Younger players to take center stage at UNLV scrimmage

With UNLV’s starting lineup mostly in place, Saturday’s final football scrimmage of the preseason won’t have much effect on which jobs are won and lost.

Coach Tony Sanchez said the scrimmage, scheduled for 8:10 a.m. at Rebel Park and closed to the public, will be an opportunity to take an extended look at younger players.

Many of the starters will receive early snaps before taking off most of the scrimmage.

“Tomorrow is really us playing around and finding some depth,” Sanchez said. “We’re really putting some pressure on some younger guys and seeing where they are maturity-wise.”

Plenty of decisions still have to be made about this team, such as how rotations will be set when the season begins Sept. 2 against Howard at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The Rebels also need to decide which freshmen to play this season and which ones to redshirt. For the younger players who will see action, they have the scrimmage to work their ways into various rotations as well as show they belong on the travel squad.

But UNLV’s coaches didn’t wait until the scrimmage to experiment with the roster.

Starting junior right tackle Nathan Jacobson lined up at second-team center in practice Friday morning. His backup at tackle, redshirt freshman Donovan Outlaw, who went to Coronado High, practiced with the starters.

Freshman safety Greg Francis, who went to Bishop Gorman, also got repetitions with the starters.

“He’s doing a really good job of moving up the depth chart,” Sanchez said of Francis. “He’s not a one, but we want to see him run around with the ones.”

Sanchez said the scrimmage would be about 80 plays, roughly 30 fewer than the one last Saturday at Sam Boyd.

Position spotlight: Tight end/H-back

Tight end

1. Trevor Kanteman, Sr., 6-4, 240

2. (tie) Giovanni Fauolo, Fr., 6-2, 250; Cody Scherff, Jr., 6-6, 250

H-back

1. Tim Holt, Sr., 6-2, 230

2. Giovanni Fauolo, Fr., 6-2, 250

3. Trevor Kanteman, Sr., 6-4, 240

Notes

— Sanchez said UNLV will begin scout-team work Tuesday to prepare for Howard.

— A Philadelphia Eagles scout attended practice. Also in attendance was Tim Hundley, who coached inside linebackers and safeties at UNLV from 2012 to 2014. His son, Nick, is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants and is in his 10th major league season.

More Rebels: Follow all of our UNLV coverage online at reviewjournal.com/Rebels and @RJRebels on Twitter.

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