Broken hand won’t keep Black out for long

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Oct. 23, 2000 | 10:33 a.m.

As he walked off the field following UNLV's 42-23 homecoming victory over Wyoming on Saturday night with his broken right hand wrapped in a bandage, safety Randy Black wondered openly if he had perhaps put on his Rebel uniform for the final time.

"I'm just going to put it in God's hands," Black said.

Sunday morning, Black had his prayers answered.

Although he underwent surgery to have two small metal plates and four screws inserted to help stabilize fractures of the third and fourth metatarsal bones, Black could be back playing for the Rebels as early as Saturday at Mississippi.

Black is officially listed as doubtful for Saturday afternoon's "Battle of the Rebels" in Oxford, Miss. Even if he sits that game out, he almost certainly will be able to play the following week in UNLV's key Mountain West Conference game at Utah.

"There's a slight possibility he could play (at Mississippi)," UNLV defensive coordinator Mike Bradeson said. "He'll be back, but at what point, I'm not sure. You'd like to say this week. But it is asking a lot to have surgery on a Sunday and then come back and play on Saturday."

Rebel trainer Kyle Wilson said it is "possible" that Black will play Saturday.

"A lot depends on the swelling and if he can play through the pain," Wilson said. "He'll have range of motion and the hand will be stable. We'll just pad it up and see if he'll be able to go out with that."

But when the topic of UNLV and quarterback Jason Thomas was brought up, the Tampa Bay Bucs' Pro Bowl wide receiver gave a big thumbs up.

On Thomas: "He's legit. He's legit," Johnson said. "SC should be kicking themselves upside down right now."

Johnson was just as bullish on UNLV's football fortunes because of the hire of John Robinson.

"What more do you want?" Johnson said. "These players are learning to play (Robinson's) way. They're not all of his recruits. Once he gets all his guys in, I look for him to do well in this conference.

"I know a lot of guys want to come here and play for him because of the way he goes and approaches the game and how he treats people and stuff like that. I'm looking for this program to be one of those BYU type programs where he can get a lot of guys to come, it's always crowded and people are excited about football."

Thomas, who has played just half of the Rebels' last two games because of a sprained foot, has completed 57 of 99 passes for 1,066 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. That gives him a quarterback rating of 171.96 which would rate him second this week behind Florida's Rex Grossman.

However, because he has played in seven games, Thomas would need to have attempted 105 passes to qualify for the NCAA ratings.