Aug. 16, 2009

CAMP REBEL - Before the start of Sunday's only practice UNLV head coach Mike Sanford issued a challenge to his team, telling them that if they turned in a spirited effort there would be an opportunity at the end without saying exactly what that would be.

The Rebels responded with a strong 20-period following their three-hour scrimmage yesterday, including both the offense and defense making plays during two-minute drills toward the end of practice. Sanford then allowed each side of the ball to pick four representatives from the offensive and defensive lines, and between the eight of them, five had to catch punts with the reward being no conditioning after practice and Rebel Gear for Monday evening's session.

"We said we would surprise the team if they had a great practice, and they did," Sanford said. "I was really pleased with our effort today and we gave them a challenge at the end."

The select eight got off to a strong start, with offensive linemen John Gianninoto (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills HS) and Joe Hawley (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) and defensive lineman Malo Taumua (Honolulu, HI/Aiea HS) each hauling in their punts. From there the trio of Martin Tevaseu (Boonville, CA/Santa Rosa JC), Evan Marchal (Petaluma, CA/Casa Grande HS) and Isaako Aaitui (Pago Pago, America Samoa/Faga'itua HS) had the ball go through their hands, setting the stage for the final pair.

Junior offensive lineman Matt Murphy (Lake Forest, CA/El Toro HS) calmly caught his and then hybrid linebacker/defensive lineman Jason Beauchamp (San Diego, CA/Steele Canyon HS) caught his, setting off a wild celebration.

"There was no way I wasn't going to catch that," Beauchamp said. "It was a little nerve racking, but I could not let the team down."

TWO MINUTES REMAINING: The last section of practice featured the No. 1 offense and the No. 1 defense going against each other in two-minute drills, and each side of the ball had their bright moments.

Junior quarterback Omar Clayton (Normal, IL/Normal Community HS) lead the white shirts down the field, moving the ball to the 12 by going 4-for-4 through the air and also making two nice scrambles. But from there the defense stiffened, with defensive back Mike Grant (Fresno, CA/Sierra College) deflecting a pass on third down before an incompletion by Clayton on fourth down. The top offense would get its revenge two series later, with Clayton again looking sharp in hitting Rodelin Anthony (Immokalee, FL/Immokalee HS) twice during the drive that culminated with a one-yard scoring burst by Clayton.

The No. 2 defense's pass rush got into the No. 2 offense's backfield during their matchups, with Preston Brooks (Los Angeles, CA/Washington State) and B.J. Bell (Tustin, CA/Santa Ana, CA) applying a lot of pressure and sacking Mike Clausen (Riverside, CA/John W. North HS) twice.

"That was the first time that we have run a lot of two-minute offense and I thought the ones were good in operating the drill and their condition was good," Sanford said. "Both defenses did very well and we got a very good pass rush, especially the number twos."

BLACK JERSEY: Having the honor of wearing the Black Jersey at Sunday's practice was sophomore linebacker Beau Orth (Las Vegas, NV/Bishop Gorman HS) on defense and Gianninoto on offense. The list of other nominees carried a familiar ring to them, with Clayton, Phillip Payne (Las Vegas, NV/Western HS) and Channing Trotter (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain HS) on offense and Ramsey Feagai (Honolulu, HI/Radford HS) and Ronnie Paulo (Las Vegas, NV/Western HS) on defense.

2009 CAMP REBEL BLACK JERSEY WINNERS

Aug. 10: CB Quinton PointerAug. 11: Travel DayAug. 12: QB Omar Clayton & LB Jason BeauchampAug. 13: WR Rodelin Anthony & DL Martin TevaseuAug. 14: WR Ryan Wolfe & DE Heivaha MafiAug. 15: OL Matt Murphy & DB Alex De GiacomoAug. 16: OL John Gianninoto & LB Beau Orth

UP NEXT: The Rebels will conduct two practices tomorrow, a morning session that will run from 10:00-11:40 a.m., followed by an evening practice from 5:35-7:05 p.m.