UNLV Camp opens with Carlos Baker Sidelined

Tim Graham

Thursday, Feb. 12, 1998 | 12:08 p.m.

UNLV's vaunted aerial attack is even more up in the air.

Two days after indefinitely suspending quarterback Jon Denton, Rebel head coach Jeff Horton discovered he may be without another integral ingredient to the Western Athletic Conference's top passing offense.

Key receiver Carlos Baker, a soon-to-be senior with a redshirt season to spare, is preparing for extensive back surgery. He has been suffering from herniated and bulging discs in his lower back since late in the 1997 campaign.

Although he donned his Rebel jersey and tried to take part in the first spring practice session Wednesday, Baker is expected to miss the entire early workout period, which runs through March 7. He will return home to Burbank, Calif., next week to receive a second opinion from a family doctor.

"If it was up to me, I wanted to see if I could play in this year's spring ball first, but my doctor said it would probably make it worse," said Baker, now sporting a Dennis Rodmanesque blonde hairdo.

"I kept trying to put a bug in my doctor's ear to give me something for the pain just to get me through spring ball, but my mom kept getting mad at me."

Baker also missed spring practice last year because of a knee injury, which he claims led to a disappointing junior season. He finished fourth for the Rebels in both receptions (32) and receiving yardage (428). He did not score, but his 13.4 yards-per-catch average was second on the team.

Those numbers indicated a drastic decline from the year before, when he caught 71 passes for 887 yards and seven touchdowns to earn team offensive MVP honors as a sophomore.

According to Baker, he will be able to work out approximately two to three months following the surgery. Only then will he know if he can play in 1998.

"I definitely want to play," he said. "But right now we have a lot of good receivers and I can afford to be out a year.

"I'm just going to throw it up and just play it by ear. If I come back in the summertime, I'm running around and I feel real good, and I feel I'm not rushing it, then I'm going to play. But at the same time I'm not going to risk a season and worry about holding back teammates when I should be redshirting."

Baker also was the Rebels' most active punt returner last year. He fielded 20 for 86 yards, including a long of 38.

Extra points

* QB QUANDARY: Receiver Chad Reed officially was moved to give the Rebels depth at quarterback in the wake of Jon Denton's indefinite suspension. Reed, a senior from Lubbock, Texas, played quarterback at Memphis before transferring to UNLV and tentatively is listed as the third stringer this spring. He is the son of nine-year NFL quarterback Joe Reed. Senior Kevin Crook, who filled the void during Denton's two-game suspension last year, will get the majority of snaps. Redshirt freshman Chris Hayward will get the second most. ... Receiver Damon Williams, a standout quarterback at Culver City (Calif.) High, said Wednesday he expects to see some action at his old position before spring practice ends. ... Denton is not allowed to practice through the spring and did not attend Wednesday's workout.

* GRID TIDBITS: In addition to wide receiver Carlos Baker (back), guard Jerald Pierucci (knee) and tackle Mike Reily (shoulder) sat out Wednesday's practice. ... All spring practices take place at Rebel Park on the UNLV campus (next to Wilson Stadium) and are open to the public. All weekday sessions run from 3:30-6 p.m. with the Feb. 21 and 28 scrimmages starting at 9:30 a.m. The spring game, which marks the close of spring practice, takes place March 7 at 10 a.m.