Let the fun begin

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

His billboard is up around town. The "Heisman Hopeful" posters are out. So are the highlight CDs for college football writers. And five pages in the current ESPN The Magazine are devoted to him.

But Thursday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas can finally put his "summer of hype" behind him and do what he likes to do best: play football.

"Now it's time to play, to do the things that I can control," the 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior said after the team's final practice this week. "I can't control who wants to write articles about me but I sure can control making the right reads or not. And I need to do that so we can win."

And make no mistake, no matter how glamorous the ESPN.com chats or Heisman talk may seem, Thomas said winning a conference title is still the No. 1 thing on his mind these days.

"I want to win," Thomas said. "I don't care about interviews or articles. I just want to get back out there and win. If we win games, all that other stuff will come."

Thomas starts his junior campaign on Thursday night against the same Arkansas squad he was so dazzling against 252 days ago while leading UNLV to a surprisingly one-sided 31-14 Las Vegas Bowl victory at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Thomas was playing on a broken foot in that game but still managed to earn game MVP honors, completing 12 of 17 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns as well as rushing for 32 more yards on 10 carries.

"He beat us single-handed and he did it on one leg," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt marveled afterward.

But with his foot healthy again, a sore throwing shoulder fixed in minor off-season surgery and a year's experience under his belt, Thomas says he'll be an even better player this year.

"I think I've improved tremendously," Thomas said. "It's more mental than physical. I think my reads (of the defense) are better now and I'm seeing the whole field."

UNLV head coach John Robinson agrees.

"I think just his consistency and the commitment to every practice and doing the work the best you can ... that's where Jason has improved the most," Robinson said. "There haven't been a lot of ups and downs. He's been very steady. And he understands the game better now than he did a year ago at this time. I think he really understands the game well now."

And understands that winning will bring along a lot more fame and awards, not to mention those beloved media interviews.

"I just want to win, man," Thomas said. "That's the only thing I'm worried about. I want to win a conference championship. Nobody expected UNLV to win a conference championship when we signed on the dotted line. That would be the biggest turnaround in a long time --- besides maybe Oregon State."