Two standout running backs headed for Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Jan. 15, 2001 | 10:25 a.m.

Steve Guiremand

UNLV went a long way to shore up its thin running back corps over the weekend with verbal commitments from two highly regarded recruits.

Deon Burnett (5-11, 202), who gained a Washington State freshman rushing record 974 yards and scored 12 touchdowns in 1999, and Tulare (Calif.) Union High School speedster Dominique Dorsey (5-7, 170) both gave non-binding verbal commitments to the Rebels.

Burnett was one of the West Coast's top running back prospects at Claremont (Calif.) High School. But after starring at Washington State as a true freshman, he had a falling out with Cougars head coach Mike Price this past season when Price moved junior college transfer David Minnich ahead of Burnett in the starting lineup.

Burnett, who finished with just 353 yards on 93 carries and scored only one touchdown in 1999 for the 4-7 Cougars, decided to quit the team at halftime of the Cougars' season-ending 51-3 thumping by Apple Cup rival Washington.

"I regret the way it happened," Burnett said. "It was just frustration. I could have handled it better."

Burnett was granted his release a few days later and, after talking with another ex-Cougar running back, Kevin Brown, announced he would transfer to UNLV.

However, Burnett didn't make his official recruiting trip to UNLV until this past weekend. He won't enroll until the fall and will have to sit out the 2001 season per NCAA transfer rules. He'll then have two years of eligibility remaining.

"This is the only place I'm going to visit," Burnett said. "This is the place for me."

Why?

"The coaching staff was great," Burnett said. "I got a chance to meet the players. They were all real tight. Everyone here is about winning. I respect that. The facilities were great. I just liked everything about UNLV."

Dorsey will be eligible to play this fall. He was a first team all-state choice by Cal-Hi Sports after setting state career marks for rushing (7,761 yards) and touchdowns (118) for the Redskins.

And more running back help could be on the way.

Herman Ho-Ching, who was a national recruit at famed prep powerhouse Long Beach Poly High School and played as a true freshman at Oregon in 1999, is expected to take a recruiting trip to UNLV this weekend.

The 5-11, 195-pound Ho-Ching was reported to be headed to in-state rival Nevada-Reno last week after not hearing from UNLV coaches for almost a month. However, a phone conversation with UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas, a longtime friend and former youth football teammate of Ho-Ching's, smoothed things over earlier this week.

The big plus in landing Ho-Ching is that he would be eligible to play in the fall and would compete with junior Jabari Johnson and Dorsey for the starting job.

The national letter of intent signing period begins on Feb. 7.