Rebels to face former recruit

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 | 10:54 a.m.

During the first recruiting weekend of the John Robinson era of UNLV football, three highly touted junior college recruits visited the campus last December.

Two of those three -- running back Jeremi Rudolph and wide receiver Nate Turner -- eventually signed with the Rebels and have been arguably the team's two best offensive players this year.

The third was a quarterback from Los Angeles Harbor JC named Jack Hawley.

Robinson at the time compared Hawley to Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jake "The Snake" Plummer for his leadership, running ability and strong arm. And it looked like the Rebels were in good shape to land the 6-2, 210-pounder.

But Hawley eventually decided to sign with San Diego State over UNLV, Minnesota and Baylor. And Saturday afternoon at Sam Boyd Stadium, Hawley will be the starting quarterback for the Aztecs against UNLV.

"I had a great time with Coach Robinson on my visit there," Hawley said. "I was pretty close to coming."

How close? Well, Turner says Hawley was ready to sign with the Rebels ... until Turner told him to wait and take his final trip to San Diego State.

"He was ready to sign," Turner said. "I think he was tired of the whole recruiting process and everybody telling him where to go. He was ready to get it over with. But when we went back up to our rooms at the end of our trip to talk, I still wasn't sure I wanted to come here. I still had an unofficial trip to take to USC and he had one more to San Diego State. I asked him to wait to sign until after I checked out SC."

A few days later, Turner, who played against Hawley while at Compton College, got a phone call.

"Jack and his dad called to say he signed with San Diego State," Turner said.

Turner, who had decided to attend UNLV, was disappointed.

"If I went here, I wanted him to come here," Turner said. "I liked his style and ability. He's kind of a Brett Favre with an attitude. He's got a strong arm and can run.

"When I graduated from Compton College, I talked to Jack and said, 'We need to go to the same place.' He was considered the top JC quarterback in the nation and I wanted a guy like that throwing passes to me. It seemed like he was the offensive player of the week each week in our conference."

If not for talking him out of signing with UNLV on their recruiting trip, Turner more than likely would be catching passes from Hawley today.

Instead, the Rebels went out and signed another junior college quarterback, Jason Vaughan.

"Coach Robinson has been in the (NFL) and that whole thing, but so has Coach (Ted) Tollner," Hawley said. "He coached quarterbacks like Steve Young. And it was an easy drive (two hours) for my family to come down and see me play."

"We liked him," Robinson said. "He was kind of a feisty guy and very competitive. But I never thought we had him. He never misled us in that regard."

Hawley, like Vaughan, has struggled at times this year in making the jump from junior college to Division I football. He has completed just 54.2 percent of his passes (122 of 225) for 1,502 yards, 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He is expected to split time with freshman quarterback Lon Sheriff on Saturday.

"It hasn't been very easy," Hawley said of the transition. "Not only is there a lot more to learn, but the game is so much faster."

"I don't see him doing the things he did in JC," Turner said. "I don't know if it is because of their system there or what. It's a different Jack Hawley. Still, our defense is going to have to be ready for him. When he's on, he can be like a Steve Young or Brett Favre."

* INJURIES MOUNT: It's possible that UNLV could start a completely different offensive line Saturday than the one they put on the field at Air Force last Saturday.

Starting right tackle Marquez Ologbosele (knee) watched Wednesday's practice in sweats, as did starting center Danny Pacheco (hand). If that wasn't bad enough, starting right guard Tony Terrell left practice with a pinched nerve that previously sidelined him for a game.

John Greer, who started at left tackle last week, more than likely will move to right tackle on Saturday.

Greer also missed practice on Wednesday because of a death in his girlfriend's family.

Sophomore Brandon Bair will likely start at left tackle with Greer on the right side. Sophomore Shane Wagers is likely to get the nod at left guard with sophomore Pete Tramontanas replacing Pacheco at center.

Right guard? That could be anybody's guess. Senior Robert Grundy, a converted tackle, saw some action there on Wednesday. Junior Brian Hart and JC transfer Greg Hulett are other possibilities.