Saturday Practice Notes

[rebelbuck]

First off, of locals and fall commits were in attendance. David Tate, Leevel Tatum, Toa Iafeta, Julio Garcia, Donavan Outlaw. If these were in pads this spring you wouldnt be able to point them out as freshman.

Too many to list but tons of local recruits in attendance, Ethan Dedeaux, Markrell Grayson, Ferrell Hester, Poutasi Poutasi among others. Felt like the entire Desert Pines team was there.

On to the action. Practice was fast paced and physical , which was expected after yesterday being in Shells. Tony Samuel is really coaching up this D Line on the fine details and making sure these guys realize every rep counts. Valaoga/Zepeda are really coming along and will be a good tandem if they keep up the work they have put in this spring.

Early in practice they went to the REBEL DRILL. Hughes and Lotulelei combined for a nice stop. Stanton ran a QB keeper in the drill for a very physical 6 yards (that is where he can shine). David Greene probably had the best run of the drill after making a nice cut at the line, he broke a tackle at the 2nd level for a solid gain.

TEAM 11v11 (Not full contact)- Valaoga blew up one play where he ran through the fullback to the QB. MacAleenan had another pick of Stanton on a throw to the TE. Keys had some nice grabs as well.

4v4 (QB, 2 Lineman, WR vs 2 DL, CB/Safety). This drill is all about winning the individual battle. Valaoga again destroyed the O Lineman to get a "Sack". Stanton had a few nice completions to Keys/Woods. Palandech had a nice completion to Price.

11v11 Scrimmage- To my surprise the QBs were live in the pocket and on all running plays. Stanton really sells the read option. Had one he kept and ran over the CB for a solid gain. On another series Stanton checked to a running play/option and Cotton blew him up. He responded with a nice completion to the TE Kanteman and the following play sold the QB keeper that allowed Thomas to run 70+ for the TD. Other than that the Defense had the better of the day. Alo Wily made a few plays at the point of the attack, McTyer had a nice Pick and long return off Palandech. Xzavier Campbell had some really solid runs, along with Greene.

No QB was terrible today but none of them were full of big plays either. Credit to Baer and the defense, they really look like a new unit. Very fast to the point of attack and have a nose for the ball. Secondary is playing very aggressive.

 

[RebelinWA]

Wish I could have gone today. Stanton is a mlb who can throw. Happy the new recruits could witness that Rebel drill. We might get a few recruits just from that. Intensity, speed, power, and grit. I m sure almost all of the local recruits there today could see themselves in that drill making the big play.

 

[bcvegaspt]

Thanks, Buck, for the write up.

I love that we are being transparent as a team and bringing in locals to observe our practices. This may have occurred before but nobody knew since previous staffs kept it hush-hush.

Also, the fact that there's excitement from the better teams in Las Vegas says something. We aren't going to steal kids from Notre Dame and USC but we will grab some away from other MWC schools.

 

[RebelTomola]

thanks for the update

 

[ricovegas]

Good stuff guys I read everything you guys put out I'm in SoCal now so I really appreciate.

 

[Bullmastiff 1]

Good stuff guys I read everything you guys put out I'm in SoCal now so I really appreciate.

Not a problem.

 

[Rebel1986]

I think UNLV can steal players from schools like USC and Notre Dame. Stealing a freshmen QB from Cal showed me that UNLV can win the battle for the big time players. UNLV may not win most of those battles, but as they get better and better on the field, more players will consider UNLV as a top option not as a back up option.

 

[bcvegaspt]

I think UNLV can steal players from schools like USC and Notre Dame. Stealing a freshmen QB from Cal showed me that UNLV can win the battle for the big time players. UNLV may not win most of those battles, but as they get better and better on the field, more players will consider UNLV as a top option not as a back up option.

Technically he decommitted from Cal but I share your optimism for the future.

 

[RebelinWA]

He might have decommitted from Cal, but he picked us over a long list of very good suitors. He would have had a chance to start (after a red shirt year) at some of those pac 12 schools.

 

[Rebel1986]

While he may have de-committed from Cal, he did not rule them out, and they were still recruiting him. The other PAC12 schools that were recruiting him including Utah, UCLA, and Washington. This tells me that even with UNLV having lousy facilities, and being in a weak conference, they already have the ability to win some of these recruiting battles. How much do you think things will change when the get a new training facility (hopefully soon), and when they start going to bowl games. I think they will quickly raise to the top of the MWC, and even out recruit BSU and SDSU.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/204583/armani-rogers

 

[willlevi]

His only official visits were to UNLV and Fresno State

 

[Sam-I-am]

Thanks, Buck, for the write up.

I love that we are being transparent as a team and bringing in locals to observe our practices. This may have occurred before but nobody knew since previous staffs kept it hush-hush.
....

This is completely new compared to the last staff. HCTS had to clear it with the AD. He had witnessed it at Nebraska when he went on official visits with his players. I was standing next to him on the sidelines the first time and he was blown away by it. It's how Nebraska has always had the best walk-on program in the nation. Most importantly at UNLV, it can help us keep our local talent. Local recruiting is 90% relationships. This is how you get them started in a good way.