UNLV QB Decker responds to being put in unexpected situations during scrimmage
UNLV football coach Tony Sanchez went easy on senior quarterback Blake Decker on Wednesday, giving him the morning off during the team practice periods.
Not so in Saturday's football scrimmage.
Decker was put to work, and he made the most of his opportunity, completing 9 of 15 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions.
"It's not really Blake as much as it's the offensive line," Sanchez said, explaining the extra snaps. "We have so many bodies rotating in and out. There are a lot of freshmen in there, so it's just getting those guys some live (repetitions)."
The line did its job in protecting Decker (6 feet 2 inches, 215 pounds), who was seldom hurried while competing in the unique setting of Nellis Air Force Base.
He completed touchdown passes of 19 yards to senior Aaron Criswell and 55 yards to sophomore Devonte Boyd.
"It's good just to see different situations," Decker said. "You saw Coach Sanchez put us in a situation we weren't ready for. He put us on the 5 and said, "We need two first downs coming out to end the game.' That's not something we talked about beforehand, and I wasn't ready for it. But you've got to be ready for any situation. We moved the ball down the field and got 50, 55 yards and pinned them down deep.
"It was good to come out here and not have everything scripted, but go off what it's going to be like in a game."
If the scrimmage was any indication, the Rebels will need Decker to stay healthy. The two backup quarterbacks, sophomore Kurt Palandech and redshirt freshman Kevin Thomson, combined to go 2 of 14 for 12 yards.
Palandech also was intercepted, and the pick was returned 51 yards by sophomore cornerback Jonavaughn Williams.
No matter who is the quarterback, having Boyd to catch passes will only help.
He proved his worth last season in catching 65 passes for 980 yards in becoming Mountain West Freshman of the Year. In the scrimmage, he caught four passes for 113 yards.
"You see it out there," Decker said. "You see him winning one-on-one. He makes plays. He goes and gets balls. It's great. He's a safety net for us."
Sanchez said Boyd (6-1, 175) has some areas at which he can still improve, pointing out he failed to run out a couple of pass plays.
The good news for Boyd is those lessons can be learned well before the Sept. 5 season opener at Northern Illinois.
"I think I performed OK," Boyd said. "I think there are a lot of things I can improve on, a lot of mistakes I had. I caught the ball a couple of times, but that's what I'm supposed to do."
It may be in his job description, but Boyd also showed why he is a special player.
He dived to catch a 32-yard pass and convert a third-and-5 from his team's 10-yard line. And on his long touchdown, he caught a short pass and quickly juked Williams to easily head to the end zone.
"I know Blake pretty well," Boyd said. "I knew he was going to throw the ball. He does this little wink thing before we leave the huddle, so I kind of knew he was going to throw the ball over there."
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65
