Robinson says he’ll stick with Thomas at QB

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

What do UNLV head football coach John Robinson and country singer Tammy Wynette have in common?

Both prefer to "Stand By Your Man."

Despite the fact some disgruntled Rebel football fans have taken to the Internet and radio talk shows in a campaign to bench preseason Heisman candidate Jason Thomas in favor of unproven redshirt freshman Kurt Nantkes, Robinson is standing behind the 6-4 lefthanded transfer from USC.

"Obviously, the first question on people's minds who watch us is are we going to play Kurt Nantkes?" Robinson said at his weekly Rebel Football Foundation luncheon at Big Dog's Cafe. "We'll try and play Kurt Nantkes in the remaining games ... if we can.

"We have a quarterback who has not done as well as he or any of us would have liked him to do. (But) I'm convinced (Jason Thomas) has the potential to be a great player. He has shown it at times last year.

"Saturday he took the boos, and the boos should have been for me," Robinson continued. "They all should have stood up and pointed down at me and said, 'Boo that fat old guy down there, he's the one losing the game.' (Thomas) didn't have a chance. In the second half every time he went back to pass, somebody was on him. It was pretty difficult to operate."

Robinson, who convinced the heavily recruited Thomas to become the cornerstone of his rebuilding project instead of transferring to established powers such as Florida State and Nebraska, believes it would be foolish to give up on a potential franchise player just because he is in the midst of a slump.

"In building someone over a period of time you have to be committed when it's going good and you have to be committed when it's going bad," Robinson said. "When you have a player you think can lead you and make a difference in your program ... whenever it's going tough on or off the field, you just try to help him fight through the negative so you can get back to the positive."

Now the question is just how long will the wait be for something positive to happen again for Thomas and company?

Mason sprained his left ankle in the first half of Saturday's 42-14 loss to Utah and left Sam Boyd Stadium on crutches. Mason said afterward he thought he might be able to play Saturday at New Mexico and is listed only as questionable on the team's injury report. Robinson, however, wasn't quite as optimistic.

"I doubt if we'll have Troy Mason for the rest of the year," Robinson said.

Senior Associate Athletic Director Jerry Koloskie said UNLV is now pursuing a game against MAC power Toledo.

"We hope to know something this week," Koloskie said. "We're running out of time."

The Rebels were originally supposed to host Baylor in that slot but outgoing athletic director Charles Cavagnaro allowed the Bears to buy themselves out of the deal for a reported $100,000.