LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV Football head coach Tony Sanchez has hired Sean Manuel as the program's new strength and conditioning coach, the school announced Thursday.

Manuel is reunited with Sanchez as he previously worked for him at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Manuel, who also served as offensive line coach, oversaw the Gaels' strength and conditioning program starting with the 2010 season and saw BGHS win the state championship during all his seven years at the school, including being named consensus national champions the last three campaigns.

Previous to moving to Las Vegas, Manuel also coached under Sanchez at California High School in San Ramon from 2004-09, overseeing various position groups along with the team's strength and conditioning program. Manuel also spent time as a director at the Velocity Sports Performance Center in Dublin, California, and had his own business, Manuel Fitness, that worked with multiple athletic teams.

An all-conference tight end at New Mexico State, where he was also teammates with Sanchez, Manuel and his identical twin brother, Sam, were both chosen in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Sean played in 11 games on offense and on special teams that season and went on to spend time with the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco Demons of the XFL before retiring from the sport.

A former high school football national strength coach of the year, Manuel is a certified member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and holds certification with NASM as a fitness nutrition specialist, corrective exercise specialist and mixed martial arts conditioning specialist.

He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Columbia College in 2007.

UNLV opens spring practice on Wednesday at Rebel Park with the annual Spring Showcase set for April 1 on campus.