Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2004 | 9:49 a.m.
As he limped back to the bench after getting flattened by Wisconsin defensive end Jonathan Welsh in the first quarter on Saturday, UNLV senior quarterback Kurt Nantkes said he thought he might have had his final play as a Rebel.
"I really thought I was going to have to hang it up for the season," said Nantkes, a 6-foot-4, 225-pounder. "But then I woke up the next morning and felt 100 times better."
Tuesday night at Rebel Park, Nantkes was back on the practice field in full gear sharing snaps with sophomore Shane Steichen with the first-team offense.
"I feel good," Nantkes said as he walked back to the locker room. "I'm not really able to do everything yet. Actually, I'm not willing to try and do everything quite yet. I've still got four days before the game. I don't want to go out there and try and do too much right away."
Nantkes originally feared he had re-injured his pubic bone, which was dislocated in a game against New Mexico in November. He spent 12 weeks and missed all of spring practice to rehabilitate the injury.
Although he felt the same strong shooting pain in his groin area as when he was hurt last year, Nantkes now believes the pain was just scar tissue breaking up from the force of the blow.
"My doctor said it likely may have been scar tissue that caused the pain," Nantkes said. "I saw another doctor today and he said there might have been a small displacement. But right now I'm feeling 100 times better than I did Saturday. I'd say there's a 90-percent chance I'll be playing."
UNLV coach John Robinson, who said during the Mountain West Conference coaches' teleconference call on Tuesday that it was likely sophomore Shane Steichen would start with Nantkes available in a backup role, seemed to hedge a little on that statement after Tuesday night's workout.
When asked when he would name his starter for Saturday night's Mountain West Conference opener against Air Force at Sam Boyd Stadium, Robinson replied, "I don't know. I was down working with the defense most of the practice."
Indeed, Robinson spent much of Tuesday night helping the scout team to simulate Air Force's option offense against the starting Rebels defense.
"My guess is Kurt would be available," Robinson said. "How much he plays depends on just how much he improves between now and Saturday."
Barring a setback in practice the next couple of days, Nantkes believes he'll be ready to go.
"The drops are fine," he said. "And taking these last few days off has really gotten my arm back to where it needs to be. It was sore before but now it feels great. So everything is looking good for this weekend. Thursday will be a key day, though, because that's when I do more running and kind of turns things loose and stuff."
Thompson is in town to meet with members of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority today.
One of the topics that will be discussed is the Mountain West Conference's tie-in with the Las Vegas Bowl which expires after this year's game.
Estandia, who watched practice in shorts, said he still doesn't have full range of motion in his knee.
He could begin practicing next week.
Linebackers John Andrews (shoulder) and Zach Bell (ribs) both took part in limited drills and are expected to play Saturday.
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