Confident Sawyer solidifies Rebels’ defense

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Aug. 26, 1998 | 10:10 a.m.

UNLV defensive end Talance Sawyer was a first-team all-WAC choice last year after registering a conference-high 18 tackles for losses.

But the 6-2, 275-pound senior from Bastrop, La., the first Rebel defender to earn all-WAC first-team honors, believes he could have an even better 1998 campaign.

"I think I should be a whole lot better than I was last year," Sawyer said moments after getting off the team bus that brought UNLV's players back from their 10-day training camp in Mesquite on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm better fundamentally and I'm bigger and I'm stronger. So I think I should have a much better year this year."

Sawyer, rated one of the nation's top 20 defensive ends by both Lindy's and The Sporting News, has definitely set his goals high for his senior year.

"I plan to make All-American this year and try and repeat being first-team all-WAC," he said. "I want to lead the WAC in sacks and also in tackles for loss again. I know it will be tough, but I think I can do it. I'd like to get about 15 sacks."

Sawyer had seven quarterback sacks last year. Considering he was originally recruited as a tight end and has only been playing on the defensive line for a little over two years, it was quite an accomplishment.

With another year of experience and another year in the weight room under his belt, it would seem that Sawyer might have a realistic chance of obtaining those lofty goals.

"I've added about 20 pounds to my bench press (395 pounds)," Sawyer said. "I still squat around 600 pounds. It's tough to do much more than that. And I ran 4.76 in the 40 for the NFL scouts here. So I feel I'm in good shape for the start of the season."

"His work ethic is second to none," UNLV head coach Jeff Horton said. "The NFL scouts I talked with like his speed and quickness. He's kind of in-between size-wise a little for a NFL defensive lineman. They wonder will he get bigger or can he be an outside linebacker kind of guy? But they were really impressed with the energy that he plays with and the fact he had some good games against good people, like (San Diego State tackle) Kyle Turley, last year."

Turley was the first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints. Sawyer had a sack and several quarterback pressures in his game against him last season.

If Sawyer had redshirted his freshman year instead of playing sparingly at tight end, he would only be entering his junior year for the Rebels. The thought of Sawyer anchoring UNLV's defensive line for two more years instead of one has Horton and other Rebel football fans wondering, 'What if?'

"Yeah, I do regret that we didn't redshirt him that first year because he didn't play that much," Horton said. "But at the time we only had 50-something guys on scholarship, so we didn't have the luxury to do that. Talance was just too good to keep off the field at the time."

It was Horton who decided late that freshman year to move Sawyer to defense.

"I thought he did some good things for us as I watched him that first year," Horton recalled. "But the more I saw of him, the more I felt he could really help us more on defense because of his great athletic ability. I thought he could be a real difference-maker there."

Turns out Horton was right on that assessment.

"In a way, I wish I had redshirted," Sawyer said. "Now I'm just beginning my third year of playing defense and that extra year of experience on defense would have helped me. But I have no regrets the way things happened. I still have a chance to do the things I've always wanted to do."

Besides, Sawyer got to catch a touchdown pass against North Texas. How many defensive linemen can say that?

"That was nice," Sawyer said. "Still, if I had my choice between catching a touchdown pass or getting a sack, I'd take the sack."

REBEL NOTES: Horton said freshman defensive lineman Lui Fuga (6-2, 285) of Waipahu, Hawaii, who picked UNLV over Arizona and Hawaii, has quit the team because of homesickness. "He couldn't feel that ocean breeze in Mesquite," Horton quipped. "He would have been a good player for us, but now it gives somebody else an opportunity to play here." ... A big thunderstorm late Monday night in Mesquite made one of the two practice fields at Virgin Valley High School unplayable for UNLV's final practice. "It was a pretty nasty storm," Horton said. "They had tractors out scooping mud off the streets." ... One of three buses carrying players back to UNLV on Tuesday broke down about 10 miles outside Mesquite. However, the players on that bus were able to squeeze on to the other two buses and continue their journey home. ... UNLV will practice once this afternoon at Rebel Park before resuming two-a-day workouts on Thursday morning.