UNLV’s Devonte Boyd having breakout season

Devante Davis figured to be the wide receiver chasing UNLV football records this season, and if not for an wrist injury, he would have done just that.

Instead, it’s a player whose first name sounds the same even if the spelling is one letter different.

Devonte Boyd is the one trying to etch his name in the Rebels’ record book, and the Basic High School product is on pace to end the season as the Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

“He has a great work ethic,” wide receivers coach Cedric Cormier said. “That’s what’s special about him. What everyone is seeing on Saturdays is what he’s doing during the week.”

Entering Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game against New Mexico at Sam Boyd Stadium, Boyd has 33 catches for 562 yards and two touchdowns. He is coming off a six-reception, 128-yard performance at Utah State that included a 41-yard touchdown.

With five games remaining, Boyd is on pace to catch 54 passes for 913 yards.

If he hits those marks, that would put him in pretty heady company. Ryan Wolfe set UNLV’s freshman records with 55 receptions for 911 yards in 2006, so Boyd has an excellent chance to pass him in both categories.

Wolfe built on his first-season success to set the Rebels’ career records with 283 receptions for 3,495 yards.

“I heard about Ryan Wolfe when I was going to Basic, but I never thought about the records he held or breaking them,” Boyd said. “I’m just going out there and playing football.”

When it comes to Rebels receivers, Boyd identifies more closely with Davis, who was expected to spend his senior season darting up the school’s receiving charts. But Davis has not played the past four games because of a right wrist injury, and coach Bobby Hauck said it could be a game-day decision whether Davis plays against New Mexico.

“It hurt me that Devante was down,” Boyd said. “It made me want to play even harder that he was down. I’m waiting for him to come back. I’m ready for him to come back right now. I’ve been wanting him to come back just to get a chance to play with him and share those experiences with him.”

With Davis out, that put the onus on Boyd to be the go-to receiver, a responsibility he has met.

“He’ll tell you right now he wants to be better than Devante Davis,” Cormier said.

If Boyd (6 feet 1 inch, 175 pounds) continues to produce, he could become the first UNLV player to be the Mountain West’s top freshman since Wolfe in that 2006 season. His current top competitors are cornerbacks Jalen Davis of Utah State and Robert Priester of Wyoming. Davis has five pass breakups, two interceptions and four tackles for loss. Priester has 34 tackles, two forced fumbles and a pass breakup.

Other contenders could emerge. Wyoming running back Brian Hill has rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns, recording 121 yards and both scores Saturday against Colorado State. Now he has moved into the starting lineup.

Utah State’s Kent Myers has become the starting quarterback after the top three went down with injuries. Myers was expected to redshirt, but came off the bench and led a touchdown drive Saturday against the Rebels. Maybe he will follow the lead of Darell Garretson, who last season as a freshman replaced the injured starter and took the Aggies to the conference championship game.

Myers’ teammate, running back LaJuan Hunt, has rushed for 158 yards and could get more opportunities down the stretch as Utah State attempts to improve its struggling ground game.

Entering the final month, however, Boyd stands in excellent position, and if a vote was today, it shouldn’t be close.

Not that he has paid attention to the league’s other freshmen and where he stands in relation to them.

“I’m not big on stats,” Boyd said. “Some guys right after the game go check their stats. If we lose, then I’m still trying to figure out how we lost and how to fix my game and stuff like that. People normally send me pictures of my stats. That’s not my main priority.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter:@markanderson65.