Aug. 15, 2007
UNLV Camp Report Day 12:
UNLV entered the dog days of preseason camp Wednesday at its off-campus site and head coach Mike Sanford cut back a bit on the length of practices. The Rebels were in full pads in the morning and then came back for a 16-period practice in the evening dressed in Rebel Gear.
"I felt like we learned a lot but we had that mid-week, feeling sorry for themselves vibe out there and we can't afford to have that. We have to be 100 percent all the time.
"The second practice was shortened and we got more quality and crispness. The attitude was really good I thought."
The morning work was heavy in the special teams area and many of those spots are settled. Sanford confirmed that the starting place-kicker, of course, will be three-year vet Sergio Aguayo (San Jacinto, CA/San Jacinto HS), while his backup and kickoff man, who will be the same person, is still a battle between Ben Jaekle (Las Vegas/Bonanza HS) and Kyle Watson (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Alta Loma HS).
Brian Pacheco (Peoria, AZ/Glendale CC) has turned in a strong camp and has seemed to secure the starting punting job as a senior. His backup will either be Watson or Zach Davis (Moapa Valley/Moapa Valley HS/Arizona Western).
The starting long-snapper looks to be Kamu Kapanui (Honolulu/Kamehameha HS) while the main holder will be WR Casey Flair (Anchorage/East HS).
While not completely settled, the punt returners are Flair, WR Lorenzo Bursey Jr. (Long Beach, CA/Long Beach Poly) and versatile DB Shane Horton (Chatsworth, CA/Notre Dame HS). The kickoff return men include newcomer Robert Paulele (Waikapu, HI/Central Valley HS) and Bursey.
"While we're not as deep at punter and long-snapper as we want to be, we've improved the talent all along the special teams," says Sanford.
REBEL CAMP NOTES:
PEEPLES PEPPING UP... Junior RB David Peeples (Las Vegas/Cheyenne HS) is making steady progress after getting his protective boot removed. Peeples, who led the Rebels in rushing in 2006 with 519 yards and seven touchdowns has done some light running the past two days and head athletic trainer Kyle Wilson says Peeples should be able to do more on Thursday and Friday and be cleared for drills before the team leaves its off-campus training site.
CAMPUS VISITOR... UNLV Professor Algerian Hart, a member of the faculty of the University College, visited camp and spoke to the entire team Tuesday night about taking advantage of the season ahead.
"I told them they had a golden opportunity staring at them in the face," said Hart. "They need to be committed mentally before they leave here. They need to be game ready and out to earn respect."
