Rebels try to remedy defensive woes in scrimmage

By Brett Okamoto

Saturday, March 28, 2009 | 12:17 a.m.

The Rebels’ defense allowed a conference-worst 24 passing touchdowns to opponents last season. So when Mike Sanford announced this year’s recruiting class that included eight defensive backs, it was obvious what aspect of UNLV’s game he was determined to improve.

It’s a bit early to tell, but Sanford may have struck gold in at least one of them.

Warren Zeigler, a junior midyear transfer out of the College of San Mateo in California, couldn’t have had a better live action debut for the Rebels than Friday morning’s inter-squad scrimmage.

Lining up with the second-string defense, Zeigler picked off starting quarterback Omar Clayton’s first pass of the day, broke up a catch in the endzone to prevent a touchdown and nearly turned in another highlight interception over his shoulder on a 40-yard pass attempt by Mike Clausen.

“He did a lot of good things,” Sanford said. “He’s a good cover man, he knows how to play man-to-man coverage, so I’m very excited about the possibilities of him. He’s been a good addition to our team.”

According to Zeigler himself, it’s probably hard to believe that the back who stole the spotlight Friday is the same one who arrived on UNLV’s campus for the spring semester. Accustomed to the junior college level, Zeigler admitted that the speed of the game surprised him at first.

“I think I was a little out of shape coming here in the spring, everybody was faster than me,” Zeigler said. “I was coming in last, the coaches were on me and at that point I knew I finally made it somewhere because I wasn’t used to that.”

No question Zeigler has caught on to the speed of the game now, not allowing a single catch during the scrimmage despite covering the elusive Jerriman Robinson, who made the biggest play of the scrimmage when he caught a 45-yard pass from Clausen. After shutting down Robinson for the better part of the day, Zeigler watched that play from the sidelines.

With pass defense remaining a top concern for the Rebels as they prepare for next season, Zeigler says he understands why he’s here and is ready for the challenge. Picking off his starting quarterback’s first pass of the spring was just the start.

“A ball comes my way, whoever is throwing it, a ball is a ball,” Zeigler said. “Clayton threw the ball, there was a miscommunication with the receiver, and I jumped on it. That’s what I came here to do.”

QB 1 and QB 1A.

For Clausen, having to return to backup status after starting a team’s final three games of last season might be a tough pill to swallow – that is if the starter you filled in for wasn’t your best friend.

Although it’s a safe bet that Clausen would rather be on the field than off, the sophomore has shown no signs of frustration of falling back to No. 2 on UNLV’s depth chart behind Clayton. The two were the first to walk off the field following Friday’s action, joking back and forth with each other.

“I wouldn’t say I was fighting my best friend on the team,” Clausen said. “He comes over and hangs out after every practice. We have a real tight bond and I think it helps. We’re always learning off each other, there’s never any bad blood.”

Clausen posted a 117.5 QB rating filling in for the injured Clayton, winning two of the three games he started. Although Clayton is the starter, Sanford said he feels comfortable with both.

“The thing that’s great is that we have a 1 in Omar and then we have a 1A in Mike Clausen,” Sanford said. “I don’t look at it like a one and two. We have the best quarterback situation right now since I’ve been here.”

Dominating D

As is the case in many spring scrimmages, the UNLV defense dominated early and often as the offense tried to find its groove after the time off.

That said, all three units played with the intensity of a playoff game rather than a scrimmage, forcing two turnovers and making a goal-line stand on a first-and-goal from inside the 5-yard line.

Standouts included defensive ends Preston Brooks and Isaako Aaitui, who each recorded a handful of sacks. With Jason Beauchamp, Nate Carter and Ronnie Paulo all returning to the linebacker position as last year’s starters, the interior defense should be a strength for the Rebels.

“I’m very excited about the linebacker position, that’s probably the strength of our defense,” Sanford said. “We’ve got a lot of guys there.”

Linebacker Starr Fuimaono is also recovering well from a season-ending injury he suffered against Utah last season and should return to the lineup by as early as June.

Filling Frank’s shoes

With no Frank Summers to plow over defensive lines anymore, the Rebels’ offense may turn to more of an outside game relying on speed more than last year.

Running backs Chris Brogdon, Channing Trotter and C.J. Cox all seemed to look toward the outside for the majority of their yards Friday. Trotter notched the scrimmage’s largest run with a 60-yarder that was eventually called back for clipping. Brogdon received the majority of carries with the first-team offense.

UNLV’s best bet to replace the loss of power is redshirt freshman Imari Thompson, who showed an impressive ability to run through tackles and drive piles for short yardage.

“I think there will be more outside running and we’ve got four guys who are competing for the spot,” Sanford said. “At some point we’ll name a starter but then we’ll have probably a total of three who will play a lot. But it’s a good problem to have four guys who are capable.”