2008 improvements not nearly enough - Sports

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Nov. 26, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

2008 improvements not nearly enough

Sanford's future tied to whether he can fix defense, find new tailback

By MARK ANDERSON
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

UNLV Football

THREE-STAR RB PROSPECT RANDLE COMMITS

UNLV added to its strong early recruiting class with a commitment from three-star running back Bradley Randle on Monday night.

Randle is rated the nation's No. 49 running back by Scout.com and the No. 3 back in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times.

Randle (5 feet 10 inches, 190 pounds) also received scholarship offers from Boise State and New Mexico and was expecting one soon from Washington State. But he was convinced he should go to UNLV while attending the Rebels' 42-21 loss at San Diego State on Saturday.

"They've got a good quarterback and a good line," said Randle, who attends Vista Murrieta (Calif.) High School. "It's a young team, but they're definitely going to do things, and the coaches care for the players."

He said he looks forward to trying to replace senior tailback Frank Summers.

"Most likely, I'll see if I can start and turn things around soon in this program," Randle said.

Randle, whose father, Lenny, was a longtime major league baseball player, might play baseball, too. Randle's cousin is former UCLA point guard Tyus Edney.

Randle will be in familiar surroundings. His family owns six properties in the Las Vegas Valley, has relatives here and visits frequently.

The Rebels also picked up a commitment from offensive lineman Andrew Mack (6-2, 290) of Plano (Texas) West.

MARK ANDERSON/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Coach Mike Sanford led UNLV to a 5-7 record this season, a three-win improvement over each of his previous three seasons, but a repeat of that performance in 2009 clearly won't be good enough.
Review-Journal File Photo

UNLV should consider making a call to Rocky Long, the defensive mastermind who resigned last week as New Mexico's head coach, and asking him to take over as defensive coordinator.
Photo by The Associated Press

By coaching UNLV to its best record since 2003, Mike Sanford appears to have guaranteed his return for a fifth season.

But neither he nor athletic director Mike Hamrick will be satisfied with going 5-7 again, even if the Rebels' record this season marks a three-win improvement over each of the previous four seasons.

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UNLV needs a breakthrough season next year if it is to become a viable football program anytime soon. The last-minute defeats must turn into victories, and the losses to bottom-rung teams must be eliminated.

The Rebels' season-ending 42-21 loss to lowly San Diego State on Saturday made it clear that Sanford must confront major issues if he is to turn things around.

The first step needs to be fixing a defense that ranked 103rd nationally in total yards, 99th in scoring and 111th against the run.

UNLV gave up more than 200 yards rushing seven times. The Rebels' pass rush -- expected to be a strong suit -- never materialized. The secondary was beaten deep time and again.

The coaches have moved quickly to address the secondary, receiving commitments from two junior college players and a high school defensive back.

That's a start.

But it's important, especially with eight starters returning, to look at the big picture.

UNLV was supposed to be aggressive under first-year defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell. It wasn't. The unit often reacted instead of acted.

And the Rebels seldom made the necessary adjustments.

They didn't force UNR quarterback Colin Kaepernick (240 yards rushing) inside on option runs, didn't take chances on Colorado State's 80-yard winning drive and didn't make San Diego State (316 yards passing) beat them on the ground.

But moving another assistant into the defensive coordinator's spot isn't the answer. Players would have to learn another new system. They would be better off with a second season in a familiar scheme.

Instead, to make meaningful change, UNLV needs to be bold. Sanford was aggressive two years ago in hiring former Miami quarterbacks coach Todd Berry as offensive coordinator.

It might be worth gauging Rocky Long's interest in overseeing the Rebels' defense. The defensive guru won at tradition-starved New Mexico before resigning as Lobos head coach last week. Long might come only if he thinks he eventually has a shot at becoming head coach, but no one knows for sure without calling him -- even if it means Hamrick picking up the phone.

Sanford isn't tipping his hand, saying last week that he wouldn't make changes to assuage the public, that they must "be to improve the football program."

He's right, but the defense doesn't improve without significant changes.

Sanford's second major issue is who replaces senior tailback Frank Summers, who was under-used the second half of the season but still was a valuable part of the team's improvement.

The San Diego State game showed freshman C.J. Cox isn't ready to step in as the lead running back. The Rebels addressed the position by receiving a commitment Monday night from three-star prospect Bradley Randle.

Cox showed promise when teamed with Summers, so maybe a 1-2 combination of Cox and Randle will give UNLV a solid running game.

Without a difference maker at tailback, too much pressure will fall on quarterback Omar Clayton. Summers at least made defenses think about the run game, which helped Clayton establish himself as a impressive quarterback.

Sanford has major decisions to make over the next few months that will have a direct impact on next season and beyond.

His UNLV coaching career depends on it.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.

RANKING THE REBELS

The Review-Journal's assessment of UNLV's football players based on their impact on the team and the 2008 season:

1. WR Ryan Wolfe, Jr., Often turned good plays into great ones and will be Mountain West's best receiver next season.

2. QB Omar Clayton, So., Dramatically elevated Rebels' offense and would have ranked No. 1 had he stayed healthy.

3. G Johan Asiata, Sr., Did not allow sack and was part of strong pass-blocking effort by entire line.

4. LB Starr Fuimaono, Jr., His season-ending knee injury in Week 2 impacted UNLV's defense for rest of season.

5. CB Quinton Pointer, So., Preseason elbow injury negatively affected Pointer until late in season, when he made some key plays.

