Burleson key to air attack

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

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Nevada-Reno wide receiver Nate Burleson leads the nation in receptions with 11.25 per game and is second in receiving yards with 147 yards per game. And Wolf Pack fans can thank Washington coach Rick Neuheisel for letting the 6-foot-2, 187-pounder with a 38-inch vertical leap leave Burleson's hometown of Seattle.

Burleson was a three-sport star at O'Dea High School in Seattle where he was recruited by Division I-A colleges in three sports -- football, basketball and track. Schools such as Washington and Washington State recruited him for the Pac-10.

"But Washington fired (coach Jim Lambright)," Burleson said. "And then Coach Neuheisel brought in his guys from Colorado and wanted me to walk-on."

Instead Burleson packed up and went to Nevada-Reno, which liked to throw the ball and had a scholarship waiting for him.

Burleson has caught 45 passes for 588 yards and four touchdowns in four games. By comparison, UNLV as a team has 50 receptions for 628 yards and two touchdowns in four games.

"He's just a money guy," Nevada-Reno coach Chris Tormey said. "When we need a big catch, he makes them.

"Nate has worked extremely hard the last three years here. He's always been an outstanding football player. He sort of has become (quarterback Zack Threadgill's) go-to guy. He's come up big when we needed him to come up big."

Burleson said he and Threadgill developed chemistry while playing on the scout team together in 1999.

"Me and Zack go way back," Burleson said. "When I found out I wasn't playing my freshman year (following a core class snafu with the NCAA) we sort of formed a bond on the scout team. We were always trying to go out there to embarrass the No. 1 defense and have fun."

So did they embarrass the starting defense?

"We made a few plays against them," Burleson laughed. "But then they'd get mad and get even by giving us some big hits."

The duo continued to work out hard during the next couple of years and now forms one of the most dangerous receiving combos in college football.

"Nate and I have worked out a lot together over the years," Threadgill said. "He's definitely come into his own thanks to a lot of hard work. What he does with the ball in his hands is fun to see."

"I never really thought this would happen (leading the nation in receptions)," said Burleson, whose brother Kevin is a starting guard on the University of Minnesota basketball team. "But I had faith in the coaches here and what they're trying to do and they had faith in me and my work ethic.

"I try and make plays even in practice every day. I treat it just like a game. You've got to practice like you want to play."

Burleson had seven catches for 58 yards last year against UNLV en route to a 57-catch, eight-touchdown campaign. He has yet to play on the winning side in the Battle of the Fremont Cannon since he redshirted when Nevada-Reno last defeated the Rebels, 26-12 in 1999.

"I think it's very important to win any in-state rivalry game like this," Burleson said. "I definitely want to get the Fremont Cannon back in Mackay. I saw it there when I came in on my recruiting trip and I'd like to get it back there before I leave."