Wednesday March 1
SPRING PRACTICE DAY 1
It is nearly impossible to draw to many conclusions from the first day of Spring practice. That said, if today was any indication, highly touted red shirt freshman Armani Rogers will be given every opportunity to win the starting QB job for the Rebels. Rogers took a bulk of the reps today, and a few things stood out. First, he is noticeably bigger than last year, and has filled out a lot of that 6'5 frame. Secondly, he seems much more comfortable in what he is seeing on the field vs the guy I saw in the fall. Lastly, there is no denying his arm talent. He displayed nice touch, a strong arm and solid accuracy. Johnny Stanton seems fully recovered from the injury that cost him the second half of last season. Kurt Palandech is in his third year with the program and has seen significant playing time the last two years. If Rogers ultimately wins the job, he will have earned it. Coach Sanchez is not going to coddle him or hand him the job and Stanton will definitely push him.
The Rebels are deep at the running back spot. They have three players in Lexington Thomas, Charles Williams and Xzavier Campbell who are all talented enough to be 'the guy'. Again it's the first day of practice, but Campbell looked to be in very good shape and seemed a little quicker than last year. Lance Worthington who sat out last year after transferring is a guy to keep an eye on. He has very good speed and and quick feet. Evan Owens is a big back who could see time in short yardage situations similar to David Green last year.
UNLV was decimated by injury at the wide receiver spot last year. Kendal Keys, Darren Woods, Brandon Presley and Devonte Boyd all missed significant time. Boyd, Keys and Presley were all a full go today and did not appear limited. Woods is on track and should have no limitations by the time fall camp comes around. If there was a silver lining to all the injuries last year, it would be a number of young players, namely Elijah Trosclair and Mekhi Stevenson received some valuable playing time. With everybody back healthy this year, young guys getting unexpected playing time, this is an experienced, deep and talented group.
The offensive line should take shape pretty quickly. You can't downplay the loss of Will Kreitler, who was arguably the Rebels top offensive lineman the last two years. Coach Sanchez was quick to address that during recruiting by getting JUCO center Sid Acosta. This is a guess but I think this is how the offensive line will breakdown: LT Kyle Saxelid LG Jaron Caldwell C Sid Acosta RG Justin Polu RT Nathan Jacobson. As opposed to years past for UNLV, depth is becoming less and less of an issue. Michael Chevalier who started last year will see time and could very well start. J'Ondray Sanders was a starter two years ago and Zach Singer and Julio Garcia both played valuable minutes last year. Donovan Outlaw and Matt Brayton are both talented red shirt freshman who should press for playing time this season as well. This is as deep as I have seen the Rebels along the offensive line.
Defensively the Rebels will have a lot of new faces and a lot of speculation. Until the pads come on, the defense will be a little harder to assess. There are some incoming freshmen in the fall that could challenge for starting jobs. I don't expect the defensive two deep to be settled until fall camp.
In the secondary the Rebels have to replace both starting safeties. The top candidates right now appear to be Javin White, Dalton Baker, Evan Austrie, Soli Afalava and Demetrious Gibbs.
Three of the top four corners return with Robert Jackson, Darius Mouton and Tim Hough. Also Jericho Flowers returns to corner after switching to wide receiver last season because of the injury situation there.
The linebacker group will see a massive overhaul, as all three of last years starters are gone. It really is an open competition here. Brian Keyes, Gabe McCoy and Bailey Laolagi saw a lot of the '1st team' reps today. JUCO transfer Jacob Rominger could push for a starting role as he becomes more comfortable with the defense. Red shirt freshmen Cameron Carr and David Tate are also names to keep an eye on.
Last year the defense was significantly better at stopping the run, but creating pressure on the QB continued to be an issue. Three guys I believe the staff are hoping can change that are JUCO transfer Roger Mann and red shirt freshmen Jamal Holloway and Rodney Jones.
After practice Coach Sanchez said he was very happy with the tempo and the overall effort by his team.
