unlvrebelx
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Let me first say that, if you haven't noticed, UNLV's fans are severely lacking in enthusiasm for this upcoming football season. You have to realize that this program has been absolutely terrible for the past 25+ years, and every blip on the radar of success, has led to the fans jumping on the bandwagon...only to be disappointed year after year. It's hard to knock the fans too much. We have little history, but we do have a willing and waiting fanbase....it's just been a very long wait! Also, the success of basketball and the prospects of the current basketball team really take the fans attention away from football.....but, regardless of fan support, I've been impressed by Coach Hauck's tenacity and single-mindedness....where other coaches have complained about the fan support of basketball, and not as much toward football....Hauck understands and has even mentioned he's got to build this program so the fans aren't embarrassed and want to support....he understands.
Hauck is one of those serious, intense coaches. His lack of success so far can be summed up as not having the right pieces in place to do what he wants, and him being more than willing to sacrifice early successes for his long-term plan.
It appears that his #1 priority when he came to UNLV was to get size on the lines, and to get bigger running backs.....Hauck, since he's arrived, has recruited 5 or 6 O-linemen that are 6'4" or taller....including 6'8" Brett Boyko, a former Canadian HS quarterback, that was 2nd team All-American All-Freshman team....it's clear coach wants size on the line, and he's brought many linemen in, and most of them have either grayshirted or redshirted, and then last year, he sat more experienced players to get his redshirt/grayshirt players in.
The past two years, UNLV has been in the top five youngest teams in the country, and that's been tough; but because Hauck wanted to make sure they were ready for the future, he played his young players A LOT MORE than some fans could appreciate.....but from many, many accounts, there was a method to the madness and the young players are now "Veteran" Sophomores (some Juniors) and have looked, in practice, 10 times better than in previous years....there's a underswell of excitement that's been growing, and many feel there's going to be some success this year.....but the fans here and tempered about the rumors because we've been burned many times over by our excitement....and after two wins last year, and losing huge to a 1AA team, you can't blame us.
That said....my overall assessment is that our lines are going to be solid/good.....outside of the lines, we're probably mediocre (at best) on the defensive side of the ball.....offensively, we've lost most our receivers and if we're going to be any good at receiver, that remains to be seen because we've lost so much production there....so I expect it to be a weakness until proven otherwise (when redshirt, former walkons are getting the most pub from practice, you probably need to worry).....
On the offensive side of the ball, the area where UNLV fans are most excited is running back....we do have three solid backs in Tim Cornett (very fast, and good sized downhill runner), Dionza Bradford (also fast, and big, and probably the best overall back we have), and Bradley Randle (smallish, shifty back that has a high motor and is the change of pace back).....
other than that, we really don't know what to expect...QB is a complete unknown
I don't think we'll come out of the gates very strong......I expect a loss in the first game, but I'm hoping we can pick things up after that....
I wish I could give more, but I already said quite a bit without saying much.....so good luck in your travels to Vegas (if you're heading down) and feel free to help our economy out....spend as much as you can
Hauck is one of those serious, intense coaches. His lack of success so far can be summed up as not having the right pieces in place to do what he wants, and him being more than willing to sacrifice early successes for his long-term plan.
It appears that his #1 priority when he came to UNLV was to get size on the lines, and to get bigger running backs.....Hauck, since he's arrived, has recruited 5 or 6 O-linemen that are 6'4" or taller....including 6'8" Brett Boyko, a former Canadian HS quarterback, that was 2nd team All-American All-Freshman team....it's clear coach wants size on the line, and he's brought many linemen in, and most of them have either grayshirted or redshirted, and then last year, he sat more experienced players to get his redshirt/grayshirt players in.
The past two years, UNLV has been in the top five youngest teams in the country, and that's been tough; but because Hauck wanted to make sure they were ready for the future, he played his young players A LOT MORE than some fans could appreciate.....but from many, many accounts, there was a method to the madness and the young players are now "Veteran" Sophomores (some Juniors) and have looked, in practice, 10 times better than in previous years....there's a underswell of excitement that's been growing, and many feel there's going to be some success this year.....but the fans here and tempered about the rumors because we've been burned many times over by our excitement....and after two wins last year, and losing huge to a 1AA team, you can't blame us.
That said....my overall assessment is that our lines are going to be solid/good.....outside of the lines, we're probably mediocre (at best) on the defensive side of the ball.....offensively, we've lost most our receivers and if we're going to be any good at receiver, that remains to be seen because we've lost so much production there....so I expect it to be a weakness until proven otherwise (when redshirt, former walkons are getting the most pub from practice, you probably need to worry).....
On the offensive side of the ball, the area where UNLV fans are most excited is running back....we do have three solid backs in Tim Cornett (very fast, and good sized downhill runner), Dionza Bradford (also fast, and big, and probably the best overall back we have), and Bradley Randle (smallish, shifty back that has a high motor and is the change of pace back).....
other than that, we really don't know what to expect...QB is a complete unknown
I don't think we'll come out of the gates very strong......I expect a loss in the first game, but I'm hoping we can pick things up after that....
I wish I could give more, but I already said quite a bit without saying much.....so good luck in your travels to Vegas (if you're heading down) and feel free to help our economy out....spend as much as you can
