Day 7 Notebook: Rebels’ tempo draws praise

By Ryan Greene

Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 | 2:29 a.m.

ELY — It seems like UNLV coach Mike Sanford comes up with a different reason every day to be optimistic that his 2009 squad will reach heights none of his previous four have.

On Tuesday morning, that reason was the tempo of the Rebels' practice, which he vocally praised to his players after three separate drills.

"It's a good sign," Sanford said. "It's the best tempo we've had since I've been here. Today was the best we've ever had, and that is a sign to me that we're improving as a team, and it's another reason why I think this camp has been really good."

The fact that the tempo was something for the fifth-year Rebels coach to brag about was significant considering that with one more day left in Ely before returning to campus, it'd be hard to fault the players if their minds were somewhere else.

"It means we're hungry," Sanford said.

Clayton continues to impress

Having a proven, dependable quarterback can make training camp significantly less stressful for a coaching staff.

Omar Clayton has done just that so far in Ely, and continued his strong showing on Tuesday.

During a skeleton drill mid-way through the morning session, he slipped a beautiful 20-yard pass to the right sideline, where he hit a leaping Michael Johnson, who was covered closely by a pair of defenders.

A couple of snaps later, he squeezed a bullet into Ryan Wolfe's hands on the same sideline with Terrence Lee providing tight coverage in front of him.

This came right after he wowed on a drill in which the team's quarterbacks lofted fade passes from 20 yards out into a net stationed in the back-left corner of the end zone.

On the mend

An exact return date for senior receiver Rodelin Anthony to the field has yet to be pegged.

The 6-foot-5 wideout suffered a concussion after taking an accidental shot from sophomore cornerback Kenny Brown in a non-contact passing drill on Sunday evening.

Anthony's timetable will be set once his symptoms disappear, which as of Tuesday morning had yet to happen. Sanford said that Anthony will probably be able to return one week from the point when his symptoms disappear.

In the meantime, Anthony has taken to coaching up the team's younger wideouts.

Also, sophomore running back C.J. Cox — the top returning rusher in UNLV's five-man race for the starting tailback job — is expected to take another step in his recovery from a hamstring pull on Wednesday, participating in the bulk of team drills, and could be back to full-speed early next week.

In his absence, junior Channing Trotter has emerged as the front-runner in the race to replace now-Pittsburgh Steeler Frank Summers as the Rebels' featured back.

Beauchamp recognized

UNLV senior linebacker/defensive end Jason Beauchamp was named on Tuesday to the Lombardi Award Watch List.

The award, given out on Dec. 9 by the Houston Rotary Club, is given annually to the nation's top lineman on either side of the ball.

More red stripe removals

Following Tuesday morning's practice, two more Rebels newcomers — freshman center Andrew Mack and freshman linebacker Jon Kirschbaum — had the red stripes removed from their helmets.

The stripe removal is a rite of passage into the program for all first-year players.

Black jersey update

The black jerseys for outstanding performances in Monday's practice sessions on Tuesday were donned by junior linebacker Ronnie Paulo and junior left tackle Matt Murphy.

For Murphy, it was his second black jersey in Ely.

The other nominees were senior defensive tackle Martin Tevaseu and senior receiver Jerriman Robinson.

What's on tap

UNLV's practice schedule in Ely concludes on Wednesday with a pair of sessions at Broadbent Park – one from 9:40 to 11:35 a.m., and another from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m.

The Rebels travel back to Las Vegas on Thursday morning, and will practice at Rebel Park on Friday from 6:35 to 8:40 p.m.