers.

Williams leads a running attack that last season ranked 15th nationally with 241.5 yards per game. He broke the school’s freshman rushing record with 763 yards and has solidified his hold on the starting spot, though running back is deep in talent.

The defense hasn’t had nearly as much success, but it’s clear this is a more athletic group, even if only two starters return.

UNLV’s secondary not only starts Flowers at one of the cornerback spots, but sophomores Evan Austrie and Javin White are competing at one of the safety positions.

Then there is McCoy, who has shown signs of being a quality linebacker. He played in all 12 games as a redshirt freshman last season.

“We’re very confident,” McCoy said. “We feel that we can win every game we play. We put in the time and effort all summer.”

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