Anybody make it to the final scrimmage
- Thread starter willlevi
- Start date
Disappointed that this is all that was released by the official site.
Unless the RJ or Sun has more to add, this is a general wrap for the for the UNLV pre-fall reports.
http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082115aab.html
Unless the RJ or Sun has more to add, this is a general wrap for the for the UNLV pre-fall reports.
http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082115aab.html
I would think that Mark Anderson will have a substantial write up this evening. He's been there for it all and I'm sure this will be no different.
I did see a couple tweets that suggested that the two freshman running backs had good days ("The X & Lex Show", as Tony Cordasco called them).
I did see a couple tweets that suggested that the two freshman running backs had good days ("The X & Lex Show", as Tony Cordasco called them).
Okay I will admit I was in attendance today. I didn't stay for the entire practice, left about 30 minutes early. Decker received all the snaps with the first team today and looked very sharp. I have been extremely impressed with Andrew Price since he got on campus 3 yrs ago. Just a great body and size for a TE and today he had a beautiful TD reception from Decker. Whitely looked impressive today and will most likely get the start in the first game. He hits the hole hard and fast. However #3 Lexington Thomas who I will call LT henceforth is just on a different level. You will think he doesn't have anything and the next thing you know he has bounced out in another direction heading for a nice gain. On one particular play today he bounced the play outside to the left and after a 10-15 yd pick up was being tackled and as he went down he did a 360 and came down on a defensive player, and without having his knees hit the ground was up and running another 25 yrs for a TD. Definitely the play of the Day. The X Man (Xzavier Campbell) also has that ability to find a way to break open a play for nice gains. So if you haven't been out to a practice and seen these 2 guys you will be more than pleasantly surprised. Sneed got a lot of reps today but it was always with the 2's & 3's going against the 1's & 2's on defense so it was tough sledding for him out there. Receivers couldn't get open for him and when they did they weren't able to haul in the passes. It's tough when you don't have any of the 3 starting RB's to help loosen things up by carrying the ball for you either. Making the kid fight for it. I think our DB's are looking fairly solid and were really giving the receivers all they could handle today. Defense really pursues to the ball. Lots of gang tackling out there. We still need a back up center. If Kreitler goes down getting somebody that can consistently snap the ball to the QB where he can field it has been an issue. On another note Zack Singer who is redshirting this year went down with what looked to be a knee. Also Tory McTyer who has just returned to full practice from a knee issue was in the medic tent towards the end of practice with ice on his knee. Hopefully it was just a little stressed after just returning to action. Go Rebels!
PS Hey Will, just out of curiosity, have you seen or heard anything that gives you any optimism for the future?
PS Hey Will, just out of curiosity, have you seen or heard anything that gives you any optimism for the future?
I haven't heard any UNLV buzz locally beyond a few people with kids on the team.
Sanchez has locked himself in for the next two seasons with his OC and DC. Either they come out swinging for the fences or you have to hope to community has enough patience with the program to get to the next coaching hire.
Player retention will be the biggest thing to watch over the next two years as well. Sanford was horrible with player retention during his tenure while Hauck had excellent player retention that led to the bowl berth in year 4 but struggled early with a lack of upperclassmen.
Sanford came close during his final two years but he struggled building any quality depth.
Sanchez has locked himself in for the next two seasons with his OC and DC. Either they come out swinging for the fences or you have to hope to community has enough patience with the program to get to the next coaching hire.
Player retention will be the biggest thing to watch over the next two years as well. Sanford was horrible with player retention during his tenure while Hauck had excellent player retention that led to the bowl berth in year 4 but struggled early with a lack of upperclassmen.
Sanford came close during his final two years but he struggled building any quality depth.
This takes pessimism to a whole new level. Wow. If they don't hit a homerun out of the gates, we just have to wait it out for the next coaching staff... Eek.
Two years? Seriously?
What has UNLV ever done in their entire history? You do realize this is one of the worst programs in the nation, historically? A coach is supposed to turn it around in two years? A HOF coach like Robinson basically gave us a small blip of "good" football. This isn't hoops where you can shuffle in ready made freshman to the bulk of the team. Our basketball fans give coaches more than two years - and that's with a heavy dose of unrealistic expectations and a stellar history.
I expect a visible change of direction, which probably won't manifest itself in the W/L column. Not in two years.
Sorry Will, but this absolutely screams that you want Sanchez to fall flat on his face.
Its not an ode to Sanchez, more that I feel it will be tough to recruit and build with the "former high school coach" stigma following you if you haven't showed some level of success.
