Notebook: Clausen could start at free safety Saturday

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 | 2:15 a.m.

A week ago, UNLV junior Mike Clausen, who was the Rebels' opening night starter at quarterback on Sept. 4, was auditioning to become a safety.

Now, he could be starting.

When UNLV (0-3 overall, 0-1 Mountain West Conference) takes on lowly New Mexico (0-3, 0-1) on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium, expect him to, at the very least, see a heavy workload at his new position.

An updated depth chart was released Monday, listing either Clausen or junior — and fellow former QB — Travis Dixon as the top dog at free safety.

"The game experience he got on Saturday is invaluable," UNLV coach Bobby Hauck said at his weekly press conference. "My comment to our defensive staff yesterday is I wish he had not played as well as he did at quarterback in camp so we would have been able to make that move in August.

"We're going to give him a chance this weekend, and I hope it proves to be a good decision."

Clausen and Hauck batted around the idea of him moving to safety in the spring, but opted for him to compete with senior Omar Clayton for the starting QB job. Clausen won the job for the Wisconsin game, but was replaced in the third quarter and didn't take a snap under center the next week at Utah.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Riverside, Calif., native was first used in kick coverage during Saturday's 30-7 loss at Idaho, and in the second half saw some action in the defensive backfield, finishing with one tackle to his credit.

On top of his duties as a quarterback at John W. North High, he played safety for four years as a prep standout.

"He understands the game," Hauck said. "He's big and fast — usually a good combination."

Youth is served

When Hauck put redshirt freshman quarterback Caleb Herring in for the brunt of the second half on Saturday, it was far from the first time he'd put a good amount of weight on the shoulders of a freshman this season.

One area where Hauck has yet to go too young is on the offensive line, where the Rebels have struggled so far in all three games.

UNLV quarterbacks were sacked six times this past weekend, and as a team this season, the Rebels are only averaging 91 yards per game on the ground and a meager 2.6 yards per carry.

The coaching staff does have a handful of true freshmen who they are high on for the future, but is not going to rush into decisions as to whether they burn some redshirt seasons.

Two of those prospects in particular are 6-foot-6 Cameron Jefferson, who projects as UNLV's left tackle of the future, and 6-foot-7 right tackle Brett Boyko, who was a late addition to the team this fall after originally planning on grayshirting.

Both are true freshmen and physical specimens and both are listed on UNLV's depth chart – Jefferson as the primary backup to senior Matt Murphy and Boyko behind both Evan Marchal and Yusef Rodgers.

"Those are hard questions right now," Hauck said. "I don't really have a good answer on that. I know we're gonna keep practicing them hard. Whether we actually burn their (redshirt) years or not, that probably remains to be seen. We want to have a good fall of practice for those guys, and if it's necessitated that we play them, then so be it."

All in the eyes

Hauck noted that his team's eyes were moving fast in the first half of Saturday's setback — or, in other words, they had a hard time relaxing and executing after Idaho scored a touchdown on an emphatic opening drive.

"Idaho didn't change (its offensive approach) in the second half," he said of what he saw on film. "We gave up 56 yards, three first downs and six points. So neither one of us put a different team out there, so we obviously didn't play as well in the first half as we did in the second half on defense and we got ourselves in a hole."

No taking New Mexico lightly

For as much as UNLV has struggled to find solid ground in its first three games under Hauck, the Rebels will enter Saturday's game at home as a 10-point favorite.

The line is fair, because for as inconsistent as UNLV has been, New Mexico has found next to nothing to hang its hat on in three blowout losses.

Granted, the Lobos' first three games have all been against teams that will find themselves in big-time bowl games this season — Oregon, Texas Tech and Utah —  but they haven't put up much of a fight at all on the defensive side of the ball.

They have allowed a mind-blowing 60 points per game, which by far ranks last out of 120 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision ranks.

Still, the Rebels are in no position to count a win as a sure thing.

"Obviously, they're a hungry football team," Hauck said of New Mexico. "They've got to be able to look at us and see an opportunity to win a game, and I'd expect them to come in and give a great effort.

"I don't think anyone ever goes into a season thinking they'll be in the fourth game looking for their first win. I know we didn't."

'Rules of American Football' clinic on Tuesday

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15, the UNLV athletic department and ISP Sports are hosting a "Rules of American Football" clinic on Tuesday.

Also, UNLV's next two games will be broadcast in Spanish in conjunction with ESPN Deportes.

The clinic takes place from 4-6 p.m. Attendees can watch UNLV football practice and have questions about the game answered. To reserve a spot, call Rosa Guzman at 895-3207 or via e-mail at [email protected].

This weekend's game against New Mexico and next Saturday's rivalry showdown with Nevada-Reno will be heard on their usual home on ESPN 1100 AM and 98.9 FM, but will also be broadcast live in Spanish on ESPN Deportes 1460 AM.

Martin Romero (Sept. 25) and Ralph Sotelo (Oct. 2) will provide the play-by-play, while former UNLV kicker Sergio Aguayo will add analysis.