Thursday, Sept. 19, 2002 | 10:03 a.m.
NEXT UP
What: UNLV at Toledo
When: Saturday, 4 p.m.
Where: Glass Bowl, Toledo, Ohio
TV: KFBT, Cox ch. 6
Radio: KBAD 920-AM
Line: Toledo by 7 1/2; Total is 53 points
As a starting safety in UNLV's secondary, Jamaal Brimmer has had better weekends.
The 6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore from Durango High School admits it was hard sleeping Saturday night after Oregon State quarterback Derek Anderson torched the Rebels for 356 yards and a school-record tying five touchdown passes in the Beavers' 47-17 victory earlier that day in Corvallis.
"It was definitely hard to deal with," Brimmer said. "It was on your mind all of Saturday night. Then, when you woke up on Sunday, you saw the highlights again and all the stuff in the paper. It wasn't easy."
But Brimmer, who leads the team in sacks with 3.5 and is third in tackles with 18, said that wasn't the worst part of the ordeal.
"Nah, what made it hard is that you can't believe that you can really play that badly," Brimmer said. "It's hard to believe that all those things could go wrong in one day. It was so surprising to see us as a group getting hit on with just simple little stuff."
So what went wrong?
"It was a mountain of errors," Brimmer said. "But the main thing is it had to do with a lack of communication. We learned that if one person is messed up in the DB corps, then the whole DB corps are messed up.
"Bad communication and guys just not talking to each other, that was the main problem. Then it kind of turned into a survival kind of state. Everybody was worrying about doing their job and not about anybody else. It's one game I'm glad is behind us. Hopefully we can go on this road trip to Toledo and adapt a lot better."
UNLV coach John Robinson also said the Rebels need to play as a group in the defensive backfield.
"It's the detail that got away from them," Robinson said of his rebuilt secondary. "They got attacked and everybody kind of reverted to free lancing. They stopped playing the way they could."
But Robinson believes the secondary, which returns just one starter in cornerback Jamal Wynn, learned its lesson.
"Absolutely they realize what went wrong," Robinson said. "Now I think the way we fight back from that is to just improve our technique."
Robinson is high on Brimmer, a local prep star who decided to stay home and play for the Rebels despite offers from schools such as Oregon State, Colorado State and Weber State. He compares Brimmer to a safety who starred for him at USC named Sammy Knight, now a Pro Bowler with the New Orleans Saints.
"I think he's a good player," Robinson said. "I think he has a lot of savvy. As he matures, I think he'll become a more instinctive player. He also is a good leader. He was in high school and I think he is here, too."
"I'd been watching Sammy Knight play even before Coach Robinson told me that," Brimmer said. "I really didn't know that Sammy had played for Coach Robinson at USC. Since Coach told me that, I've started watching him more and more."
But Brimmer's attention now is focused on Saturday night's game at defending MAC champion Toledo. The Rockets, led by quarterback Brian Jones and wide receiver Carl Ford, have one of the top passing attacks in the MAC.
"They're real good," Brimmer said. "They run a different type of offense. They run the no-huddle and do all their substitutions from the sidelines. They can be pounding the ball and pounding the ball and then all of a sudden hit you with a four or five wide receiver set. It's one of those games where we have to communicate a lot better or it could get ugly."
Terrell is heavily active in UNLV's CHAMPS program. He has made visits to local hospitals and also spoken at local schools. Terrell was selected by his teammates before last month's season opener against Wisconsin to become the first player to wear the Wiesner Jersey, which will annually go to the Rebel player who best exemplifies the late Tom Wiesner's enthusiasm, dedication and toughness.
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