This year Sanchez had spots in "Snoop and Son" along with the buzz of a very successful high school season.
Two bad season with the need to hire new coordinators, empty stadiums and just two seasons remaining on your contract will make it extremely tough to sell your vision to potential athletes or fans.
I feel the bench mark of a successful season is 4-5 wins in year two just to clarify
Already assuming that he's going to need to hire two new coordinators and lack success recruiting locals (despite already disproving the later)...
I can't lie when I say that you bring unintentional humor to the boards, at least from my perspective. At first I got a little upset with your bias. Now, I literally laugh reading each new way you find to "subtly" degrade any and all aspects of UNLV/Gorman.
Thank you, Will. Keep me laughing!
I can't lie when I say that you bring unintentional humor to the boards, at least from my perspective. At first I got a little upset with your bias. Now, I literally laugh reading each new way you find to "subtly" degrade any and all aspects of UNLV/Gorman.
Thank you, Will. Keep me laughing!
Will-
Let's review your track record since the start of the Sanchez hire. Lets remember we can always fact check and go back and look at some of these threads.
You said Xxavier Campbell and Lexington Thomas were 'both found under rocks' and the staff had 'wasted' scholarships on those two players. Oddly enough despite Xxavier Campbell being 'to slow' and Lexington Thomas 'to small', both figure to be big parts of the offense this year. As a matter of fact if you ask most people that have attended practice Thomas has been one of the top performers during camp. Now obviously you would spin that as you have concerns about the defensive line. But had the results been different and the defensive line had been better during camp you would have spun it the other way supporting your argument saying you knew those two kids wouldn't be much of a factor. So your analysis on this topic was....WRONG.
During the recruiting process you said Alo-Wily was only 260lbs. (He is bigger than that). You also said, he didn't appear to have that aggressive nature needed to play in the trenches. Again all reports out of camp are contrary to what you stated. He has been one of the better defensive linemen throughout camp. Obviously you would twist this to say that the offensive line he is competing against is not very good. Or had Alo-Wily not shown well in camp you would have said 'I told you so'. So again your analysis was.....WRONG.
During the recruiting process you harped on and on and on about the lack of local recruiting. Despite the fact coach Sanchez had little time due to the late hire to recruit locally. You basically went on to say that the School and coach Sanchez himself had an agenda and were not going to recruit local players. You failed to point out that Coach Sanchez took advantage of existing relationships of his new staff with players from out of state which was OBVIOUSLY the smart thing to do in that situation. Year 2 already has 3 local recruits signed and numerous other offers out there. So once again your observations on this topic have been proven...WRONG
During the recruiting process you made a comment stating your 'great concern' about the academic credentials of all these out of state players. You were 'concerned' about the possible effect this could potentially have on the APR when these kids are no longer with the program in 2 or 3 years. You failed to mention that WR Darren Woods was being recruited by Air Force or that OL Alex Neale was recruited by a number of 'academic' institutions. And in one of those ironic twists, its not one of the 'out of state kids' that failed themselves or the program but a local kid who couldn't pass the SATs. Why would you have so much faith in the academic aptitude of kids from this city, when in fact Las Vegas high schools have one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation. So your analysis was.....WRONG.
You continue to take shots at both Baer and Cotton. You mention Baer's struggles at Colorado. You never once though in your analysis ever discussed the success he had at both San Jose State or Notre Dame where he was voted top assistant in the country one year. You mention Cotton's inability to run an offense, yet you fail to mention the fact that I believe in all of his stops his offenses have always been able to run the ball. Whether that fits with this years talent or not we shall see. If you coach as long as both of these guys have you will have your ups and downs. Bill Belichick was the coach of the Browns once and not very good during his tenure. At the very least your analysis on this topic is.....SKEWED.
You stated your 'great concern' about next year and the lack of an experienced signal caller. Every program has eventually has to start somebody with no division one snaps. I have concerns about the QB situation next year as well. That said, Dalton Sneed has had some nice flashes in camp this year, and by all accounts was greatly under recruited by schools. They already got a verbal commit from 3* QB prospect Jack Smith. Now whether either of these kids are the answer it is to soon to tell. Just found it odd that you didn't mention UNLV grabbing a 3 star QB recruit. Now either you don't think he is that good (which would mean you don't trust Rivals rankings) Or you simply didn't want to acknowledge what could be a positive for the program. So your lack of analysis on this topic shows...AGENDA
Finally people have asked for you to do a quick write up on the local walk on prospects and what they could offer the program. There is an offensive linemen from Arbor View with good size, you have Christian Lopez the QB that is there now. And yet not one peep about any of these kids. So basically you would rather go on rants about the numerous failures of the program and its impending doom. Instead of doing something interesting like highlight some local prospects on the roster now. This shows you have an obvious....AGENDA..
