Aug. 21, 2007

UNLV football concluded its off-campus workouts with one practice Tuesday morning in full pads that saw Rebel head coach Mike Sanford lead his squad through 24 five-minute periods.

It was the final workout during a 12-day camp that took place in Ely, Nev., about 240 miles north of Las Vegas. The trip marked the second-straight time that Sanford took the Rebels to the old mining town, taking advantage of cooler temperatures and higher elevation.

"We got a lot better as a team and are much better than when we got here," Sanford said. "We know a lot more about each other and there is a strong team unity and chemistry as a result of the trip."

UNLV will now take Wednesday off before returning to practice on Thursday at Rebel Park and practices from now on will be closed to the public. Following the off day tomorrow the Rebel coaching staff will begin preparing for the season opener at Utah State on Aug. 30.

"When we come back on Thursday morning it will be full-scale prep for Utah State," Sanford said.

REBEL CAMP NOTES:

GOOD NEWS FOR PLANTE... Junior defensive lineman Luke Plante's (Lake Arrowhead, CA/Rim of the World HS) has a first-degree sprain of the MCL in his right knee but no other ligament damage, an MRI revealed. He will be out for two weeks and will miss the opener at Utah State. Plante injured his knee Monday morning at practice.

MANY REBEL THANKS... UNLV staff and personnel in many different offices spent countless hours making the off-campus practices run smoothly over the 12-day period, and head coach Mike Sanford expressed his gratitude to everyone involved. He also thanked the entire community of Ely for their support while the Rebels were in town.

"All of the organizational and support staff, equipment, training, media relations and administrative support staff did a great job," Sanford said. "The community of Ely - all the businesses, the places we stayed and ate at - all the people were tremendous up here."