TACKLE (RECORD) ELIGIBLE
The race to become UNLV's all-time tackler will be waged this fall between two standout Rebels. Junior James Sunia, who led the team in tackles for the second straight year (119 in `99), has already moved into 10th place on the school's career list with 234 in just two seasons. Sunia had a freshman All-America season when he led his squad with 115 tackles as a rookie in `98. The linebacker, who averages 10.6 tackles per game in his career, needs only 56 tackles in 2000 to become UNLV's career leader over Darnell Pickens, who had 289 from 1984-87. Right behind Sunia, however, is senior Randy Black with 233. The Las Vegas native, who will line up at strong safety, had a career-high 87 takedowns last season, which included seven games starting at speed linebacker. Two now-former Rebels -- DB Quincy Sanders at No. 6 and LB Jerrad Pierucci No. 7 -- battled their way up the same list a year ago.
UNLV CAREER TACKLE LEADERS*PL PLAYER (POS) YEARS TOTAL1. Darnell Pickens (LB) 1984-87 2892. Doc Wise (DL) 1986-89 280 Harvey Allen (DB) 1982-85 2804. Greg Gales (LB) 1996-98 2775. Jason Davis (DB) 1991-94 2766. Quincy Sanders (DB) 1995-99 2707. Jerrad Pierucci (LB) 1996-99 2648. Jody Reinoehl (LB) 1987-90 2609. Rodney Mazion (DB) 1991-94 23510. James Sunia (LB) 1998-PR 23411. Randy Black (DB) 1997-PR 233
*Since 1979 when UNLV tackle records became official
CLASS PROJECT-IONS
John Robinson's second recruiting haul at UNLV earned rave reviews from the pundits. His 23-man class was ranked among the top half of the eight-team Mountain West Conference by various publications. In fact, for the second consecutive year, ESPN.com's national recruiting expert Tom Lemming of Illinois put the Rebels' No. 1 in the league in his Prep Football Report magazine.
THREE LEAGUES UNDER THE DB
When you call safety Amar Brisco the old man of the Rebel secondary, it's not (too) much of an exageration. He is one of the few players in college history that can say they played as a member of three different athletic leagues. The former receiver caught 17 balls as a true freshman in 1995 when UNLV was a member of the Big West Conference. His rookie season ended with a serious wrist injury that also kept him on the sidelines in `96. Converted to a defensive back, Brisco, whose aunt is three-time Olympic gold medal-winning runner Valerie Brisco-Hooks, started all 11 games at corner in `97 after the Rebels moved into the WAC. In 1998, it was back to the rehab room after knee surgery before playing a full season in `99, which just happened to be the inaugural season of the Mountain West. Being a fifth-year senior was not enough for Brisco, however, as he was granted a medical hardship waiver for a sixth season of eligibility by the MWC and NCAA and is back for 2000.
WELCOME U.
UNLV's offensive backfield may look more like a Who's Who of American Football this fall as a gaggle of transfers from national power programs has migrated to Las Vegas to play for the Rebels. At quarterback, former USC Trojan Jason Thomas (sophomore), who has been called the best recruit in UNLV history after a storied prep career, will vie to hand the ball off to a stable of backs including three other newcomers: former Washington State star Kevin Brown (senior), whom set a Cougar sophomore record by gaining 1,046 yards in 1998, former Florida State back Raymont Skaggs (senior), a Californian whom wanted to be back on the West Coast, and former Washington runner Jabari Johnson (junior), whom hits town this fall. Another high-profile transfer, blazing wideout Larry Shyne, will sit out a season after coming to the desert from Purdue this spring.
FOUR FOUR-YEAR TRANSFERS FOR 2000PLAYER POS HT,WT,YR LAST SCHOOLJason Thomas QB 6-4, 240, SO USCKevin Brown RB 6-1, 230, SR Wash. StateJabari Johnson RB 6-0, 200, JR WashingtonRaymont Skaggs RB 5-8, 175, SR Florida State
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND
Continuing UNLV's long line of nationally decorated punters is senior Ray Cheetany. With the loss of 1998's consensus first-team All-American punter in Joe Kristosik, the Rebels turned to true freshman Ryan McDonald to start the season. However, by game three vs. Iowa State, Cheetany -- who had handled the kickoff duties all season -- took over. Cheetany not only earned the starting job, but he went on to lead the league and finish fourth in the nation in punting average with 45.4. The transfer from Iowa Central CC punted 65 times, including a 67-yarder, which was the longest for UNLV since 1995. A stunning 25 of his 65 attempts (39 percent) went gone 50 yards or longer while he placed 28 percent of his punts (18) inside the 20-yard line, including seven inside the 10. Six punts (nine percent) traveled 60 yards or longer. He even completed a pass on a fake for 24 yards and a first down in the victory over Wyoming and then had two touchdown-saving tackles vs. Colorado State. Cheetany, who will also placekick for UNLV this fall, was named one of College Football's Top 10 Special Teams Players in 1999.
