Rebel’s frosh ready to take gridiron

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Aug. 11, 1998 | 11:51 a.m.

Twenty-five members of what coach Jeff Horton call's his finest recruiting class at UNLV will take part in their first practice this afternoon at Rebel Park.

However, some very familiar names won't be among the group of newcomers.

Valley High quarterback Dion Jackson, the area's 4-A player of the year, Cimarron defensive back Toby Smeltzer, Valley offensive lineman Shane Lockhart and Silverado offensive lineman Joel Menendez are among seven prep players who signed national letters of intent with UNLV last February who won't actually join the Rebels until January.

Tight end Leslie Brooks of Moreno Valley, Ca., defensive back Jamal Wynn of National City, Ca., Sweetwater High School and defensive back Sean Mackey of Bakersfield, Ca., High also will not join UNLV until the spring semester.

"They're 5 1/2-year guys," Horton said Monday afternoon in his Lied Athletic Complex office. "If I could do that to all our incoming freshmen, I would."

The advantages to waiting until January for a freshman recruit are numerous.

"If you redshirt that first year, you'll have two spring practices, a fall and two summers under your belt before you play a down," Horton said. "It gives you more time to mature and grow physically and in the weight room which is a real plus for the linemen. And academically, you can probably finish about 60 units of college work before you play your freshman season."

Which means an ambitious student could leave UNLV with a master's degree instead of a bachelor's after his senior year.

"They kind of proposed Toby do it and I thought it was a good idea," said Ron Smeltzer, an assistant football coach at Cimarron who as head coach at Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) High School in the early 1980's sent a quarterback named Steve Beuerlein off to Notre Dame and eventually the NFL. "It gives him time to get his studies done and maybe go on and get more than his regular degree there. And since we live in town, Toby can go down and visit the coaches and stay on top of things."

Jackson, who will switch to wide receiver and return kicks at UNLV, also didn't have any problem with the late start.

"That's the deal we made before I signed," he said. "It really didn't matter to me. I see it as a plus, really. Now I can spend a lot of time in the weight room this fall which I need to do. I weigh only about 160 pounds right now (on a 5-11 frame) and I'd like to add 12 to 15 pounds before I get there in January. By going in there in the spring, I don't have to waste a year of eligibility."

Horton says bringing in seven new prep players in January will also help next year's recruiting efforts.

"When the NCAA cut down the number of players you can bring in on official visits to 56 a year, that made it tough to go out and sign 25 kids," Horton said. "If you get one out of every three kids who visit you're doing pretty good. Now we'll only need to sign 18 next year."

And with 21seniors among the 78 players on scholarship at UNLV this year, the seven mid-year newcomers will add valuable depth for spring practice.

"It would be hard to have a good spring practice with just 57 guys on scholarship out there," Horton said. "These guys can come in right away and help us out."

REBEL NOTES: The newcomers will work out twice today and Wednesday but will spend all of Thursday at academic orientation. Veteran players report Thursday night and leave for Mesquite and two-a-day workouts at Virgin Valley High School on Friday. ... Kickoff time for UNLV's Sept. 5 opener at Northwestern has been set for 11:40 a.m. CDT which means a 9:40 start in Las Vegas. It will be televised locally on KFBT, TV-33 (Cable 6). ... Horton said the team will scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Virgin Valley High School with kickoff tentatively scheduled for 10:15 a.m.