Let's review your track record since the start of the Sanchez hire. Lets remember we can always fact check and go back and look at some of these threads.
You said Xxavier Campbell and Lexington Thomas were 'both found under rocks' and the staff had 'wasted' scholarships on those two players. Oddly enough despite Xxavier Campbell being 'to slow' and Lexington Thomas 'to small', both figure to be big parts of the offense this year. As a matter of fact if you ask most people that have attended practice Thomas has been one of the top performers during camp. Now obviously you would spin that as you have concerns about the defensive line. But had the results been different and the defensive line had been better during camp you would have spun it the other way supporting your argument saying you knew those two kids wouldn't be much of a factor. So your analysis on this topic was....WRONG.
During the recruiting process you said Alo-Wily was only 260lbs. (He is bigger than that). You also said, he didn't appear to have that aggressive nature needed to play in the trenches. Again all reports out of camp are contrary to what you stated. He has been one of the better defensive linemen throughout camp. Obviously you would twist this to say that the offensive line he is competing against is not very good. Or had Alo-Wily not shown well in camp you would have said 'I told you so'. So again your analysis was.....WRONG.
During the recruiting process you harped on and on and on about the lack of local recruiting. Despite the fact coach Sanchez had little time due to the late hire to recruit locally. You basically went on to say that the School and coach Sanchez himself had an agenda and were not going to recruit local players. You failed to point out that Coach Sanchez took advantage of existing relationships of his new staff with players from out of state which was OBVIOUSLY the smart thing to do in that situation. Year 2 already has 3 local recruits signed and numerous other offers out there. So once again your observations on this topic have been proven...WRONG
During the recruiting process you made a comment stating your 'great concern' about the academic credentials of all these out of state players. You were 'concerned' about the possible effect this could potentially have on the APR when these kids are no longer with the program in 2 or 3 years. You failed to mention that WR Darren Woods was being recruited by Air Force or that OL Alex Neale was recruited by a number of 'academic' institutions. And in one of those ironic twists, its not one of the 'out of state kids' that failed themselves or the program but a local kid who couldn't pass the SATs. Why would you have so much faith in the academic aptitude of kids from this city, when in fact Las Vegas high schools have one of the lowest graduation rates in the nation. So your analysis was.....WRONG.
You continue to take shots at both Baer and Cotton. You mention Baer's struggles at Colorado. You never once though in your analysis ever discussed the success he had at both San Jose State or Notre Dame where he was voted top assistant in the country one year. You mention Cotton's inability to run an offense, yet you fail to mention the fact that I believe in all of his stops his offenses have always been able to run the ball. Whether that fits with this years talent or not we shall see. If you coach as long as both of these guys have you will have your ups and downs. Bill Belichick was the coach of the Browns once and not very good during his tenure. At the very least your analysis on this topic is.....SKEWED.
You stated your 'great concern' about next year and the lack of an experienced signal caller. Every program has eventually has to start somebody with no division one snaps. I have concerns about the QB situation next year as well. That said, Dalton Sneed has had some nice flashes in camp this year, and by all accounts was greatly under recruited by schools. They already got a verbal commit from 3* QB prospect Jack Smith. Now whether either of these kids are the answer it is to soon to tell. Just found it odd that you didn't mention UNLV grabbing a 3 star QB recruit. Now either you don't think he is that good (which would mean you don't trust Rivals rankings) Or you simply didn't want to acknowledge what could be a positive for the program. So your lack of analysis on this topic shows...AGENDA
Finally people have asked for you to do a quick write up on the local walk on prospects and what they could offer the program. There is an offensive linemen from Arbor View with good size, you have Christian Lopez the QB that is there now. And yet not one peep about any of these kids. So basically you would rather go on rants about the numerous failures of the program and its impending doom. Instead of doing something interesting like highlight some local prospects on the roster now. This shows you have an obvious....AGENDA..
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Will could have a perfect ten bikini model spread eagle in front of his face and complain about the tiny pimple on her ass because she is from California and not Vegas :/
Price really looks the part. Maybe this is the year he can fulfill the potential that everybody sees in him. It was odd, that he showed some flashes during the bowl season but couldn't ever secure the starting nod. He made a couple big catches for first downs vs Reno and then seemed to disappear for big parts of the season.
