Line shift puts Mueller back at center

Steve Guiremand

Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 | 9:51 a.m.

UNLV coach Mike Sanford decided to shake things up on his offensive line following last week's disappointing 22-14 loss at UNR.

Aaron Mueller, the starter at right guard the first three games of the season, was one of the players who lost his job, but for a good reason. Mueller, who started his career as a walk-on backup center for the Rebels, will make his first start at his old position on Saturday night at Utah State.

Sanford said one of the reasons for the switch was so the Rebels could get junior Marco Guerra, a starter last season at left tackle, back in the starting lineup at right guard. But that was not meant as a slight to Mueller.

Hey, how can you bench a guy who offensive coordinator Noah Brindise has nicknamed "Lunch Pail" for his hard work ethic?

So sophomore center Tim Goins was moved to second team at both guard and center to make room for Mueller, one of the team's top-graded offensive linemen so far this season.

"You can't take Mueller out because he's just so solid and plays so good," Sanford said. "He's been a real pleasant surprise."

Mueller, who spent the spring and fall working at guard, said he isn't upset by the move back to center.

"I don't care," Mueller said. "I just like playing. I don't care where it's at."

"He worked all summer on the shotgun snaps," Sanford said. "We saw him as a guard but he's actually come along as a center."

So you could say that Mueller is good enough to start at two positions for the Rebels. Not bad considering the two-time all-Northern Illinois Conference from Boylan High School in Rockford, Ill., was told he was too small to play for his home state school, Illinois.

"At Illinois they wanted guys who are 6-foot-5," said Mueller, who is listed at 6-foot-2, 290 pounds. "I wasn't 6-foot-5. I could have gone to a Division III school back there, but I chose to come out here instead and play for John Robinson."

Robinson urged Mueller to come to UNLV as a walk-on.

"He told me he liked how I moved but that they didn't have a scholarship," Mueller said. "He told me to walk on and eventually, if I worked hard enough, I'd get one. And that's what happened after my second year here. I got my scholarship."

One earned by plain old hard work. Hence his nickname.

"He's 'Lunch Pail' because he's just one of those guys who comes every day, doesn't complain, just shows up with his lunch pail, and goes to work," Sanford said.

"We're a team at the crossroads," Sanford said. "We've got to make up what kind of team we want to be. This is a huge game for that."

That's one game in a 45-day span since the start of fall practice. Utah State lost to in-state rival Utah, 31-7, on Sept. 10 in Salt Lake City and followed that up with a bye last week.

"It feels like we are having two openers," first-year Utah State head coach Brent Guy said. "I almost have the same jitters that I felt before the Utah game."

"We have been practicing a lot," added senior offensive tackle Donald Penn, "and guys are starting to get antsy. ... Everybody's motto is, 'Practice makes perfect.' And practice helps. But it's been rough. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. ... We've been hitting, we've been getting better."

Three players who missed Utah State's first game for breaking unspecified team rules -- junior wide receiver Tony Pennyman, sophomore wide receiver Dionte' Holloway and sophomore running back Chris Forbes -- are all due back Saturday.

Pennyman turned a simple crossing pattern into a game-clinching 79-yard touchdown in Utah State's 31-21 upset of the Rebels last year at Sam Boyd Stadium.