Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004 | 11:57 a.m.
Drive around Las Vegas these days and you might come across a billboard with the faces of All-American safety Jamaal Brimmer or all-Mountain West Conference linebacker Adam Seward looking down at you.
"People always tell me they see it," Seward, a senior linebacker from Bonanza High School, said. "It's kind of cool, especially for Jamaal and me being local kids (Brimmer attended Durango). I think it's a great marketing tool. Local kids see that stuff and it's huge."
In many ways Brimmer and Seward --- two local players who decided to stay and play for their hometown team --- mirror the turnaround of UNLV's football program in the past five years.
Entering their senior years of high school in 1999 when they were in the midst of the recruiting process, UNLV had lost 16 consecutive games and had won a total of four conference games in four years. Staying home and playing for a Rebels squad that was ranked at or near the bottom of Division I football rankings was not an option for most high profile local recruits.
But that's gradually changed in recent years thanks in part to the success of both Brimmer and Seward, two local players who decided to stay home despite offers to play in the Pac-10 and at other Mountain West Conference schools.
They have never lost a Fremont Cannon Battle with in-state rival Nevada-Reno during their stay and were scout team members on the 2000 UNLV squad that whipped Arkansas, 31-14, in the Las Vegas Bowl.
UNLV had beaten just one Top 25 ranked team in school history before their arrival. But going into Sunday night's season-opener at 14th-ranked Tennessee, the Rebels have won two in a row against ranked squads including a stunning 23-5 upset of Big Ten power No. 14 Wisconsin last year in Madison.
"It's been a great run," Seward, who needs just 23 tackles this fall to become the all-time leader in that category in Mountain West Conference history, said. "I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd have this much success here. ... It's just a blessing from God."
"I think it sends a message that if you go to a school that you like and play football and do the right things, you'll get noticed," Brimmer said.
Seward received recruiting interest from Arizona State, Arizona, UCLA, Colorado State and Nevada-Reno.
"They just didn't seem as interested in me as UNLV was," he said. "UNLV stuck by me from the get-go. It was a place that, when I looked at it, I felt I could have a lot of success at while also getting a lot of hometown support. And looking back, I don't have any regrets because I have gotten that hometown support. I'm just thrilled to be a Rebel. I really enjoy it."
Still, Seward admits he got his share of flack for staying home to play for a program that was 0-11 in 1998 and 1-11 in 1996.
"Yeah, definitely," he said. "I don't know what it's like in other states with their hometown colleges but it seemed like UNLV was a lot of people's last choice, especially athletic-wise. Everybody wanted to go out of state. But for me, (playing at UNLV) was the whole idea of having a legendary head coach coaching me like Coach (John) Robinson, someone who knew a lot about the NFL, someone who had been there and knew what it took because that was my ultimate goal."
"Coming into the recruiting process I wanted to get away, too," Brimmer, who also considered Oregon State, Colorado State and Nevada-Reno, said. "I wanted to get away and do the whole college thing.
"The bad years UNLV had gone through also was a consideration because it was a rebuilding thing. But after getting to be around the guys here I got to know them and what they were all about. They weren't trying to lose on purpose. They were trying hard. Maybe it was the scheme. I don't know. I think they just needed some direction and I thought Coach Robinson was the man to do it."
Both players also liked the fact that family and friends could see them play if they stayed home. Seward's parents, Tom, a former UNLV assistant, and Amy, have been regulars at practice and booster functions during Adam's career while Brimmer's father, Jimmy, also has stopped by to watch workouts.
"Staying home was big so my parents could watch me play," Brimmer said. "I also looked at the non-conference schedule and saw that there were some good games that you could showcase yourself. And it was still Division I football. Of all the things I had on my checklist, my main goal was to play Division I football wherever it was."
Robinson, who successfully landed the state's top prospect in Cheyenne running back David Peeples as well as its top prep defensive lineman in Robert Travers, Jr., of Desert Pines last year, believes the national attention players like Brimmer and Seward are receiving has opened more local recruiting doors.
"I'm sure it does help," Robinson said. "It gives credibility to (staying home). ... Guys get away. That's part of the deal. We all know that in Las Vegas, whether you're an athlete or not, going away to school has been kind of a tradition. But I think UNLV as a school is changing that and we are certainly changing that in the athletic department."
Both Brimmer, who has a double-major in communications and sociology, and Seward, who is majoring in international business with a minor in Spanish, are scheduled to graduate this year which also brings a smile to Robinson's face.
"They're both very good players and I think they're both headed to careers in the NFL," he said. "But they're also both outstanding people. They're both going to graduate. And they both have a great work ethic and have continued to improve. They're both people we're very proud of."
archive
