DP’s Travers ready to sign with Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 10:31 a.m.

UNLV football coach John Robinson welcomes nine new players on campus Monday when the spring semester starts.

Robert Travers, a 6-foot-3, 255-pound defensive end from state semifinalist Desert Pines High School, won't be one of them. But Travers said this week that he will sign a letter of intent with UNLV on national signing day on Feb. 4 despite offers from Utah, Fresno State and UCLA.

"I canceled my other trips after visiting UNLV," Travers, a three-year starter who also stars in basketball and track, said. "UNLV has been on me since the summer and they stayed on me. Once I decided it was the place for me, there was no reason to take any other trips."

Travers combines good agility from his basketball background with good strength. He threw the discus 154 feet as a junior and figures to contend for the state title in that sport this year.

Two "gray shirts" -- high school players who signed with UNLV in February but elected to wait until January to enroll -- will begin classes next week at UNLV and also take part in spring practice which is scheduled to begin on March 1. They are quarterback/athlete Marcus Johnson (6-4, 220) of Locke High School in Los Angeles and center Dustin Forshee (6-5, 295) of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz.

Seven junior college players also signed with the Rebels and will enroll at mid-year, including three defensive linemen.

Tackle Isaiah Tafua (6-2, 285), a run-stuffing tackle from Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, who signed last year with the Rebels but wasn't cleared academically in time to play in the fall, re-signed with the Rebels.

Defensive ends Mario Hill (6-3, 255) of Pasadena (Calif.) City College, who picked UNLV ahead of Rutgers, and Issac Watts (6-3, 255) of San Francisco City College, who originally signed with Arizona out of high school, also are expected to be impact performers for the Rebels defense next fall.

The other four junior college signees include fullback Chad Henley (6-0, 245) of Moorpark (Calif.) Junior College, the same school that produced Rebels tight end Greg Estandia, cornerback Charles Ealy (6-0, 200) of Compton College, offensive tackle Chris Bowser (6-5, 285) of Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., and outside linebacker Bobby Kelly (6-3, 215) of Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif.

Dick Lascola, who runs the Fallbrook, Calif.-based Scouting Evaluation Association scouting service that counts 90 Division I schools as clients, gave high marks to all of UNLV's California junior college recruits but was particularly high on Bowser and Kelly.

"Kelly is a big-timer, a rock 'em, sock 'em player," Lascola said. "He's a strong player with great size and agility who gets to the ball. We put an asterisk next to his name in our report and we only do that for the top players."

Bowser signed with UNLV after playing just his freshman year at Saddleback and has four years to play three. He turned down offers from both Washington and Colorado to sign with the Rebels.

"I really liked him," Lascola said. "(UNLV) got themselves a steal. He would have made our highlight tape if he returned for his sophomore year and we put only the very best prospects on that. He's got good feet and good size. He's huge."

UNLV is expected to sign about 11 more prospects on Feb. 4.