UNLV’s Bair beats odds, inks free agent deal with Raiders

Steve Guiremand

Monday, April 22, 2002 | 10:48 a.m.

Five years ago Brandon Bair had better odds of winning Megabucks than playing for the Oakland Raiders.

The Basic High grad, still bothered by a high school shoulder injury, was working construction in Las Vegas after a very brief stint at Southern Utah University. Upon prodding by future wife Becky, he decided to walk on at UNLV where he was a reserve on an 0-11 squad for then head coach Jeff Horton.

But the following fall, new Rebel head coach John Robinson saw something he liked in the mobile 6-foot-6 tackle and offered Bair a scholarship. Bair went on to start for three consecutive years for UNLV and helped key one of the top run-blocking units in the nation.

Shortly after the NFL draft ended on Sunday, the 315-pound Bair signed a two-year free agent contract with a small signing bonus with the Raiders. He'll take part in Oakland's mini-camp this weekend.

"I just faxed in my contract," Bair said. "They have pretty good depth on the offensive line up there. I know my strength right now is probably not up to par with an NFL-type player. I'm shooting to try and make the practice squad. Hopefully the fact their new head coach (Billy Callahan) is an offensive line coach will work to my advantage."

Bair said Baltimore, Green Bay and Pittsburgh also showed interest.

"In fact, I was watching the draft (Sunday) when Pittsburgh called during the sixth round and said they might take me in the seventh round," Bair said. "But they didn't. That was kind of disappointing."

However, Bair was happy to accept a free agent deal with the Raiders, who had shown the most interest in him prior to the draft.

"I also like the fact that it's close to home," he said. "Baltimore talked to me and they are thin on the offensive line. They only have six players there. They said I had a pretty good chance of making the team. But they didn't want to give me a signing bonus. Basically, they just wanted me to show up and practice."

Still, Bair has come a very long way since those old construction days.

"Brandon Bair has made as much progress in the offensive line as any player I've ever coached," Robinson said. "He's developed size, strength and skill in dramatic fashion."