Slimmed-down Brown aims to make impact with Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Aug. 25, 2000 | 10:35 a.m.

It took a year, but UNLV football fans are finally getting a chance to see the real Kevin Brown in action.

"This is me," Brown said with a smile after rolling up 43 yards on just four carries in Wednesday night's 58-play scrimmage at Rebel Park. "This is what I'm all about."

For the first time since transferring to UNLV last fall from Washington State, the powerful Brown, a chunky 235 pounds when he arrived in Las Vegas, is in shape.

Thanks to a rigorous summer conditioning program which saw him drop 15 pounds, it is a much quicker and faster Brown who has been running over, around and -- perhaps most importantly -- away from Rebel defenders in fall camp.

"He's lost quite a bit of weight," UNLV coach John Robinson said. "It's something we've stressed a lot to him. And I think he's practicing harder, too. In spring practice, he wasn't much of a practice player. I think he recognized, 'Hey, I'm missing something.' But he's really changed and gotten a lot better."

How much better? An NFL scout who stopped by UNLV last week was excitedly touting Brown as one of the real sleepers of the 2001 draft.

"Yeah, I really do feel the difference," said Brown, a second team all-Pac-10 choice at Washington State in 1998. "In the spring I felt kind of big and stiff. Now I feel a lot more agile because of the weight loss."

"That extra step means a great deal to him," Robinson said of Brown's increased speed. "He has an (NFL) future. But he has to worry about this year first. But I think he has a future."

Brown, who figures to split time with senior Jeremi Rudolph at tailback most of the season, said he didn't go on any special diet to lose his excess weight.

"Nah, I just worked out and ran a lot," he said. "I'd spend about two hours a day on the treadmill or running laps outside. That's it."

Brown rushed for 1,046 yards for Washington State two years ago, including 202 yards on 37 carries in one game against Stanford. He said he feels he is running at that level again for UNLV.

"This is it," Brown said. "This is my do-or-die year. And I feel like I'm ready to go.

"I've worked very hard all summer. Everybody here came in and did their thing. Now we're starting to come together as a team. We've got a lot of talent. Now we just have to put it together and make it happen."

Holliday, a Clark High product who walked on after playing one year at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif., had six yards on nine carries in the scrimmage. However, he was playing on the second-team offense against the first-team defense. He was twice tackled for a combined 18 yards in losses in the backfield by free safety Sam Brandon and defensive end Anton Palepoi just as he was getting the handoff.

Toss those two plays out and Holliday had 24 yards on seven carries behind a backup offensive line.

"John Holliday has done some real good things for us out there," Robinson said. "He hasn't been as consistent as we'd like, but he has played well at times."

Only Utah (No. 22), BYU (No. 28) and Colorado State (No. 48) rank ahead of the Rebels in the Mountain West Conference.

CBS Sportsline's comment on UNLV: "New QB Jason Thomas takes Rebels from last to first division."

Wisconsin is rated No. 1 in the poll followed by Florida State, Nebraska, Alabama and Miami.

The University of Buffalo brings up the rear at No. 115 while Iowa State, the team UNLV opens its season against on Sept. 9 in Ames, is rated No. 70.