Sanford has tips for Niners and respect for Cougars

Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2005 | 8:20 a.m.

Mike Sanford readily admitted to having more to worry about than the fate of the San Francisco 49ers, but UNLV's head football coach has more than a passing interest in the 49ers and their rookie quarterback, Alex Smith.

In addition to being a 49ers fan, Sanford coached Smith for the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Utah. As a former NFL assistant with the San Diego Chargers, Sanford also has an opinion on the way Smith has been thrust into the starting lineup with the struggling 49ers.

Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL draft, was thrown to the NFL wolves three weeks ago when he was named the 49ers' starting quarterback. After getting roughed up in his first two starts, Smith sat out Sunday's game against Tampa Bay with a strained knee.

Sanford said it might have been better for Smith, in the long run, had he been brought along more slowly and allowed to learn the complexities of the NFL game from the sidelines.

"The best thing for Alex would have been to do what the Bengals did with Carson Palmer -- to have a guy that's a semiexperienced veteran be the starter for at least a year and have a guy that's a team-type guy that's going to help bring him along," Sanford said. "Then, once (Smith) is ready, let him take over."

Smith has been sacked 12 times, has thrown five interceptions and has a passing rating of 17.5 in his two starts, but Sanford said he believes Smith is the type of athlete who will not allow his current circumstances to negatively affect his development as an NFL quarterback.

"I think he'll come back from this," Sanford said of Smith. "A lot of that is going to be dependent on what they do to improve their team -- what they do to improve their offensive line ... and what they do to improve their receivers."

COUGARS ON TAP

Sanford's challenge this week will be to prepare his 2-6 Rebels (1-4 in conference) for Saturday's Mountain West Conference game against BYU at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The Cougars (4-4, 3-2 in conference) are coming off their most potent offensive display of the season Saturday in a 62-41 pounding of Air Force in Provo. BYU rolled up 683 yards of total offense (383 passing, 300 rushing). Sanford acknowledged the balance the Cougars showed on offense will make it harder to prepare for Saturday's noon contest.

"It looks like they found a little of their (offensive) identity," Sanford said. "At the beginning, they were going to throw every down and then ... they ran every down against somebody -- Colorado State, I think. Now they're kind of doing both."

ALSO NOTED:

* Rebels quarterback Shane Steichen returned to limited practice Thursday after missing four games because of a broken finger that required surgery. Steichen has not yet been cleared by his surgeon to resume full practice or to play, although Sanford said he hoped to know more following Steichen's appointment Wednesday morning with his doctor.

* BYU holds a 9-3 advantage in the series against UNLV, but the Rebels scored a 24-20 victory last season in Provo. The first meeting between the two teams was played in Japan in 1978. BYU won 28-24.

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219 -- The number of yards BYU running back Curtis Brown gained Saturday in the Cougars' 62-41 victory over Air Force

0-5 -- UNLV's record against BYU at Sam Boyd Stadium