Aug. 7, 2009
LAS VEGAS - Comprised primarily of Rebel newcomers, the Gray squad capped day two of UNLV Fall Camp with a 20-period practice Friday night under clear and calm skies, a stark contrast to the windy conditions that greeted players the evening before.
Once again this camp UNLV head coach Mike Sanford and his staff divided the team into two groups, allowing players to get more repetitions during practice as well as more one-on-one instruction from the coaches. This has proved to be very valuable to the newcomers and younger players, allowing them to get a feel for the structure and tempo of each practice before the team works as a unit beginning on Sunday.
"It is a great thing for our team," Sanford said. "You get the same reps as if you were practicing twice because there are fewer players at each practice."
While this evening's practice had a slower tempo to it than the morning session that was comprised of returning starters and letterwinners, there was a lot of instructing going on from the coaching staff to the younger players.
"Q" BACK AT FULL STRENGTH: One of the returning starters on the Gray was junior cornerback Quinton Pointer (Cape Coral, FL/Mariner HS), who was forced to sit out spring practice after having right shoulder surgery. Pointer played his sophomore season with a brace on his left elbow after dislocating it in fall camp, but still finished with 44 tackles and a pair of interceptions.
Pointer is now sans the brace on his left arm and while hitting won't start until Monday, the physical corner has looked strong in drills and is showing no ill-effects from the shoulder surgery he had in December.
"The shoulder feels great, 100 percent, and the elbow feels good to," Pointer said. "I am ready for contact."
FLAIR TO BE HONORED: Former UNLV wide receiver Casey Flair, the Alaskan walk-on turned record breaker, dropped by practice Friday evening and watched the UNLV rookies, which included several walk-ons with hopes of a career like Flair's. He finished a sensational five years wearing the Scarlet and Gray with 202 receptions, which stands second all-time, to go with 2,380 yards (6th all-time) and 13 touchdowns. He set the bar for consistency at UNLV by playing in a record 47 consecutive games, and he had at least one reception in each of those contests, also a Rebel record.
Flair will be heading back to his native Alaska next week as East HS will retire his jersey number in a ceremony on Aug. 21, and he will join the likes of EHS alums Trajan Langdon and Scott Gomez. Wearing No. 21 as a T-Bird, Flair set several state records, led his team to the 2003 state championship and was named Alaska's offensive player of the year in 2002 and 2003.
"I am very excited about it," Flair said. "Not too many athletes at my high school have been honored like this, and it is very special."
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE: UNLV will once again split its squad into two groups, with the Scarlet taking the field from 8:45-10:40 a.m., followed by the Gray team from 6:00-7:55 p.m. The public is invited to all practices this week at Rebel Park.
