Bye week allows Thomas to heal

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Nov. 16, 2000 | 10:46 a.m.

Jason Thomas is spending UNLV's bye week giving his sore right foot some much-needed rest.

But the Rebels' star quarterback, who re-injured the foot near the end of UNLV's 18-14 victory over New Mexico on Saturday, says he'll be ready to go when the team reports back on Monday afternoon to begin game-week preparations for San Diego State.

"I'll be back then," Thomas said. "Giving (the foot) a full week off should help."

Thomas had further X-rays done on the foot on Monday and underwent a CT-Scan on Tuesday morning. Both results revealed no broken bones or further damage to the foot, which was originally injured in UNLV's 20-19 loss at Colorado State on Oct. 14.

"We just wanted to make sure everything was OK in there," UNLV coach John Robinson said. "They took tests and X-rays from different angles and found nothing in there."

Thomas did a few rehab drills at Tuesday afternoon's workout, but sat out Wednesday's practice and also won't participate in today's workout. Robinson is giving the squad Friday, Saturday and Sunday off.

"I'll be back out there practicing on Monday," Thomas said. "The foot is getting better slowly. I know it will continue to get better this week. But the problem has been playing in the games. That's when it seems to go back to zero. Hopefully this extra week between games will make a difference this time."

Thomas, who transferred to UNLV from USC during his freshman year after a falling out with Trojan head coach Paul Hackett, will be cheering for the Cardinal and Gold anyway. One reason is that his old roommate, Sultan McCullough, starts at tailback for USC.

"I'll be there cheering Sultan and the guys on," Thomas said. "I think they'll win the game."

Instead, while the Trojans and Bruins are battling at the Rose Bowl, Himebauch will be taking part in two-a-day workouts at the Coliseum during a minicamp for the Los Angeles Extreme of the new XFL.

Himebauch, who started for two years for then-coach John Robinson, was a territorial draft pick by the Extreme.

"I had pretty much thought my football playing days were over," the 6-4, 285-pound Himebauch, who last played for Toronto of the Canadian Football League in 1999, said. "Then I was contacted by their offensive coordinator, Jim Barker, who was my head coach when I played in Toronto. He's from Las Vegas and knew I was coaching here. He just called me up and said, 'Hey, you still interested in playing?' "

Himebauch, who is studying for his master's degree in education at UNLV, discussed the offer with both Robinson and his family, including father Jack, a former college assistant at USC and North Carolina.

"Everybody was very supportive," Himebauch said. "They all said it was a decision that I had to make, and that if it was good for me, go for it."

Himebauch decided to accept the Extreme's offer. He'll continue his G.A. duties with UNLV until Jan. 2 when the team opens training camp in Las Vegas.