X-rays show Thomas’ injury is only a sprain

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Oct. 16, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

After Saturday night's devastating 20-19 loss at Colorado State, the UNLV football team was in need of a little cheering up on Sunday.

And right around dinner time, they got that much-needed boost.

Sophomore quarterback Jason Thomas, who limped off the field just before halftime with what at first was feared to be a broken right foot, had the foot X-rayed late Sunday afternoon and found out the injury was only a sprain.

"Obviously, I was very happy to hear the news," Thomas said. "I haven't had real good news in the past when it comes to X-rays."

The last time Thomas was hurt on the football field was in the fourth game of his senior year of high school at Compton (Calif.) Dominguez High School.

In that game, Thomas' cleats caught in the turf while he was trying to dive into the end zone, and his left ankle was dislocated and broken. And if not for some quick thinking by Dominguez's trainer, who reset the ankle on the field, Thomas may have had to have the foot amputated because of a blocked artery.

Although Thomas returned to play about two months after suffering that injury, he never fully recovered until the middle of his freshman season at USC.

Thomas admitted he feared the worst when he awoke Sunday to feel much more pain and tightness in the foot than he had experienced Saturday night, when he walked gingerly on the sidelines.

"(Saturday) night, when the foot was still warm, it felt pretty good," Thomas said. "I could even do toe raises and everything. But then we had that long flight home and it stiffened up on me. Then I slept when I got home. When I woke up, it had tightened up a lot on me and hurt a lot more."

Thomas has already put together an extensive rehab plan. He'll receive at least four treatments today around his class schedule. He was also ordered by UNLV coaches to keep the foot elevated when at all possible. The Rebels don't practice today, so that should help him stay off his feet.

UNLV coach John Robinson, who canceled his team's normal Sunday night workout because they arrived back from Fort Collins, Colo., in the wee hours of the morning, was delighted to hear the news of Thomas' X-ray results.

"It's just a question now of getting him back on the field," Robinson said. "Right now I'm thinking both he and Jason Vaughan will probably play Saturday (against Wyoming). We'll give (Thomas) treatments and see what happens. My expectations are that he'll be back out there on Wednesday and do a few things and then practice on Thursday. We'll just have to wait and see how he responds."

That block cost UNLV a chance to send the game into a tiebreaker. Cheetany also missed another PAT earlier in the game.

"It was a good kick," Robinson said. "The guy (CSU corner Rhett Nelson) was just up in the air about 11 feet and got it. We really didn't do anything wrong on the play. (Nelson) just made a great play."

It was the second week in a row that the 6-0, 194-pound Nelson had made a big block for the Rams. He also blocked a field goal in Colorado State's 17-14 win over New Mexico.

Thomas, who began the week No. 2 behind Kansas State's Jonathan Beasley, can thank the Oklahoma Sooners' defense for helping to move him up a notch. Beasley completed just 14 of 36 passes for 211 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the Wildcats' 41-31 loss to Oklahoma.