Croom wants to carry load for Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Aug. 22, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

UNLV quarterback Jason Thomas has a problem handing off to new Rebel tailback Larry Croom.

"He makes it hard for me to carry out my fakes," Thomas said of the explosive transfer from Arizona. "I guess I'm like everybody else. I get caught up in trying to see what he's going to do. He's got so many moves, you don't know what he's going to do next. You want to buy a ticket and watch."

UNLV football fans will get to see the 5-foot-11, 215-pound Croom make his official Rebel debut Aug. 31 against Wisconsin at Sam Boyd Stadium. But those hardcore UNLV followers who attended last Saturday night's scrimmage saw Croom use his speed to return a punt 60 yards and also rush for 20 yards on four carries. And to hear Croom tell it, he wasn't even at full speed.

"My legs are dead right now because we've been going through two-a-days," he said. "I'm trying to get them back by doing some extra things on the side."

UNLV coach John Robinson cracks a big smile when asked about Croom.

"He's a dangerous player," Robinson said. "He is a very elusive runner and is as good as it gets at making you miss. You get Larry and Dominique Dorsey going and you've got some stuff."

Croom, who starred at perennial prep powerhouse Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High School, originally enrolled at Arizona after narrowing his choices to the Wildcats, Texas A&M and Cal.

"What edged me toward Arizona is that I liked Trung Candidate," Croom said of the former Wildcats' star who went on to become a first-round St. Louis Rams draft pick. "After I talked to him on my (recruiting) trip, I felt I could learn some things from him. And on top of that, they were the No. 3 team in the nation that year. They also weren't that far from home."

Croom played as a true freshman for the Wildcats, gaining 49 yards on 12 carries. The following year, he split time with Clarence Farmer, starting games against Utah, Stanford and Ohio State. He finished with 257 yards on 64 carries and also caught eight passes for 78 yards and one touchdown.

But Arizona head coach Dick Tomey was fired after that season and replaced by John Mackovic, who wanted to open up what at times had been a predictable and bland Wildcat offense.

"I was happy with the situation there," Croom said. "I was starting when I left. Clarence and I were switching off as co-starters. But the new coach came in and said he wanted to throw the ball 40 times a game. I knew in a two running back situation that that wouldn't be good at all ... three or four carries a game, maybe."

Croom wanted to transfer. One school that jumped out at him was UNLV, coming off an impressive Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arkansas and a season that produced a 1,000-yard rusher in Jeremi Rudolph and an 800-yard rusher in Kevin Brown.

"I kind of always had an itch to play for John Robinson," Croom said. "He's a great coach and a great man. And (running backs coach) John Jackson as well. They're two great coaches. And when I saw an opportunity where I could be in a better situation, I went for it."

Croom may be the fastest player in the Mountain West Conference. At Long Beach Poly, he ran the first leg on the nation's top 4x100 relay team which included three other Division I football players: cornerback Darrell Rideaux (USC), wide receiver Sammie Parker (Oregon) and wide receiver Kareem Kelly (USC).

"Not a bad relay team, huh?" Croom said. "And I played baseball, too. We'd start off the track season with me, Kareem and Darrell all running neck-and-neck. But the more I went to baseball practice, the more they'd get away from me."

Croom, who called sitting out last season per NCAA transfer rules "one of the toughest things I've gone through," said he can't wait until next Saturday night to make his Rebel debut.

"I couldn't sleep the night before spring practice," he said. "I couldn't sleep before the start of fall practice. And I'm sure I'll have a hard time sleeping the night before that game, too. I'm really looking forward to getting out there and playing."

Rebel quarterback Jason Thomas has been named one of 32 candidates for the 2002 Davey O'Brien Award, given annually to the nation's top college quarterback. Thomas is the only quarterback from the Mountain West Conference to be nominated. The winner will be announced on Dec. 12. ... UNLV submitted its final paperwork to the Mountain West requesting a special medical waiver for sophomore running back/kick returner Dominique Dorsey on Tuesday and could get an answer as early as today. "We're confident he'll get it," Robinson said.

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