FINAL 1999 NCAA DIV I-A PUNTING LEADERSRK PLAYER SCHOOL ATT AVG1. Andrew Bayes East Carolina 47 48.062. Brain Schmitz North Carolina 74 47.813. Shane Lechler Texas A&M 60 46.454. Ray Cheetany UNLV 65 45.385. Dan Hadenfeldt Nebraska 65 44.98
UNLV ALL-AMERICAN PUNTERSYR PLAYER (Team & Agencies)1998 Joe Kristosik (First Team: Walter Camp, AP, AFCA, FWAA, Football News)1993 Brad Faunce (Second Team: Football News/Third Team: AP)1992 Brian Parvin (Second Team: Football News)1984 Randall Cunningham (Second Team: AP)1983 Randall Cunningham (First Team: AFCA/Second Team: AP)
J.R.'s STREAK BREAKERS
John Robinson's first season coaching the Rebels meant the end to a long list of notable -- if not positive -- streaks in 1999. UNLV's opening-day victory at UNT not only broke two school-record losing streaks (26 road games and 16 overall), but also marked the first win on the road to start a season since 1981. Five weeks later, an upset of Wyoming in UNLV's first-ever MWC road game broke a four-game slump to the Cowboys and marked the first win in Laramie since 1979. Despite traveling as 24-point underdogs, the Rebels won a shootout, 35-32, to snap a school-record 16-game conferrnce road losing streak, which dated back to 1994 and included time in two other leagues (Big West, WAC). The only major streak left for Robinson's Rebels to break in 2000 is a school-record 12-game skid at home dating back to Oct. 11, 1997.
ALOHA MEANS HELLO REBELS
UNLV made a late -- and very popular -- addition to its 2000 schedule by agreeing to travel to the University of Hawaii to play the Bows on December 2. The Rebels replaced Texas as a UH opponent after the Longhorns made national news by announcing in early March that they were pulling out of a scheduled September 2 game. The NCAA allows teams that play at Hawaii to play a 12th game. "I see it as a chance for two up-and-coming programs to meet," UNLV Head Coach John Robinson said. "It really benefits both schools because it is at a time of year that will garner more national attention." UNLV is 4-10 all-time vs. the Rainbows and the two programs both were members of the Western Athletic Conference from 1996-98. The most recent meeting of the schools came on Sept. 20, 1997, when UNLV prevailed 25-15 at Sam Boyd Stadium. UNLV's last trip to Aloha Stadium came on Oct. 10, 1996, when UH earned a 38-28 victory. Hawaii will return the game on Sept. 20, 2003, because the Rebels needed another opponent to come to Las Vegas that season.
STAT -- IT SHOCKS
You want improbable? If UNLV's 100-yard fumble return to win last year's game at Baylor seemed shocking, consider this fact: Only three times in NCAA Division I-A history has a fumble been returned 100 yards (the fumble was allowed to be advanced starting in 1992). TWO of those instances involved the Rebels and they happened in a span of ONLY FIVE GAMES! UNLV was burned by a 100-yard fumble return in game nine of 1998 when Dan Dawson of Rice returned QB Chad Reed's fumbled attempt at reaching the end zone 100 yards for a score the other way.
NCAA RECORD FOR LONGEST FUMBLE RETURN100 yds by Kevin Thomas of UNLV at Baylor, Sept. 11, 1999100 yds by Dan Dawson of Rice vs. UNLV, Nov. 14, 1998100 yds by Paul Rivers of Rutgers vs. Pittsburgh, Oct. 28, 1995
A REAL REBEL ROUSIN'
When UNLV travels to play the University of Mississippi in Oxford on Oct. 28, it will mark the first-ever meeting of the two Rebel programs. The inaugural nickname matchup will be the Nevada school's second-ever game vs. a team from the Southeastern Conference, following a 1996 season-opening trip to Tennessee. UNLV does have three more SEC games currently slated for this decade: at Arkansas in 2001 and 2003 and back to Knoxville to meet the Vols in 2004. Fresh off a 27-25 Independence Bowl victory over Oklahoma, Ole Miss is one of four teams on UNLV's 2000 slate that played in a postseason bowl game in 1999 (Colorado State, BYU and Hawaii are the others).
