Players vote six onto ‘leadership committee’

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 10:11 a.m.

The high-scoring spread option offense and tough, fast-paced practices aren't the only things new UNLV head football coach Mike Sanford has brought along with him from Utah.

Sanford has also formed a six-player group that he calls "The Leadership Committee." Those players will have a role in everything from helping Sanford form discipline for players on the squad to being liaisons between players and coaches on the team.

"It worked extremely well (at Utah)," Sanford said. "You want players to have a voice on the major things that happen in a program.

"We'll consult with them on discipline matters," Sanford continued. "Obviously, we have standards and high expectations. But when it gets to the point of possibly removing a guy from a team and some of those kinds of things ... I think the best kind of judgment can be peer judgment. So I'm going to consult the Leadership Committee on those types of things."

Six players were voted by their peers to the committee earlier this month. They were senior safety Joe Miklos, senior tight end Greg Estandia, junior safety Jay Staggs, junior running back Erick Jackson, junior wide receiver Donell Wheaton and sophomore center Tim Goins.

"Anything that involves the team, I want to get their feedback on," Sanford said. "Things like where we are and what the attitude is like. I also want them to be leaders for us. I want them to be the guys who stand up and take charge of this team and move it in the right direction."

Player leadership has been noticeably absent in recent years for the Rebels, especially during last season's 2-9 debacle. One of the expected leaders, quarterback Kurt Nantkes, even quit the team midway through the season when he was benched in favor of backup Shane Steichen.

"We've got a good group," Sanford said. "I wanted everybody to be around each other for a few months before we picked the group so they could get to know each other. I'm going to have my first meeting with them on Friday and we're going to start the whole process."

Jackson, a fourth-string running back last year as a sophomore who has been getting most of the first team reps so far in spring practice, said he was "honored" to be picked to the Leadership Committee.

"It felt good," Jackson said. "It's pretty good to have that position with the team. But the most important thing is to find out that my teammates thought of me like that. I'm going to make decisions that I feel are the best for the team and enjoy it."

Sanford said Utah's Leadership Committee played a key role in allowing troubled starting running back Marty Johnson, who had a series of off-the-field issues before Urban Meyer arrived in Salt Lake City, back on the team last fall.

"Coach Meyer let the Leadership Committee make some decisions about some of the qualifications he needed to meet before he would be let back on the team," Sanford said. "And he met all of those qualifications and came back did a very good job for us. I think the best pressure is peer pressure."