Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
Provided Kurt Nantkes doesn't fall down and require a hip replacement and Shane Steichen doesn't turn sideways and disappear, UNLV will be one of just two Mountain West teams that returns its starting quarterback(s) next season.
Of course, it should be noted that the Cubs also will have their entire bullpen back next season.
"The Utes and us," Rebels coach John Robinson said on his television show Sunday night. "Everybody else loses theirs."
Alex Smith, who had a breakout season after becoming Utah's starting quarterback early in the season, figures to contend for player of the year honors next season. Nantkes and Steichen don't.
But Nantkes' advanced age and Steichen's slender build notwithstanding, at least they'll give Robinson something to work with. The big question is will they be enough?
Nantkes, whose basket held all of Robinson's eggs this year, had his moments, but they were more spaced out than David Letterman's front teeth. Steichen, pressed into emergency duty as a true freshman late in the season, displayed a strong arm and enough athletic ability to get outside the pocket, but needs to eat lots of Wonder Bread during the off-season.
Besides, who's to say even if he wins the job during spring or fall drills that he'll be ready for a baptism under fire? Nantkes sure wasn't, as it took him more than half the season before he appeared reasonably comfortable.
Fast approaching retirement, Robinson should adopt the George Allen approach. The future is now.
That's why if I were him, I'd go out and recruit an athletic junior college quarterback who can run the option, or at least has enough speed to occasionally elude a blitz or run a quarterback draw. If the other two guys work out, then turn the new kid into a running back or wideout until he's needed.
For as the Rebels so aptly illustrated this year, you can never have enough quarterbacks.
Around the horn
According to UNLV coach John Robinson, 16 of the 17 seniors on this year's Rebels roster are on pace to graduate with their class. In the long run, that's the statistic that should count the most. ... If Channel 8's Dave McCann ever gets tired of his sports director or play-by-play gigs, he can always moonlight as an offensive coordinator. As the Rebels strolled to the line of scrimmage on third-and-short against Wyoming Saturday, McCann told his SportsWest viewing audience that it would be a perfect time for the Rebels to throw a play-action pass to tight end Greg Estandia. That's exactly what happened, as Kurt Nantkes lobbed a 31-yard touchdown pass to the 6-foot-8 Estandia, who was all along behind the unsuspecting Wyoming defense. In reality, Robinson said it was offensive assistant coach Bruce Snyder who made the cal l. ... The over-under on wins by the UNLV football team at the Imperial Palace before the season started was 6. Are these g! uys good, or what? Incidentally, anybody who bet on the Rebels to win the Sugar Bowl at 1,000-1 odds -- unless it was the Ole Miss Rebels -- needs to tighten his chin strap. ... Nevada-Reno's new football coach better have night vision and thermal underwear as the Wolf Pack will play all six of its 2004 home games under the lights at Mackey Stadium that were added this year. If you must be nit-picky, the two UNR home games in November actually will start at 4:05 p.m., so it will be dark by the second quarter. UNR athletic director Chris Ault believes the late starting times will boost attendance. ...
Nick Holt, a former UNLV football assistant under Wayne Nunnely, is one of three finalists for the head coaching job at Idaho. Holt, who was an assistant at Idaho after leaving UNLV, is currently linebackers coach for No. 2-rated Southern Cal. A published report said Colorado State co-offensive coordinator Dan Hammerschmidt is no longer on the Vandals' short list, and that Chris Tormey, fired at Nevada-Reno on Sunday, could move to the back burner. ... Speaking of Nunnely, he's now in his seventh season as defensive line coach for the San Diego Chargers. Considered one of the top D-line coaches in the NFL, Nunnely's Chargers have led the NFL in yards-per-carry allowed in three of the past five seasons. ... Mountain West Conference football fans apparently agree that Memphis is not the best spot for the MWC champion to spend the holidays. According to a poll on the MWC website, an even 50 percent of respondents said they would rather go to a bowl gam! e in Las Vegas, with 32 percent choosing Memphis and 18 percent San Francisco. ... Remember the old days, when UNLV had good teams in the so-called Olympic sports? The Rebels' volleyball team last week completed a 14-17 season while the men's soccer team went 6-11 and women's soccer, the baby of the bunch, finished 9-9-3. ...
Florida State is lucky that Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association chief Jerry Hughes doesn't the run the NCAA, or the Seminoles might be suspended for their upcoming BCS game after brawling with Florida players at midfield following Saturday's rivalry renewal between the two. Florida coach Ron Zook and FSU counterpart Bobby Bowden said they would investigate the incident and penalize those involved. That's more than has happened so far with this year's Southern Nevada high school playoff game between Cheyenne and Bishop Gorman, when players from those sides brawled after the game. ... At first, I had Air Force pegged as this year's sleeper team in the Mountain West men's basketball race, a notion that was reinforced by its series record 40-point win against rival Navy last Friday. But then the Falcons lost 46-38 at Belmont of t he Atlantic Sun Conference on Sunday. ... Although the college basketball season is only about 10 days old, there are no un! defeated MWC teams at this early date. ... Anybody who didn't think Reno High's David Padgett wasn't the real deal needs to think again. Padgett has cracked the starting lineup at center as a true freshman at Kansas and has averaged 6.0 points in the No. 1 Jayhawks' first three wins under new coach Bill Self. ... Las Vegas Bowl prediction: New Mexico 21, Oregon State 20. And local fans present ESPN with a lump of coal for insisting the game be played on Christmas Eve.
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