Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004 | 10:01 a.m.
Long before he played in the shadow of All-American safety Jamaal Brimmer, Joe Miklos found himself playing second fiddle to Kevin Simon.
The two close friends both started at inside linebacker in 2000 for mythical prep national champion De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., en route to a 13-0 record and fifth consecutive California state title.
Miklos, who also starred at tight end for the Spartans, was a first-team all-Bay Valley Athletic League pick and a member of the East Bay's "Cream of the Crop." Simon, meanwhile, was one of the nation's most heavily recruited players and made both Parade Magazine's and USA Today's All-America first team.
"He definitely deserved all that pub," Miklos said. "He was the best player on our team by far."
Now Simon is one of the best players on 14th-ranked Tennessee, against which the Rebels will open their 2004 season Sunday night in Knoxville. Simon, a 5-foot-11, 225-pounder, was a second-team all-Southeastern Conference pick as a sophomore and is already showing up on some NFL draft reports.
Miklos, at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, meanwhile, will start his second year for the Rebels at free safety after beginning his career at linebacker. A hard-hitting junior, he is a second-team preseason all-MWC pick after returning two fumbles for touchdowns as a sophomore and also figures to garner his share of attention from NFL scouts before he's done.
"He's developing some of the same instincts that his partner (Brimmer) possesses," UNLV head coach John Robinson said.
Although Miklos and Simon went their separate ways after high school, they still remain very close friends who talk on the phone about once every week or two. And this past summer they even celebrated their 21st birthdays together in style in New Orleans.
"Our birthdays are only four days apart (Miklos' is June 8, Simon's June 12) so we decided to have a combined birthday party," Miklos said. "My parents were there as well as Earv (wide receiver Earvin Johnson) and (quarterback) Scott (Turner). And Kevin came down with a couple of his friends."
"Joe and I go back to the eighth grade and we're very close, kind of like brothers," Simon said. "I have a good relationship with his mom and dad and he has one with my dad. Back at De La Salle you'd probably spend about 285 out of 365 days a year working out together so you get to be very close."
It's a bond that grows even stronger each time De La Salle extends its national prep record win streak which stands at 151 consecutive games going into this season.
"We always talk about 'The Streak,' " Simon said. "It's such a sense of pride from where we came from."
Naturally Sunday night's contest, which will be shown nationally by ESPN2, came up during the four-day trip to the French Quarter.
"It was a topic of conversation a lot actually," Miklos said. "I remember when my dad gave us a toast after one of our birthday dinners he ended it with, 'And beat Tennessee!' There was a lot of bantering going back and forth. But we all got along real well. It was really cool how everybody got along on that trip."
Simon said with a chuckle: "I don't remember us talking that much about it. I remember Joe and Earvin saying how excited they were about coming down here and playing in front of 108,000 people. But everybody got along real well."
Both Miklos and Simon say they'll be rooting for each other to do well on Sunday night.
"I want to see them all do well," Simon said. "I just want to see us win."
Said Miklos: "He's actually rooting for me and I'm rooting for him, too. I just want the Rebels to come out on top."
Which brings us to perhaps the most important question: Who left New Orleans with the most beads?
"I'd say Joe won the bead war," Simon said. "He had the girls all over him."
Miklos replied: "I don't know about that. I think Kevin won that one."
Kirkland spent Monday in Los Angeles meeting with a shoulder specialist who apparently felt surgery was unnecessary.
"We could have him back in two to three weeks," Robinson told the audience Monday at his weekly luncheon at Bahama Breeze restaurant.
Robinson also confirmed that tight end Greg Estandia will not only miss Sunday night's season opener against the Vols but also the following game at Wisconsin because of a partially torn knee ligament.
The Rebels resume practice at 7 p.m. today at Rebel Park. UNLV departs for Knoxville at 7 a.m. Saturday and will hold a walk-through practice at Neyland Stadium that night.
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