The Rebels worked through the high winds Saturday to close the third week of spring ball. With lots of visitors on hand at the Fertitta Football Complex, practice ended a bit early before an Easter Egg Hunt was held for the football staff's children in the strength and conditioning center.

Amongst all this movement, the media met with select coaches, including first-year defensive coordinator Keith Heyward.

Also charged with overseeing the team's cornerbacks, Heyward officially joined the program in March after spending the 2021 season coaching outside linebackers at Cal. In fact, he spent 16 of the last 17 seasons coaching in the West, including at five Pac-12 Conference schools.

Before moving to Berkeley, he served as the assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for back-to-back conference championship squads at Oregon. He was the Ducks' safeties coach for four seasons (2017-20) while adding co-defensive coordinator duties for his last three campaigns at Oregon and assistant head coach for the final two. Heyward reunites with head coach Marcus Arroyo at UNLV as both were members of the Oregon staff from 2017-19.

The product of Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, started the final 35 games of his four-year collegiate career for the Beavers (1997-2000) and earned honorable mention all-league at cornerback when he picked up four interceptions as a 2000 senior for a squad that was 11-1 overall, won the Fiesta Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25.

After earning his bachelor's degree in communications from Oregon State in 2000, Heyward played professionally with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (2001), the Scottish Claymores in NFL Europe (2002) and the Los Angeles Avengers in the Arena Football League (2004).

On the collegiate level, Heyward has been on staff of a pair of teams that won 10 or more games -- at Oregon in 2019 (12-2) and Oregon State in 2006 (10-4) -- while four others won nine (Oregon State, 2008; USC, 2014; Louisville, 2016; Oregon, 2018). He's coached for a team ranked in the AP Top 25 at some point in the season in 13 of his 17 campaigns and has made a dozen bowl game appearances, including nine over the last decade.

His career has also included coaching 19 players who have been selected in the NFL Draft, including four first-rounders: Washington's Desmond Trufant (2013 – Atlanta) and Marcus Peters (2015 – Kansas City), USC's Adoree' Jackson (2017 – Tennessee) and Louisville's Jaire Alexander (2018 – Green Bay).

Asked on Saturday about his scheme at UNLV, Heyward emphasized the Rebels will show multiple formations and that he's most interested this spring in getting people in the right place to do the right things.

"We emphasize the fundamentals throughout spring," he said. "It's about the group collectively. Our goals are about the effort and playing fast. The technique and fundamentals – the scheme will come later."

SEE YOU NEXT SATURDAY
Fans are invited to attend the UNLV Football Spring Showcase on Saturday April 23 with the free event taking place at Allegiant Stadium.

Doors open at 4 p.m. with the controlled scrimmage kicking off at 5 p.m. and running approximately 90 minutes.
 
On-site parking is free of charge and concession stands will offer food and drink options for purchase by the public.