CROWDED CROWDS
UNLV's debut season in the newly expanded and renovated Sam Boyd Stadium was a great success at the gate. The lid-lifter vs. Iowa State on September 18 drew 26,167 fans, which was 961 short of the school's record for a home opener, but still represented the 10th largest home crowd in UNLV history. The homecoming game on Oct. 23 vs. BYU was the fourth-largest UNLV home contest in history, drawing 30,599. The three-game totals marked the first time that the Rebels hosted back-to-back-to-back crowds of 23,000 or more since Sept. 19-Oct. 10, 1987. The season average of 22,992 was the third-highest in school history.
UNLV LARGEST SINGLE-SEASONAVERAGE HOME ATTENDANCEYEAR GAMES AVG1981 6 24,7991980 6 23,4221999 5 22,9921979 7 22,806
RUDOLPH: THE HARD-NOSED GAIN'S NEAR
Despite an injury, highly touted tailback Jeremi Rudolph did not disappoint in his first season as a Rebel. The former Florida State signee and minor league baseball player was John Robinson's first recruit at UNLV after two impressive seasons at Southwest Mississippi Community College. The consensus preseason newcomer of the year for the Mountain West Conference, Rudolph led UNLV to victory in week one with 97 yards on 20 carries. The native of Apopka, Fla., also scored two touchdowns. Then, at Baylor, he rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries. Rudolph's breakout game, however, came at UNR as he totaled 120 yards rushing on 20 attempts, which marked the first 100-yard mark for a Rebel runner this fall. He also led the team in receptions with six and receiving yardage with 56, which included a stunning 40-yard catch and run for a touchdown. On October 9, Rudolph rolled up 149 yards on 32 carries en route to helping his team to a 35-32 upset at Wyoming and MWC Offensive Player of the Week honors. One week later, Rudolph was injured in the first series vs. BYU and left the game with a strained groin. He also missed the following game at UNM and sat out much of the season's last three games. His 69.3-yard average ranked him sixth in the MWC. Also, Rudolph was second on the team in touchdowns with five and his 12 receptions were good for fourth on the squad. Despite the missed time, Rudolph was named as one of the top 10 transfers in college football for 1999 in the Nov. 8 issue of Sports Illustrated. A 2000 preseason first team All-Mountain West Conference selection by The Sporting News, Rudolph will have plenty of comany in the backfield this fall with the arrival of senior transfers Raymont Skaggs from FSU and Kevin Brown from Washington State.
RAY OF LIGHT
Starting the final three games of the 1999 was true freshman Matt Ray. The graduate of tiny Quincy HS in northern California was presumably going to redshirt his first year before injuries and ineffectiveness demanded a change under center. Eight-game starter Jason Vaughan had been slowed by a concussion sustained in the BYU game and backup Chris Hayward was battling a stress fracture in his foot. Ray -- whose second uncle is coaching legend Bill Walsh -- was the fourth freshman to make a start at QB for UNLV in the last five years, joining Hayward (1998), Jon Denton (1996) and Kevin Crook (1995), all of whom were redshirts. In his debut at Air Force, Ray finished 10-18 passing for 187 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. Next up, Ray was 10-20 for 138 yards, one TD and no interceptions vs SDSU. One of eight true freshmen in Div. I-A who finished the season as their teams' starting quarterback, Ray saved the best for last, throwing for 216 yards and a score vs. Colorado State -- marking the first time a Rebel QB threw for 200 yards since 1997. Ray, who has yet to throw an intereception as a collegiate signal-caller, will compete for playing time this fall with Vaughan and sophomore transfer Jason Thomas.
FORE! UNLV FOOTBALL
An increasingly star-studded field will join UNLV's head football coach on the links this spring as part of the second annual John Robinson Celebrity Golf Invitational presented by Del Webb. The two-day, 36-hole event is scheduled for May 4-5 and will include a chance to play golf with an exciting lineup of national personalities from the worlds of sports, media and entertainment. All proceeds will benefit UNLV's football program. Returning to the event are football legends such as John Madden, Marcus Allen and 2000 NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, plus current stars such as Tampa Bay Bucs standout wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson and Buffalo Bills quarterback Rob Johnson. New entries scheduled to play this year include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, Washington Redskins head coach Norv Turner and Los Angeles Lakers executive Jerry West.
