Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

REBELS FOOTBALL:

Freshman Tim Cornett making most of opportunity in depleted UNLV backfield

With two ahead of him depth chart injured, Houston-area native now vying for playing time

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ELY — First-year UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck has a belief about missing practices, be it because of injury or any other reason: It means that someone could very easily take your job.

"That's the nature of it," he said following Tuesday's full-pads practice in Ely.

True freshman running back Tim Cornett right now is proving that philosophy to be very true.

The running-back corps at fall camp has grown increasingly thin, thanks to recent injuries to junior C.J. Cox, who entered the fall atop the depth chart, and sophomore Imari Thompson, who hurt his right ankle last weekend and underwent an MRI on Tuesday back in Las Vegas. Hauck said he has a feeling Thompson's injury could cause him to miss significant time.

Redshirt freshman Bradley Randle has, by far, been the Rebels' best running back throughout the fall, while senior Channing Trotter continues to show flashes but still is battling with inconsistency.

Now comes the slender-yet-speedy Cornett, who appears to be moving up the ranks as he continues to turn in strong practices.

"I feel that I've been doing all right, but I still feel I can do better," he said, citing a desire to pack some more weight on his 6-foot frame. "But (running backs coach Dominic Daste) told me that if something like this happened, I'd have to step up.

"Coach Daste told me not to worry about anything, just play football. C.J. told me the same thing when he got hurt."

The words from Dasty and Cox helped calm the nerves of Cornett, who said he gets butterflies in his stomach before every game he plays or practice he suits up for.

He has yet to appear nervous this fall and Tuesday had one of his finest performances.

Getting reps with the No. 2 offense, the Houston-area native first shot to the outside after taking a snap from inside of his own 5-yard line and turned upfield for a smooth 37-yard gain.

Later, during a goal-line drill, he took three straight handoffs from the 3-yard line, bowling through traffic and scoring each time.

"It's been pretty solid with our running backs," Hauck said. "I came out of spring camp liking them, and I like them a lot here. The biggest thing is they're taking care of the football. They're not putting the ball on the ground."

Cornett quietly has toughed through every practice during the grueling trip to Ely, and that's another quality Hauck has admired.

If he continues to take advantage of the additional reps, some playing time this season looks very likely, as Hauck has said he wants a committee of backs to contribute. Cornett's upright style would be a nice complement to the shifty Randle and powerful Trotter, should the current rotation hold.

"He came to my house (during recruitment) and told me that nothing would be given to me — I'd have to work for everything, and that's what I'm doing," said Cornett, who chose UNLV over UTEP and was offered a scholarship by Oregon State on Signing Day. "He was very upfront about what he wanted and needed. I didn't want a coach lying or beating around the bush, and I felt like he didn't do that."

Some tough customers

Bobby Hauck in recent days has referenced guys pushing through the grind of fall camp and toughing it out.

Two shining examples Tuesday were Randle and junior defensive end B.J. Bell.

Randle, who has been hobbled the past couple of days by various bumps and bruises, has refused to come off of the field at times and hasn't missed reps voluntarily.

On Tuesday, after fumbling a ball during team drills, he was forced to tote a ball while running two laps around the field. He struggled while running, but he ultimately finished then returned to the field for the goal-line drill and scored on one of his three tries from three yards out.

As for Bell, who has been battling a nagging ankle injury, he appeared to aggravate his right shoulder during a team drill. Bell, who redshirted last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, missed just a couple of plays before sucking it up and coming back in.

Blue-man group

Eight players were out of action Tuesday and in blue shirts on the sidelines. They were: Junior receiver Michael Johnson (head), freshman receiver Marcus Sullivan (head), sophomore receiver Mark Barefield (knee), junior running back C.J. Cox (undisclosed), junior linebacker Beau Orth (undisclosed) and redshirt freshmen defensive backs Cedric Coleman (ankle), Courtney Bridget (undisclosed) and John Therrell (head).

While not hurt, senior quarterback Omar Clayton essentially was given a day off after taking the majority of the first-team reps over the past several days. In his place, junior Mike Clausen ran the No. 1 offensive unit. Hauck said a few days back that a rotation such as this was to be expected, with the workload shifting from time to time until a starter for the Sept. 4 opener is named.

Tuesday's highlights

• Six-foot-3 redshirt freshman receiver Brandon Babineaux made several impressive catches during both 1-on-1 and team drills on Tuesday by using his height to sky above defensive backs for acrobatic grabs.

• Mike Grant, during team drills, made a nice interception off of a deflected ball and ran it back for what would have been a touchdown had the play not been blown dead when he hit the 15-yard line.

Next up

As the intensity continues to turn up and bodies are starting to look weary, Wednesday could be very interesting, as the Rebels again have two practices.

A helmets-only practice will take place at 9:15 a.m. in Ely, followed by a 3:30 full-pads session.

"We're in a hard stretch here," Hauck said. "We've been going a lot of days straight here. This is difficult, and it's meant to be."

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