Day 6 notebook: Anthony out with concussion

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009 | 2:29 a.m.

ELY — Concussions act in funny ways.

Just ask UNLV senior receiver Rodelin Anthony.

After taking an accidental shot up top from the forearm of sophomore cornerback Kenny Brown during a skeleton drill Sunday evening at Broadbent Park, Anthony was slow to his feet.

He got back up, everything checked out to be fine, and a few minutes later, he caught four passes for 65 yards in a pair of 11-on-11, two-minute offense sessions.

"I got into the ice tub and it was real calm and quiet, and I didn't get the full effect of it until I walked into the cafeteria and all the guys were talking and plates were clattering and people were pulling chairs around and laughing," Anthony said in retrospect. "I was trying to zone it all out, and I didn't realize how alone I looked, I guess."

After a couple of teammates suggested that he looked out of it and needed to be checked up on, Anthony retired to his hotel room for some rest.

On Monday morning, he was in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, with his Ely playing days now done.

"After dinner, when he was having a lot of problems with noise, it was just too much," UNLV coach Mike Sanford said. "He had headaches and that's when we tested him again and he had a concussion."

Anthony will miss at least a week of action and is relegated to helping his fellow receivers with his words alone rather than his on-field example, which had been nothing shy of shining so far this fall.

Throughout camp, Anthony has shown flashes to make the coaching staff believe that he'll be a consistent target for junior quarterback Omar Clayton this season. He has 53 receptions over the last three seasons, but is poised for a jump as a senior.

Hence holding him out until at least after school starts on Monday.

"I still have even bigger strides to make — I'm not satisfied with what I did out here at all," Anthony humbly proclaimed. "I've gotta do bigger and bigger and better things, gotta take it with strides."

Other receiver news

Both Ryan Wolfe (stomach virus) and Phillip Payne (knee bruise) were back at full speed Monday morning.

Payne showed a flash of emotion during a one-on-one pass-catching drill, when a fade pass was floated up to him from 30 yards out into the right side of the end zone.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore went up for the ball over junior corner Warren Zeigler, only to have it broken up at its highest point. After gathering the ball up off the ground, he fired it at the front pylon in disgust.

Also, freshman Mark Barefield came up grabbing his right shoulder after a broken-up pass during team drills at the end of practice. He came back during the team stretch minutes later with an ice pack wrapped around it. He then participated fully in the evening practice.

'Toughness' drill returns

During Monday morning's installment of the 'Toughness' drill, which pits the defensive line and offensive line against one another, with the offense attempting to score a touchdown from 3 yards out, the No. 1 defense made the most noise.

During three repetitions between the No. 1 units, Malo Taumua first recovered a fumble, then combined with Jason Beauchamp for a resounding stop behind the line of scrimmage.

The No. 2 units then squared off, with Imari Thompson opening it up with a touchdown run up the left side.

Freshman back Bradley Randle was then stuffed twice before scoring on his third and final attempt.

11-on-11 drill report

The No. 1 units didn't do battle during final team drills Monday morning.

First, the No. 2 offense took on the No. 1 defense, starting at its own 1-yard line. After Mike Clausen's fade pass to Barefield down the right sideline was broken up by Zeigler, Chris Brogdon broke off an impressive 13-yard run up the right side of the line, carrying safety Travis Dixon for the final 4 yards of the jaunt.

The highlight for the No. 1 offense against the No. 2 defense was a 12-yard run by Channing Trotter, who charged forward with a pile for the final 5 yards. He lost his helmet in the process.

Black jersey update

Wearing the black jerseys on Monday were Clayton and Beauchamp for their outstanding performances during Sunday evening's session.

The two also donned the black uniforms on Aug. 12 — the team's first day of practice in Ely.

The other nominees on offense included Trotter and Anthony, while defensive end Preston Brooks and safety Calvin Randleman were the nominees for the defense.

More stripe removals

Four newcomers to the UNLV program had their red helmet stripes removed Monday morning — a rite of passage for first-year Rebels.

They included Randle, defensive end B.J. Bell, linebacker Reggie Umuolo and cornerback Courtney Bridget.

Following the afternoon practice, running back Thomas Downs, cornerback Cedric Coleman, safety John Therrell and cornerback Charles Childers had the stripes removed from their helmets.

More injury updates

Freshman center Doug Zismann will miss the next week along with Anthony while recovering from a concussion.

Also, sophomore running back C.J. Cox, who's been held out of action all week in Ely with a hamstring pull, took part in non-contact drills in the morning session.

Nice grab

Freshman tight end Jordan Barrett — a highly-touted linebacker recruit who the Rebels switched to offense on Friday upon his arrival in Ely — made a soaring catch down the middle of the field between two defenders during 11-on-11 team drills to wrap up the Monday evening practice.

Creative conditioning

The follow-up to Friday's ultimate frisbee contests as part of two-a-day creative conditioning? A game of tag. Well, several of them.

The Rebels broke into three groups, and ran the length of the field repeatedly, with assistant coaches pointing out who is 'it' each time.

What's on tap

The Rebels have one practice in full pads on Tuesday, from 9:40 to 11:45 a.m.