Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
DeShone Myles, the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has UNLV head coach Jeff Horton to thank for his stellar career at Nevada-Reno.
According to sources close to the UNLV head coach, Horton was actively recruiting the former Cheyenne High School linebacker prior to Horton's first -- and only -- season as UNR's head coach in 1993. But UNR athletics director Chris Ault reportedly tried to talk Horton out of offering the Wolf Pack's final scholarship to Myles, contending that the 6-3, 230-pounder wasn't good enough to play at Reno.
Horton finally got his way and the rest, as they say, is history. Myles has led the Wolf Pack in tackles in each of his first three seasons, is the school's all-time tackles leader and was named the conference's top defensive player this season.
Myles also was recruited by then-UNLV head coach Jim Strong, but Myles said the instability of the Rebels' program at the time led him to head North.
"I came and watched some of their games and UNLV didn't really get any fan support and they were losing," Myles said. "Their coach didn't know how much longer he was going to be there and when I came to Reno, that was (Strong's) last year at UNLV.
"I didn't want to be in a program with new coaches and I didn't know who the coach was going to be and I could have been in the doghouse from the get-go."
Ironically, Myles found himself in just that same situation when Horton left Reno for Las Vegas following the 1993 season. Although Myles never played for Horton (he sat out the 1993 season), he considered transferring to UNLV after Horton took the Rebels job.
"I didn't have a clue to who was going to be the coach (after Horton left) and I felt like I was in the same situation that I was trying to avoid at UNLV," Myles recalled. "I thought about leaving (Reno) because I didn't want to be in a situation where I might get a coach that I didn't like, but it was too hard on me sitting out for one year and I didn't want to sit out another year (if I transferred).
"If I was going to get a chance to play, regardless of who the coach was, I was going to stay. If I wasn't going to get a chance to play, then I was going to leave."
The man who replaced Horton as the Wolf Pack head coach? None other than Chris Ault.
* GOOD COMPANY: The Las Vegas Bowl -- formerly known as the Pasadena, Mercy, California and California Raisin Bowls -- has had a long line of outstanding coaches pace its sidelines. Among the more prominent coaches who have guided teams during the 18-year history of the game include Don Coryell, Lee Corso, Daryl Rogers, Dick Coury, Jack Elway and Jim Sweeney. This year's game features a pair of young Division 1-A head coaches in Jeff Tisdel of Nevada-Reno and Bill Lynch of Ball State.
* OH-FOR-FOUR: UNR and Ball State are winless in a combined four trips to the Las Vegas Bowl. Nevada-Reno lost last year in overtime to Toledo and was defeated by Bowling Green in 1992. Ball State lost to Utah State in 1993 and was defeated by Fresno State in 1989 when the game was played in Fresno and known as the California Raisin Bowl.
* ODD AND ENDS: Despite a report earlier this week to the contrary, Thursday's Las Vegas Bowl will be blacked out by ESPN in Southern Nevada. ... Although both UNR and Ball State possess 8-3 records, the Cardinals have won eight straight after opening the season with losses to Kansas, Miami (Ohio) and Minnesota. UNR has won four in a row and its losses came to Oregon, California and Idaho. ... Ball State coach Bill Lynch was mentioned as a possible candidate for head coaching vacancies at Indiana and Purdue. Indiana, however, hired Cam Cameron and Purdue named Joe Tiller.
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