Rebels leaning on Wolfe to lead by more than example alone

By Ryan Greene (contact)

Thursday, March 26, 2009 | 2 a.m.

AP/Douglas C. Pizac

UNLV’s Ryan Wolfe (88) catches a pass against BYU during the first quarter of last October’s 42-35 Rebels loss in Provo.

AP Photo/Denis Poroy

UNLV wide receiver Ryan Wolfe scores a touchdown on a pass reception during the first quarter against San Diego State.

Former UNLV receiver Casey Flair was never one to hold feelings back.

If a teammate was slacking off or needed a boost, the Rebels' emotional spark plug wouldn't hesitate to grab them by the collar, look them in the eye and just let go verbally.

Ryan Wolfe? Not so much.

The Santa Clarita, Calif., native heads into his senior season as the Rebels' all-time leading receiver with 209 gritty grabs. He's as complete and dependable as they come.

But there's always room for improvement.

"I think that Casey was emphatic in his leadership, and Ryan's never going to be that type of guy," offensive coordinator Todd Berry said. "You have to stay within your personality, but that doesn't mean you're just quiet and over there studying the game by yourself.

"Where Casey was more confrontational -- and that's fine, too -- Casey brought people up along with him, and now Ryan's gotta find his way of doing it."

A receiver as prolific as Wolfe can no longer lead by example alone.

Beyond his school-record marks of 209 career grabs and 2,735 yards, Wolfe is only 900 yards away from becoming the Mountain West Conference's all-time leading receiver.

Then there's that seemingly never-ending list of intangibles.

"He's a very cerebral guy," Berry added. "The game comes easy to him. He's real good on the run, for some guys, in regard to their intelligence level, they don't think very fast on their feet. He thinks very fast on hsi feet. He's got a great body language to him. One of the things a quarterback need to understnad is when a receiver's getting ready to come out of his break. His is always really, really consistent with what he does, so consequently, you can always anticipate where he's gonna be.

"He's gonna catch the football, he's gonna block, he's gonna do all those things that are innate in every great receiver."

Now, by mentoring some of those further down the depth chart, he hopes to help the receiving corps maintain its rank as one of the Mountain West's finest despite losing Flair.

Each of the other pieces from last year's group -- including Phillip Payne, Rodelin Anthony and Jerriman Robinson -- return for 2009. In '08, the Rebels passing offense ranked 49th in the nation, while Wolfe's 7.33 snares per game were ninth amongst all FBS receivers.

"My personality is not to be the outspoken kind of guy like Casey was good at doing," Wolfe said. "I'm going to step up to be a more vocal guy, but not oustretch my boundaries.

"For the guys that are coming back, we're not gonna have to do too much reteaching, just a little bit of adding on on offense, because of our experience."

That's where the coaching staff is expecting Wolfe to bump himself in terms of leadership, by taking guys under his wing, watching film with them and making sure that coaches aren't the only ones taking note of his example he sets on the practice field.

"I think the thing for him, from a leadership stanpoint, is trying to bring everyone to his level," Berry said. He's a real, real quiet leader, and we want to see him become more vocal and bring people along with him instead of just leadership by example. Most time, leadership by example, that's called effort."

Game film from last season alone would do the other UNLV receivers plenty of good, as Wolfe established himself as both reliable and clutch on several occasions.

During a frantic come-from-behind effort against San Diego State in the season finale, with a bowl bid on the line, he caught 11 balls for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Against Mountain West powerhouses Utah and BYU, he combined for 19 receptions, several of them coming on third downs and in traffic over the middle.

And while the quiet, tough, sure-handed facade is more than solid, Wolfe still craves more.

"In the offseason, I've just been trying to get faster, get a lot stronger just so I can maintain myself throughout the season," Wolfe said. "I think last year I did a pretty good job injury-wise, but you can always do better in trying to maintain and stay healthy.

"I'd like to show a downfield threat a little more. I think right now I'm kind of labeled as a possession receiver, which isn't a bad thing. I don't mind it at all. But I'm working on my speed so I can run away from guys this year instead of getting caught from behind."

One guy who will not label Wolfe as a possession receiver is Clayton, who values what the wideout brings maybe more than anyone else on the team.

After all, Wolfe's stability and production has plenty to do with how quick and smooth Clayton's ascent up the ranks has been.

"I would actually call him a hybrid, not so much a possession receiver," Clayton said. "For me, personally, growing in the offense, there's always times or periods where I'm not so sure of what's going on. Just having a guy like Ryan, he allows me to put some of the pressure on him, and he's a great player. He's able to take that and run with it. he's able to take the pressure that I put on him."

Part of being the official No. 1 receiver now will be taking pressure off of more teammates than his quarterback alone.

He's the glaring All-American candidate who everyone will look to.

According to Berry, he's more capable than anyone.

"I've been doing this for a long time now, 27 years in collegiate coaching," he said. "I think he's the best football player I've ever been around. And I've told him about that, too."