Special teams carry load for Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1998 | 10:11 a.m.

Despite a disappointing 0-6 start, there has been something truly special about the 1998 football season for the UNLV Rebels. ... special teams.

Consider:

* Thanks to the punting of senior Joe Kristosik (47.1 avg.), UNLV leads the WAC and is third in the nation in net punting with a 42.0 average.

* Boosted by redshirt freshman Duane James' 78-yard punt return for a touchdown against Nevada-Reno two weeks ago --- UNLV's first punt return for a TD since 1992 --- the Rebels rank second in the WAC and sixth nationally in punt returns with a 16.5 average. UNLV is also averaging a respectable 20.4 yards on kickoff returns.

* Last week at BYU, senior defensive back Mark Hays blocked UNLV's first punt since 1995 to set up a six-yard James Wofford touchdown run.

* Against Nevada-Reno, UNLV blocked a field goal for the first time since Nov. 13, 1993, at San Jose State.

Wasn't it only a year ago that Rebel special teams were considered the team's biggest weakness and the difference perhaps in garnering three more wins?

"We were bad," head coach Jeff Horton said. "We were among the worst in the nation."

So why the difference?

"A couple of things," Horton said. "(Special teams coach) Chris (White) has done a real good job. We have more players on scholarship on the team. And we work hard at it in practice and during meetings. We really emphasize the importance of it."

"We made even more of a concious effort to put the best players on special teams and really sold to the kids how important it is," White said. "And I think we're doing a better job of coaching it, too."

Although White oversees all the special teams, he said each Rebel assistant is assigned a special teams unit to work on.

"I'm assigned on punt, Coach (Mike) Bradeson has the kickoffs, Coach (Tim) Drevno has punt returns," White said. "That gives them a little pride in coaching it and coming up with a game plan."

Without a doubt, the biggest turnaround has come from Kristosik, who has boosted his punting average over seven yards since last season and is ranked No. 2 in the nation this week.

"Joe's thing has always been a mental thing," White said. "He's always had the leg to be the top kicker in the country. Last year he lost his confidence. He had a couple of bad kicks and it just snowballed on him. But he worked very hard in the off-season to overcome that."

Now that the Rebels have had some success on special teams this season, White finds himself in the unique situation of actually having to turn away players who want to be on them.

"It's a whole different attitude," he said. "Now kids want to be on them. They come into my office every day asking to be on them. And now that the kids know that they can block a punt or they can return a punt for a touchdown, you can see the confidence in their eyes when they go out there."

REBEL NOTES: Horton said that junior Andre Hilliard will make his first start at cornerback Saturday against Wyoming. ... Safety Quincy Sanders, sidelined since the second week of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, will finally undergo surgery this week to repair the injury. His rehabilitation is expected to take about five months. ... Horton is 3-1 in Homecoming games at UNLV. ... Redshirt freshman defensive end Faaolo Alovao broke his hand in practice on Sunday and is expected to miss Saturday's game.