Sorry I am late in posting but I was out of town on business. Better late than never.
I was impress by the turnout. I expected each coach would be introduced and make a quick speech, instead it was more like an informal cocktail party where you could meet each coach and speak to him one on one. It should be noted that most of the coaches had only been in town for 4 days when the event was held, and most were staying at the South Point Hotel. They had only had time to review the Hawaii and Reno games, so I knew we would not get any specific info but we could get a feel for their vision for the team.
Keith Belton. I love his enthusiasm. He said he would build the players minds and bodies. He would teach the players not to quit. His conditioning excercises would focus on team building and personal accountability.
Coach Joe Seumalo and I discussed the 2009 Oregon State game. I told him I was still pissed about the BS pass interference call that led to the Beavers game winning field goal. He admitted they knew it was a bad call but were happy to get out of Vegas with the win. He was very interested in learning more about the Fremont Cannon and quickly learned not to call UNR, Nevada.
Coach John Garrison. He said he wants players that are 2 things, 1. mean, 2. nasty. nuff said.
Coach Barney Cotton. Said he wants an offense that could run the ball efficiently. He felt Decker was a QB with good potential but they would have to work on his mechanics.
Coach Kent Baer is quite the character. He is very direct and said it would take time to improve our Defense. He asked my opinion of our D and seemed surprised and impressed with my evaluation. He agreed with me that we were very very slow and said he would fix that. When asked why he came to UNLV he said, first turning to me and excusing his language, because MacIntyre was an "asshole" and he didnt like the way he treated his coaches and players and wasn't looking forward to working with him for another season. He said the phone call came just in time.
Coach Sanchez said his long term goal was to prepare the program for the PAC12. He said the conference was interested in UNLV, Wyoming, San Diego St., and Boise St. He needed to make the team competitive in order to secure the invitation because if wen't ready, it could mean the end of all UNLV athletics. His short tern goal was to concentrate on academics and improving the practice facilities. He wanted smart and strong players. He said a booster that evening had given him 24 new computers for the computer lab that currently had only 1. He said he had raised $13 million for the BG facilities and he felt confident he would raise that much and more for UNLV. He said he cancelled Ely because he felt the money could be better spent on short term improvements and that the players would practice in the early morning. When I asked if he thought he could get some of the BG players to committ to UNLV, he said he felt in 2 years they would be coming to him. I asked if he could get Nick Sherry to rejoin the team, he said he had spoken to him recently and he would not be returning for personal reasons. He said he thought, sadly, Nick would not be playing college ball anywhere again.
It was a fun and informative evening. I was impressed with how approachable and open the coaches were. They all seemed enthusiastic and optemistic that they could turn the program around. They were all interested to learn more about UNLV, it's fans, as well as the city they would be relocating their families to. Thank you to REBELion (I think I have his screen name right) for letting me hang with he and his friend as I came stag. I left the event feeling excited and looking forward to what UNLV football would become.
I was impress by the turnout. I expected each coach would be introduced and make a quick speech, instead it was more like an informal cocktail party where you could meet each coach and speak to him one on one. It should be noted that most of the coaches had only been in town for 4 days when the event was held, and most were staying at the South Point Hotel. They had only had time to review the Hawaii and Reno games, so I knew we would not get any specific info but we could get a feel for their vision for the team.
Keith Belton. I love his enthusiasm. He said he would build the players minds and bodies. He would teach the players not to quit. His conditioning excercises would focus on team building and personal accountability.
Coach Joe Seumalo and I discussed the 2009 Oregon State game. I told him I was still pissed about the BS pass interference call that led to the Beavers game winning field goal. He admitted they knew it was a bad call but were happy to get out of Vegas with the win. He was very interested in learning more about the Fremont Cannon and quickly learned not to call UNR, Nevada.
Coach John Garrison. He said he wants players that are 2 things, 1. mean, 2. nasty. nuff said.
Coach Barney Cotton. Said he wants an offense that could run the ball efficiently. He felt Decker was a QB with good potential but they would have to work on his mechanics.
Coach Kent Baer is quite the character. He is very direct and said it would take time to improve our Defense. He asked my opinion of our D and seemed surprised and impressed with my evaluation. He agreed with me that we were very very slow and said he would fix that. When asked why he came to UNLV he said, first turning to me and excusing his language, because MacIntyre was an "asshole" and he didnt like the way he treated his coaches and players and wasn't looking forward to working with him for another season. He said the phone call came just in time.
Coach Sanchez said his long term goal was to prepare the program for the PAC12. He said the conference was interested in UNLV, Wyoming, San Diego St., and Boise St. He needed to make the team competitive in order to secure the invitation because if wen't ready, it could mean the end of all UNLV athletics. His short tern goal was to concentrate on academics and improving the practice facilities. He wanted smart and strong players. He said a booster that evening had given him 24 new computers for the computer lab that currently had only 1. He said he had raised $13 million for the BG facilities and he felt confident he would raise that much and more for UNLV. He said he cancelled Ely because he felt the money could be better spent on short term improvements and that the players would practice in the early morning. When I asked if he thought he could get some of the BG players to committ to UNLV, he said he felt in 2 years they would be coming to him. I asked if he could get Nick Sherry to rejoin the team, he said he had spoken to him recently and he would not be returning for personal reasons. He said he thought, sadly, Nick would not be playing college ball anywhere again.
It was a fun and informative evening. I was impressed with how approachable and open the coaches were. They all seemed enthusiastic and optemistic that they could turn the program around. They were all interested to learn more about UNLV, it's fans, as well as the city they would be relocating their families to. Thank you to REBELion (I think I have his screen name right) for letting me hang with he and his friend as I came stag. I left the event feeling excited and looking forward to what UNLV football would become.