The odd thing is Will actually has some great nuggets of information in his posts, its just digging through the muck to find them.
I appreciate Will's contributions. He is obviously well informed and connected to the local HS football scene. I also love the way he set the bar on this team at ZERO wins this year! I ran to the sports book, laid a huge bet on under 2.5. If we win 2 games, I'll be really happy, but nervous....
This made me laugh.
Honestly I appreciate what Will brings to the table. He has a ton of knowledge about local talent at the high school level. I just think he tends to skew his information or leaves information out to push his point of view.
I agree that he's knowledgeable. WAY more than I am. Like you say, his info is good and interesting to read. He's just overly optimistic about the local players the way I am about our chances in each game. I see us hanging at Michigan (so I know crazy talk when I see it).
This discussion can really wait for the season.
What I will say is that you have two players that averaged 73 yards (Campbell) and 63 yards (Thomas) per game in high school that have been unstoppable versus the UNLV defense in practice. With last season's struggles versus the run, the question to answered is, are these guys that talented or is is the Rebel run defense that bad?
They simply weren't high end caliber running backs in high school but they will play this year and we will see what we have.
The primary thing I said about Wily is that he is short and not a primary run stuffer. At officially 6'0 280, he has proven to be quick with solid skills but he can be engulfed. He is a short armed 3-tech lineman that can be disruptive but not sure if he can be consistent for consecutive plays.
Overall, he is competing against three preferred walkons in Fakauho, Fao and Dehdashtian with the latter two still being first year players. Either he's a great player or the best of what is available. I will admit he has potential but I don't know if he is an immediate contributor on a deeper defensive line.
There has been more offers to area players this cycle.
No comment on APR. Those things are to be determined by the effort of the guys though the course of the season and the year.
I'm not saying Baer and Cotton can't be successful, just that they haven't set the world on fire at previous stops in the OC and DC roles.
Cotton was OC at Iowa State 2004-06
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/iowa-state/2006.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/iowa-state/2005.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/iowa-state/2004.html
Nebraska 2003
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/nebraska/2003.html
New Mexico State 1997-2002
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/new-mexico-state/2002.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/new-mexico-state/2001.html
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/new-mexico-state/2000.html
Colorado went 6-18 giving up 39 and 35.3 point per game the last two seasons under but I will admit they were already a bad defense when he arrived.
Baer did improve San Jose State defense with his best year coming in 2012 in the depleted WAC the last season before it folded.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/san-jose-state/2012-schedule.html
Prior to that it was
Washington 2005-2007
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/washington/2007.html
Notre Dame 2002-04
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/notre-dame/2004.html
Stanford 1999-2001
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/stanford/2001.html
The quarterbacks weren't impressive this fall beyond Decker. Its possible they will improve but right now it looks like the quarterback position will be a weak spot
Jack Smith can be good but he has been a 50% passer so far in his career. He left Indiana for Arizona this season so he is a watch and see guy as far as development. If the current guys don't develop and Smith isn't an immediate impact player, you can't enter year two without options at quarterback.
UConn looks to have gotten the the better pure quarterback out of Laney in Garrett Anderson. The guy has a major arm and UConn picked him up late.
http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-football/hc-uconn-football-notebook-qb-0820-20150819-story.html
As for the walkons, you never know how much of a competitive chance they will get to compete so I don't do write ups on walkons. I like the players that decided to get out on the field to look to make an impact and my advise to any walkon is be patient. Really, there isn't anything to write as they are the group that generally get the least reps.
Whatever happens, its time for some football
Bullmastiff it's called the good old boy syndrome. The reason why he wasn't out there much last year was because he told Phenecie he wasn't going to kiss his ass like the other two guys were. After that he very seldom got to go in as a tight end. Price's don't kiss ass, we kick it.
I am not going to sit here and go back and forth on a message board with someone.
I have heard players and parents both voice dislike for coach Phenecie. He wasn't well liked especially towards the end. That said seems a bit jacked up to call other players kiss asses. That part of it could have been left off. All coaches have favorites, and some players on a team will love a coach others wont. Devante Davis was a huge fan of Hauck and defended him to the end.
Lets hope with a new staff and clean slate maybe some deserving players that got pushed aside get a fair shot.
Lets hope with a new staff and clean slate maybe some deserving players that got pushed aside get a fair shot.
