Day 5 Notebook: Two-minute drill caps Sunday’s lone session

By Ryan Greene

Monday, Aug. 17, 2009 | 2:29 a.m.

UNLV in Ely: Day 5

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ELY — Any lethargy lingering Sunday evening following the Rebels' longest hiatus during training camp in Ely was shaken off in the closing portion of the weekend's final practice.

UNLV took part in two-minute offense drills to get the competitive juices flowing, and — just as was the case with Saturday's scrimmage — both the offensive and defensive units left Broadbent Park with a little something to brag about.

First came a drill with 1:30 on the clock, with the No. 1 offense taking the ball on its own 30-yard line with two timeouts and needing a touchdown to win against the No. 1 defense.

Junior quarterback Omar Clayton completed two passes apiece to Rodelin Anthony and Michael Johnson as the offense willed its way to a first-and-10 situation at the defense's 12-yard line.

From there, the defense held strong, thanks to a Mike Grant deflection in the end zone on third-and-5 from the second, then Grant again applying blanket coverage on Tate Knutson on a slant route on fourth-and-5.

The No. 1 offense got its shots on its next try, however, this time with the same time on the clock and the drive starting at the same place. Instead, it just needed a field goal and had only one timeout.

Sparked in large part by a 24-yard Clayton run, the offense capped the drive with Clayton plunging in from a yard out.

On two series, Clayton was 7-of-9 for 96 yards, and had five carries for 27 yards and a score.

As for the No. 2 offense against the No. 2 defense, backup quarterback Mike Clausen struggled, in large part because of the pressure applied quickly by defensive ends B.J. Bell and Preston Brooks.

Hit of the day ... but ...

The day's best hit, oddly enough, came during a drill in which hitting was not permitted.

While running a skeleton drill prior to the two-minute exercises, Clayton threw a deep out to Anthony. As the ball arrived, he was popped by sophomore cornerback Kenny Brown, who appeared not to have much space or time to avoid the hit once he turned his head toward the senior receiver.

The ball was jarred loose, and Brown was removed from the drill, then was subjected to a series of bear crawls following the conclusion of Sunday's session.

Injury updates

The receivers were the focal point Sunday in terms of bumps and bruises.

Senior Ryan Wolfe was in full uniform, but didn't participate in the drills at the end of practice due to a stomach virus. His absence wasn't related to a minor knee bruise he suffered Saturday during the scrimmage.

Anthony, following the aforementioned shot, had a cut on his chin and lost his wind, but returned to catch four passes for 65 yards during the two-minute drills.

Sophomore Phillip Payne suffered a slight bruise above his knee after contact from Terrence Lee at the beginning of the two-minute drill, ending his evening a bit early.

A fun finish

In a huddle near the end of practice, coach Mike Sanford proposed a challenge to his team — well, his linemen.

Four offensive linemen and four defensive linemen were selected by their position coaches to try and catch a fly ball off the Jugs machine in front of the team. If five of the eight could complete the task, the Rebels would not be subjected to conditioning drills after practice and would be awarded the luxury of practicing in shorts Monday night in their second session of the day.

The first three participants — John Gianninoto, Malo Taumua and Joe Hawley — all made the grabs and added their signature celebrations.

After Martin Tevaseu, Evan Marchal and Isaako Aaitui couldn't get the job done, Matt Murphy and Jason Beauchamp each made the grab to secure an early end to the evening.

The team stormed Beauchamp after his catch, with Taumua hopping on the senior's back when he was the first to arrive.

Showing some leg

UNLV's two healthy competitors for field goal kicking duties this season each got a shot to nail some attempts toward practice's end.

Senior Kyle Watson — who specialized on shorter kicks last year for the Rebels — was up first, barely missing a 52-yard attempt to the left. He followed it up by drilling a 52-yarder with roughly 10 yards to spare. He then made a pair of 47-yarders from the right hashmark.

Then, freshman Allen Hardison split a pair of 47-yard attempts from the right.

Junior Ben Jaekle — UNLV's long-range specialist last year — is still recovering from back surgery to repair a herniated disk.

A quick prayer

UNLV players, coaches, trainers and other staffers gathered in a circle and held hands following practice. They conducted a prayer for interior offensive line coach Keith Uperesa, who headed back to Las Vegas following the practice session to begin radiation treatment for thyroid cancer.

One position switch

Redshirt freshman Gordy Cooper was moved from tight end to receiver. This makes room for freshman tight end Jordan Barrett on the depth chart.

Barrett was moved from linebacker to tight end upon joining the team on Friday.

Black jersey update

Sunday's black jerseys were worn by sophomore linebacker Beau Orth and Gianninoto.

Orth had a forced fumble among his achievements during Saturday's scrimmage.

Other black jersey nominees from Saturday included Clayton, Payne, junior running back Channing Trotter, junior defensive tackle Ramse Feagai and junior linebacker Ronnie Paulo.

What's on tap

The Rebels return to a two-a-day format Monday, practicing in full pads from 9:40 to 11:40 a.m., then from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. in shorts.

Tuesday will feature just one practice session, with the team going full pads again from 9:40 to 11:45 a.m.

Wednesday's two-a-days wrap up this year's trip to Ely, going from 9:40 to 11:50 a.m., then 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. before heading back to Las Vegas on Thursday morning.