SPRING PRACTICE DAY 1
It is nearly impossible to draw to many conclusions from the first day of Spring practice. That said, if today was any indication, highly touted red shirt freshman Armani Rogers will be given every opportunity to win the starting QB job for the Rebels. Rogers took a bulk of the reps today, and a few things stood out. First, he is noticeably bigger than last year, and has filled out a lot of that 6'5 frame. Secondly, he seems much more comfortable in what he is seeing on the field vs the guy I saw in the fall. Lastly, there is no denying his arm talent. He displayed nice touch, a strong arm and solid accuracy. Johnny Stanton seems fully recovered from the injury that cost him the second half of last season. Kurt Palandech is in his third year with the program and has seen significant playing time the last two years. If Rogers ultimately wins the job, he will have earned it. Coach Sanchez is not going to coddle him or hand him the job and Stanton will definitely push him.
The Rebels are deep at the running back spot. They have three players in Lexington Thomas, Charles Williams and Xzavier Campbell who are all talented enough to be 'the guy'. Again it's the first day of practice, but Campbell looked to be in very good shape and seemed a little quicker than last year. Lance Worthington who sat out last year after transferring is a guy to keep an eye on. He has very good speed and and quick feet. Evan Owens is a big back who could see time in short yardage situations similar to David Green last year.
UNLV was decimated by injury at the wide receiver spot last year. Kendal Keys, Darren Woods, Brandon Presley and Devonte Boyd all missed significant time. Boyd, Keys and Presley were all a full go today and did not appear limited. Woods is on track and should have no limitations by the time fall camp comes around. If there was a silver lining to all the injuries last year, it would be a number of young players, namely Elijah Trosclair and Mekhi Stevenson received some valuable playing time. With everybody back healthy this year, young guys getting unexpected playing time, this is an experienced, deep and talented group.
The offensive line should take shape pretty quickly. You can't downplay the loss of Will Kreitler, who was arguably the Rebels top offensive lineman the last two years. Coach Sanchez was quick to address that during recruiting by getting JUCO center Sid Acosta. This is a guess but I think this is how the offensive line will breakdown: LT Kyle Saxelid LG Jaron Caldwell C Sid Acosta RG Justin Polu RT Nathan Jacobson. As opposed to years past for UNLV, depth is becoming less and less of an issue. Michael Chevalier who started last year will see time and could very well start. J'Ondray Sanders was a starter two years ago and Zach Singer and Julio Garcia both played valuable minutes last year. Donovan Outlaw and Matt Brayton are both talented red shirt freshman who should press for playing time this season as well. This is as deep as I have seen the Rebels along the offensive line.
Defensively the Rebels will have a lot of new faces and a lot of speculation. Until the pads come on, the defense will be a little harder to assess. There are some incoming freshmen in the fall that could challenge for starting jobs. I don't expect the defensive two deep to be settled until fall camp.
In the secondary the Rebels have to replace both starting safeties. The top candidates right now appear to be Javin White, Dalton Baker, Evan Austrie, Soli Afalava and Demetrious Gibbs.
Three of the top four corners return with Robert Jackson, Darius Mouton and Tim Hough. Also Jericho Flowers returns to corner after switching to wide receiver last season because of the injury situation there.
The linebacker group will see a massive overhaul, as all three of last years starters are gone. It really is an open competition here. Brian Keyes, Gabe McCoy and Bailey Laolagi saw a lot of the '1st team' reps today. JUCO transfer Jacob Rominger could push for a starting role as he becomes more comfortable with the defense. Red shirt freshmen Cameron Carr and David Tate are also names to keep an eye on.
Last year the defense was significantly better at stopping the run, but creating pressure on the QB continued to be an issue. Three guys I believe the staff are hoping can change that are JUCO transfer Roger Mann and red shirt freshmen Jamal Holloway and Rodney Jones.
After practice Coach Sanchez said he was very happy with the tempo and the overall effort by his team.
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