Confident Turner got job done in stunner

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Nov. 3, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.

Scott Turner's UNLV career had consisted of just one snap against Utah before Saturday night's Mountain West Conference game at New Mexico.

He hadn't thrown a pass in real game competition in almost three years since his senior year at Oakton High School in Vienna, Va.

"We were playing Thomas Jefferson High School from Alexandria," Turner recalled. "We won."

Yet, in what was arguably the biggest game of UNLV's 2003 season, Turner, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder known more for his ever-present smile and the fact that he is the son of former Redskins head coach and current Dolphins offensive coordinator Norv Turner, was asked to take over for the injured Kurt Nantkes late in the second quarter with the Rebels already leading the Lobos, 24-14.

Talk about your pressure-packed college debuts. Turner, who didn't take his normal practice snaps during the week so the Rebels could spend more time trying to get Nantkes out of a slump, was asked to come in on the road against arguably the best defense in the conference.

Turner's statistics won't make people forget John Elway -- he was just 3 of 6 for 12 yards passing -- but he also didn't fumble or throw an interception. And in the end, he picked up the most important statistic of them all, a 37-35 upset win against the Lobos.

With UNLV's defense forcing six turnovers, including a 61-yard fumble return for a touchdown by sophomore linebacker Joe Miklos and a 62-yard interception return by safety Jamaal Brimmer that proved to be the game-winner, Turner was asked simply not to lose the game for the Rebels.

"I don't think there was anybody who felt too good when Kurt is out (with a groin injury) and not playing in the second half (and thought) that we were going to hold on," UNLV coach John Robinson said. "We had to be conservative. It would have been absolutely crazy to try and do the same things with Scott. ... We had to do what we could do and we did that."

Although he doesn't have the strongest of arms and had only one previous Division I-A play at quarterback, Turner seemed to win over his teammates' confidence with a halftime pep talk.

"He came in here and said, 'Just believe in me because I believe in you guys,' " center Dominic Furio said. "He made us believe in him. He got everybody pumped up in here at halftime. He got us all going."

"We have confidence in our offense and we have confidence in Scott," Miklos added. "We know what he can do from practice. We weren't really scared when he had to go in for Kurt. We felt we could still pull the game out. There wasn't a panic mood in here at halftime or anything."

Turner admitted he felt a few butterflies when he was called upon to take over for Nantkes, who enjoyed perhaps his finest half of the season by completing 12 of 18 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns before going down with the groin injury after a sack by Lobos defensive end Zach Rupp with with about seven minutes left in the second quarter.

"When Kurt got hurt I just went to find my helmet," Turner, who usually holds a clipboard to chart plays, said. "Yeah, I was a little nervous at first but mostly I think I was excited. Even though I didn't take any practice snaps during the week you still watch and take mental reps so you know what to do. I knew the game plan and was ready to go."

What did Robinson tell him when he went out?

"He told me to just go out there and play the game."

On his way out of the University Stadium locker room after the game, Turner turned his cellphone back on and it rang almost immediately.

"My mon and dad called," he said. "They were happy that I got in there and that we won the game. My dad told me I did a great job. They were very excited."

With Nantkes a question mark for Saturday afternoon's game against San Diego State at Sam Boyd Stadium, it's possible Turner could be making his first college start.

"We'll get Scott and Shane Steichen ready this week in practice in case Kurt can't play," Robinson said Sunday night at practice.