UNLV keeps intensity, Armani Rogers delivers rocket

Wednesday’s UNLV football practice report from Rebel Park:

Tony’s take

Coach Tony Sanchez on the seventh day of training camp:

“I thought the guys did a really good job of walk-through last night. There’s stuff that goes on after these practices in the evenings with meetings and walk-throughs. Our guys have been really mature and done a really good job. They came out today, and in the staff we talked and said, ‘All right, we might need to get these guys going a little bit. It’s Day 7. Two days in a row of getting after it a little bit.’ They came out and did a really good job.

“We worked on the kick return today. That’s probably the best kick return session we’ve had in three years. Now you really start to see the depth and some of the speed out there. We’ve got multiple kickers now that can really place it deep in the end zone.

“Offensive and defensively, I thought there were times when they both looked really good. We had a real competitive one-on-one session. We worked the screen (pass) period today, so we used the first and second defenses that did the service for screens and worked on our timing, and I thought that was really crucial to develop that part of it.

“Overall, it was a good practice.”

Notes

— Redshirt freshman quarterback Armani Rogers was having a so-so practice, and then he threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Devonte Boyd of Basic High School on a line in stride. It was an NFL-quality pass.

“At the end, that’s really where you see him at his best,” Sanchez said. “He’s a run threat, he’s a pass threat, and you can go play action. His arm strength’s unbelievable. It’s funny, when he’s thinking about it, he doesn’t do it. But when he’s not thinking about it and flips that wrist, that’s 60 yards in the air no problem with an absolute line. Those are the things he’s going to be able to do, so I’m excited about him.”

— Sophomores Darren Woods Jr. and Brandon Presley and junior Tim Hough of Desert Pines are competing at kick return. At punt return, junior Lexington Thomas, sophomore Jericho Flowers and Presley are battling for that spot.

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