TAKE FIVE: Casey Flair

Friday, Oct. 13, 2006 | 8:03 a.m.

What: UNLV vs. New Mexico

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Where: Sam Boyd Stadium

Tickets: $13 and up; 739-3267 , online at unlvtickets.com and at UNLV ticket outlets at all Station and Fiesta casinos and the Galleria at Sunset mall

Don't be surprised if UNLV head football coach Mike Sanford makes the "Last Frontier" his first stop on the recruiting trail.

Casey Flair, one of three Rebels who played his high school football in Alaska, has developed into one of the tops in the Mountain West Conference.

Going into Saturday night's conference game against the University of New Mexico at Sam Boyd Stadium, Flair leads the conference in yards receiving per game (78) and is second in receptions per game (6.20). Flair is coming off his first career 100-yard game, having caught eight passes for 100 yards last Saturday at Colorado State.

"He plays extremely hard, he practices hard, he prepares well and he's played well in games," Sanford says.

Cold calling

Although he was the Alaska state player of the year as a senior at East High School in Anchorage, Flair wasn't recruited by any Division I school . Flair walked on during John Robinson's final season at UNLV. "I came down here and pretty much gave myself a semester to a year (to land a scholarship) because I wasn't going to be able to afford to keep paying for school," Flair said. "As far as getting a scholarship after only being here for like a month and a half or two months, that doesn't happen very often; so I was definitely blessed."

Playing the game

Despite late-season games that can be played on frozen fields in single-digit temperatures, Flair said football in Alaska is really no different. "I'd say the biggest difference is speed. There's a lot more speed down here. But other than that, it's just like anywhere else. I'd put our state's football against anybody's."

Not alone

Flair is one of at least six Division I players who hail from Alaska: Zackary Bowman (cornerback, Nebraska), Ward Dobbs (linebacker, Wyoming), Cory Macon (tight end, Colorado State) and UNLV walk-ons Tate Knutson (wide receiver) and Jake DeBuck (defensive end). Flair, Knutson and Macon were teammates on East High's 2003 state championship football team.

Team leader

Sanford considers Flair to be the "dean" of UNLV receivers and a team leader. "I feel like I'm one of the hardest working players on the team. I'm only a redshirt sophomore, but I'm one of the most experienced guys we have on our receiver corps, so I work really hard to show the young guys how it's supposed to be done as far as watching films and lifting weights and practicing."

Old hat

While many of his teammates have struggled to grasp UNLV's spread offense, Flair "really gets it," the coach says. "In high school, I was there for a year and then we got a coach who came in and put the spread offense in," he said. "I'm here for a year and we get a coach who comes in and puts the spread offense in. I've fallen into lucky situations, and I've got to take advantage of them."