Players expected news, but were still shocked

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Sept. 27, 2004 | 9:58 a.m.

UNLV players say they had an inkling that this might be John Robinson's last season as head coach. But when Robinson made it official during a team meeting on Sunday afternoon, it still hit some of them hard.

"It was like somebody sucked all the air out of the room," junior defensive end Leon Moore said. "It was a sad thing for everybody. He's been the only coach I've had here and I was hoping he would stay for the rest of the time I was here. "

Senior tight end Greg Estandia added: "It wasn't a real shock. It's (still) hard to hear him say it, though. It really is."

Senior outside linebacker Reggie Butler said: "We kind of knew, but we didn't know."

Moore said Robinson wouldn't let the meeting become too emotional.

"Nah, he wouldn't allow that," Moore said. "It was more like, 'This is what has to happen; let's move on with everything we have to do now.' "

Robinson made it a point to tell his 25 seniors that they all "have seven games remaining now."

"We're all on the last ride," Butler said. "The seniors, him, everybody. It's our last seven games to go. And we're hopefully going to go out with a bang."

Senior All-American safety Jamaal Brimmer said: "Hopefully we won't let this affect us negatively. I don't think anyone will hold anything against him. I just think the team will respond just as hard as it would have after an 0-4 start anyways. We're going to try and come out and get a win."

If anything, the players said, Robinson's early announcement could be a unifying force.

"I don't know if that was his intention or not," Moore said. "But I know for me personally it's going to make me play a lot harder because I don't want to send him out of here with a loss."

If all goes well, the 6-foot-8 Estandia could play in Saturday night's Fremont Cannon game against Nevada-Reno.

"It's not all going to be my decision," Estandia said. "I'm just going to go and see how it plays and how it works out. I'll know by the end of the week, but, as of right now I'm playing."

Robinson said he's considering redshirting Estandia if he can't play this week.

"I might have torn some ligaments," said Riley, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound transfer from Ohio State. "There is some swelling in there."

Riley said he got hit from the side by a helmet.

Robinson said he likely won't know until the end of the week whether Johnson, who leads the team with 25 receptions for 302 yards, will be able to play against UNR Saturday.