Defense may be Rebels’ strong point

Steve Guiremand

Monday, April 21, 2003 | 9:55 a.m.

UNLV football coach John Robinson had several reasons to smile after the team concluded spring football workouts Friday.

For one thing, the Rebels didn't suffer any major injuries during their 15 practices, something of a rarity in college football these days. For another, a revamped defense, led by linebackers Adam Seward, Ryan Claridge and safety Jamaal Brimmer, looked like it could be Robinson's best in five seasons at UNLV. And a larger, improved offensive line should make the transition in quarterbacks from Jason Thomas to Kurt Nantkes smoother.

"I think we made progress in the areas I was most concerned about," Robinson said.

But Robinson, 67, knows his squad still has a lot of room for improvement before taking the field against MAC power Toledo at Sam Boyd Stadium Aug. 30.

"If getting to where you want to be is a 10, we're a 3 or a 4," Robinson said. "But we've made progress.

"I think we were able to focus on the things we deemed as important. One of the key issues in coaching is getting players doing things that they're capable of doing, to bring out their strengths. I think we've got a pretty good feel now for what the strengths of our players are and how to use those as we build our defense and offense.

"We're faster and I think we're bigger. If we have dependable players who play with speed and consistency, I think we're going to be good."

Robinson said the focus on defense was to improve speed, toughness and pass defense.

"And I think we did all of those things," he said.

Offensively, he was pleased with an improved quick passing attack under Nantkes.

"We wanted to work on getting the ball to the halfbacks and develop a high percentage passing game," Robinson said. "The percentage of completions this spring was way up from where it has been."

Give Nantkes a lot of the credit.

"I thought he did really well," Robinson said of Nantkes, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior from Aurora, Colo. "What I liked about him is that he was patient and focused and didn't try to take over the team. He let the thing come to him and just concentrated on doing his job. And I thought he did everything we would hope for from a quarterback."

"You could definitely see the improvement, both personally and for the whole offense, as spring progressed," Nantkes said. "We're asking a lot more out of this offense than in the past from a mental standpoint. And watching the team growing fundamentally each day was fun."

When asked which players made the most improvement during the spring, Robinson was quick to reply.

"(Redshirt freshman offensive guard) Marco Guerra stood out on offense," Robinson said. "On defense, I would say (linebacker) Zach Bell. I would say they're probably the most improved players on the team. And I think our whole group of linebackers, including the newcomers like John Andrews and Reggie Butler, really stood out because of their potential and speed."