6. TB Frank Summers, Sr., Effective in first half of season, but coaches stopped committing to him after that.

7. WR Phillip Payne, Fr., Made key plays against Arizona State and Iowa State and electrified offense early in season.

8. OT Matt Murphy, So., Built upon Freshman All-America season as Clayton's blind-side protector.

9. LB Jason Beauchamp, Jr., Took over as defensive leader when Fuimaono went down, made seemingly every tackle.

10. LB Ronnie Paulo, So., Paulo's season offered strong glimpse at his potential.

11. WR Casey Flair, Sr., His presence alone made fellow wide receiver Wolfe better.

12. WR Rodelin Anthony, Jr., Showed there wasn't much drop-off in receiver talent after Payne suffered two concussions.

13. C Joe Hawley, Jr., His move back to center helped entire line play better.

14. S Daryl Forte, Jr., With five players starting at other safety spot, he rightly or wrongly became face of struggling unit.

15. DT Malo Taumua, So., Only one who truly delivered along defensive line that was supposed to have big season.

16. DE Thor Pili, Sr., Failed to live up to expectations; part of reason Rebels didn't mount much pass rush.

17. QB Mike Clausen, Fr., Still has growing to do but might be league's best second-string QB.

18. LB Nate Carter, Fr., Thrust into action when Fuimaono got hurt, Carter showed he has big upside.

19. CB Geoffery Howard, Sr., Big hitter who had to be stabilizing influence while Pointer was struggling.

20. OT Evan Marchal, So., Another key cog in young line that should only improve.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. Nicholas Diamond wrote on November 30, 2008 08:53 AM: This is what we should have heard from Mike Sanford after the miserable loss at San Diego St. to THE worst team in the nation. His 11 wins in four years is worse and yet he is defiant and expects to get his contract extended. Since Sanford has NO CLASS, Hamrick needs to grow some boulas and fire him. Nov 29, 2:21 pm EST Miami of Ohio football coach Montgomery resigns. Coach Shane Montgomery has resigned after a 2-10 season. Athletic director Brad Bates announced the resignation Saturday, saying the team had not achieved the level of success the university expects. The news came the day after Ohio piled up 516 yards of total offense to beat Miami 41-26 at home. Miami was 17-31 during Montgomery’s four seasons as head coach. Montgomery initially joined Miami as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2001. --------------------------------------- Nickolas Diamond wrote on November 29, 2008 01:47 PM: Sylvester Croom resigns at Mississippi State. Mike Sanford needs to show some class like Croom did and RESIGN. It's time to admmit you are a loser as a Head Coach and will never ascend to being one. Croom resigned less than 24 hours after his team got shut out 45-0 by Mississippi. His 5 year record was 21-38 and if you stayed another year you still would not have that many wins. JUST DO IT! RebCam wrote on November 26, 2008 06:51 PM: Not that I didn't say it but I don't remember even thinking it. I do remember saying that I would rather wait til the end of the year to evaluate his performance instead of calling for his head in the middle of the season. Reb Fan wrote on November 26, 2008 05:13 PM: So to summarize: Let's not change anything and hope we get different results. Let's not fire Sanford but not extend him either so we shoot ourselves in the foot with a lame duck recruiting year. BRILLIANT! Even RebCam, the Sanford apologist, said that if we don't go .500 and become bowl eligible that it was time for him to go. Show some pride in the program like SDSU, WYO and UNM did and take action. Can't wait for another season of hearing that loser blame everyone but himself and make every excuse known to man. The attendance is so pitiful because people don't like him and they have abandoned him. The way things are going UNLV will never get this program turned around because no one cares to take the steps necessary to do so. jd wrote on November 26, 2008 01:05 PM: WOW....an article about UNLV from LVRJ writer Mark Anderson? What is going on....shouldn't this be about BYU? I hope everything is okay with Mark, he clearly has forgotten who he always writes about. RebCam wrote on November 26, 2008 12:34 PM: reno sucks little brother. Wolfpack wrote on November 26, 2008 12:30 PM: Want to know one thing that won't change? UNLV will lose to the Wolfpack.. year after year. 49-27. (In case you missed last games score!) GO PACK! Viva wrote on November 26, 2008 11:31 AM: Mark, I am confused? Contradict yourself in the same column! Near the beginning of the piece you say: “But moving another assistant into the defensive coordinator's spot isn't the answer. Players would have to learn another new system. They would be better off with a second season in a familiar scheme.” But later you suggest calling Rocky Long to bring him in as the new Defensive Coordinator? Which is it? You can do better than that… luvRebelFootball wrote on November 26, 2008 08:54 AM: Amen to Tom!! Zero--that's just plain rude. GO REBELS!! Your TRUE fans are right behind you every step of the way. Hey Zero, I bet you were the first one to comment when we won teams like ASU and ISU...I saw your "I knew you could do it!" type comments :P Tom wrote on November 26, 2008 08:08 AM: Zero, You are what your screen name is, a ZERO. Keep playing hard Rebs! Read All Comments