March 26, 2010

LAS VEGAS - On a windy day at Rebel Park, the UNLV football team held its first scrimmage of spring football Friday afternoon, a spirited session that produced many highlights on both sides of the ball under the watchful eye of new Rebel head coach Bobby Hauck and his staff.

Following the first hour of practice where the team went through stretching and conditioning, followed by drills, the Rebels conducted a live scrimmage that lasted nearly two hours. While the quarterbacks wore their trademark green jerseys and were not live, everyone else was in the full-contact scrum, and Hauck liked the physical play he saw on the field, especially from the defense.

"We haven't had a lot of live work thus far, and I thought the team did a nice job," Hauck said. "The defense was physical today, which is good to see, but you expect that the defense will be a little ahead of the offense at this point."

Defensive lineman James Dunlap (Pasadena, CA/Citrus College) caused havoc in the offensive backfield throughout the scrimmage, including registering a pair of quarterback sacks. The defense also forced and recovered two fumbles on the day.

Offensively, sophomore wide receivers Trey Mays (Las Vegas, NV/College of the Desert) and Michael Johnson cut through the defense for a pair of touchdown receptions, part of a five-touchdown effort through the air by Rebel quarterbacks, which also featured no interceptions. UNLV junior Mike Clausen (Riverside, CA/John W. North HS) and freshman Caleb Herring (Moreno Valley, CA/Citrus Hill HS) each threw two of the scores, while senior Omar Clayton (Normal, IL/Normal Community HS) had one.

The scrimmaged wrapped up the first two weeks of spring practice and the Rebels will now have next week off with spring break. Although he is pleased with how the first half of practice has gone, Hauck and his staff continue to express each day that more work needs to be done.

"We have a long ways to go to be the type of football team that we expect to be," Hauck said. "We are making progress every day. Today was a good scrimmage with a good tempo. I have been impressed with the work ethic and attitude of the team."

WORKING OVERTIME...AND THEN SOME

The scrimmage ended with an overtime drill, where the No. 1 offense went against the No. 1 defense, and the No. 2s battled each other, with each side trying to earn a win in the extra session. Playing out how many overtimes do in college football during the regular season, it was a wild affair that actually went five overtimes before the No. 1 offense and the No. 2 defense came out on top.

Each side kicked field goals in the first OT, followed by 25-yard TD passes in the second OT, with Herring connecting with Mays and Clayton finding Michael Johnson (Suisun, CA/Rodriguez HS), who weaved his way into the end zone. The third extra session saw the first team offense fumble, only to be let off the hook by a missed field goal, while the fourth extra period had a blocked field goal and then a missed field goal.

In the fifth OT, Clausen moved the No. 1 offense down the field and then hit Johnson on a screen pass that the shifty wide out turned into a 14-yard score. Despite not converting on the two-point conversion, the touchdown would hold up as the No. 2 defense got a stop on fourth-and-two, ending the scrimmage.

"I wasn't going to stop until we had a winner," Hauck said. "We are learning how to win. Everything we do out here has a winner."

REGAL GUESTS

Visiting the team before the start of practice was UNLV President Neal Smatresk along with Regent Chair James Dean Leavitt and Regent member Kevin Page.

UP NEXT

UNLV will take next week off for spring break and then return to Rebel Park on April 5, with practice starting at 4:00 p.m. (PT).

2010 UNLV SPRING PRACTICE REMAINING SCHEDULEMarch 29-April 2 Spring Break   No PracticesApril 5         Monday          Practice 9     Pads       4:00-6:00 pmApril 7         Wednesday       Practice 10    Pads       4:00-6:00 pmApril 9         Friday          Practice 11    Scrimmage  3:00-5:00 pmApril 12        Monday          Practice 12    Pads       4:00-6:00 pmApril 14        Wednesday       Practice 13    Pads       4:00-6:00 pmApril 15        Thursday        Practice 14    No Pads    4:00-6:00 pmApril 17        Saturday        Practice 15    SPRING SCRIMMAGE 12:00 pm at Sam Boyd                (Team BBQ at 1:30 pm at Rebel Experience)