Estandia still sore; redshirt is likely for year

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004 | 9:58 a.m.

Senior tight end Greg Estandia made his long-awaited 2004 debut in Saturday night's 48-13 victory against Nevada-Reno and caught one pass for 10 yards.

Turns out it may be the only catch that Estandia, a talented 6-foot-8, 250-pounder, will make this season.

Estandia said he is still experiencing tightness and soreness in the right knee in which he partially tore his MCL on Aug. 26. And he has to decide before Friday night's game at BYU whether to redshirt this season.

"There's a laxity in the knee where he's not 100 percent well," UNLV coach John Robinson said during his weekly luncheon on Monday. "We're going to look at it again this week and try to arrive at a decision.

"If he plays again, his (redshirt) year is gone, so we have a decision to make in the next couple of days."

And all indications are that Estandia is leaning heavily toward redshirting despite the fact he faces the uncertainty of a new head coach and a new offense in 2005 as well as the fact his roommate and close friend, senior quarterback Kurt Nantkes, graduates.

"It's a touchy (issue) because he has a future (playing in the NFL)," Robinson said. "He could come back next year. Those are issues that have to be discussed after one more evaluation."

A 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior from De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., Miklos is the first Rebel to win player of the week honors this season. The Rebels had a school-record eight players honored in 2003.

This is the second time Miklos has won the award. He also was recognized after UNLV's 37-35 upset of New Mexico last year after he returned a fumble 61 yards for a touchdown.

The game will be shown on ESPN-Plus' 22-station network around the country. It will be televised locally on KFBT-Gold 33 (Cox Cable 6).

Meanwhile, the University of Utah has set the time for the Rebels' Oct. 23 contest in Salt Lake City. That game will kick off at 5 p.m. MST (4 p.m. in Las Vegas).

This week's BYU football press release mentions that two Cougars players, linebacker Richard Nehiring and Washington State transfer Aaron Wagner, served LDS church missions "in the city of sin."

Dorsey also leads the MWC in all-purpose yards (153.0 ypg) and is 14th nationally. Senior linebacker Adam Seward, who had a game-high 15 tackles against the Wolf Pack, now leads the MWC in tackles with an average of 10.2 per game.