Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005 | 9:22 a.m.
You could say that A.J. Rodriguez's loss was Nate Kenion's gain.
UNLV football coach Mike Sanford suddenly found himself with an extra scholarship in hand when Rodriguez, a highly touted offensive line prospect from Las Vegas High School, surprisingly quit the team during the first week of fall camp.
Because Rodriguez had already taken part in several fall practices, NCAA rules forbid Sanford from giving the scholarship to a grayshirt player who was scheduled to enroll into school in January. And that opened the door for a walk-on player to get free tuition this season.
Kenion, a high school teammate of Rebels safety Joe Miklos at perennial prep powerhouse De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., got the good news during a team meeting last week.
"It was great," said Kenion, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior who started his career at 1-AA St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. "I wasn't expecting it but it was great to get that awarded to me. It took a big burden off of me."
Almost as nice as getting the scholarship was the reaction of his teammates to the news.
"When we made the announcement, the team gave him a standing ovation," Sanford added. "It was awesome. He's very highly respected by his teammates."
Not to mention the coaching staff. In fact, Kenion has been working on the first-team defense in practice this week ahead of junior Jay Staggs at right safety.
So it's possible UNLV could be starting a pair of De La Salle safeties against New Mexico in their season-opener on Sept. 5 in Albuquerque.
"Hopefully that will happen but I've got a great player and teammate behind me in Jay Staggs," Kenion said. "We just come out here and compete every day. I hope there's enough success in the secondary so that we all can get a piece of it."
The fact that Kenion is even on the radar for a starting spot is a tribute to his ability to overcome adversity.
Despite playing on two mythical prep national championship teams at De La Salle, Kenion didn't receive one scholarship offer from a Division 1-A team.
"UNLV, San Diego State and Idaho looked at me but didn't offer," Kenion said.
So he stayed close to home to play I-AA ball for the Gaels. He recorded 63 tackles and had two sacks and an interception as a sophomore but suddenly found himself without a team a few months later when the school decided to disband the program.
"It was kind of emotional," Kenion said. "I had my girlfriend back there. It was close to home. But now I'm living the dream of playing Division I-A football. It's what I've always wanted to do."
Kenion says he owes Miklos a big assist for that.
"After Saint Mary's dropped football I called Joe up because I was having a hard time getting ahold of Coach Brad (secondary coach Mike Bradeson)," Kenion said. "I sent some of my tapes to Joe and he ran them by Coach Brad. Joe actually did a lot of work for me."
And after redshirting in 2004, Kenion finds himself in the mix for a starting job.
"He's competing to play," Sanford said. "It's not completely decided there yet."
"During practice he just had kind of a doom and gloom look on his face and looked like life was abandoning him," Sanford said of Gray. "I (told the team) we can't have a bad day. This season we can't have a bad day. We can't have a bad series."
So Gray was banished to The Pit to work out with injured players while junior Chris Bowser was evaluated to the first-team offense.
"Gray had a bad day," Sanford said. "Bowser has been (even) with him. And he's the starting left tackle now."
When asked by reporters about his sudden demotion, Gray replied, "I have no comment."
Turns out Hinds, who grew up near the Trojan campus, was allowed to return home this week to gather some belongings and also visit with the doctor who performed surgery on his right knee for a torn ACL prior to his senior year at St. Bernard High School in Playa del Rey, Calif.
Sanford said Hinds is expected to have minor arthroscopic surgery on the same knee before returning to Las Vegas to start classes next week.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported that Wright, who withdrew from USC in June, was suspended from school for three semesters as a penalty for police finding 136 Ecstasy pills in his apartment last March. That means Wright would have had to sit out two seasons to play for the defending NCAA champion Trojans again.
Wright also considered Utah and Michigan State. The 6-foot, 180-pounder, who had an interception in USC's Orange Bowl victory against Oklahoma, must sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules but will have two years of eligibility remaining.
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