Gorman grad Orth making early splash for UNLV

By Christopher Drexel

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 5:25 p.m.

Beau Orth admits he was a bit out of position, like true freshmen often are.

The 2008 Bishop Gorman graduate and UNLV safety/linebacker was supposed to be a few yards deeper in coverage on the defining play of his tenure with the Rebels.

But when he saw Arizona State’s offense in trips formation, Orth had done enough research during the week that he had a good idea what was coming — three slant routes to the inside.

When one of the Arizona State receivers got free, Orth saw Sun Devil quarterback Rudy Carpenter’s eyes focus on the open man. So Orth broke on the ball and a second later had his first collegiate interception. He returned the interception nine yards to the Arizona State seven-yard line, and three plays later, UNLV scored a touchdown to tie the game up, 10-10.

It was one of the biggest plays in a game that saw the visiting Rebels go on to upset the then-No. 15 team in the nation, 23-20, in overtime. It's already considered one of the greatest victories in the program's 40-year history.

“It was a lot of coaching and just a little bit of luck,” Orth said of his interception. “I had the opportunity to play and I made the most of it. To be able to contribute in that win as a freshman is just amazing. It was so exciting with that big crowd to beat the No. 15 team in the country. I was just happy to be a part of it.”

It was just two months earlier that Orth didn’t expect to be a part of UNLV’s football team in 2008. The coaching staff initially expected to grayshirt Orth, meaning he would enroll at UNLV for the spring 2009 semester and he wouldn’t spend his first year of eligibility until 2009-2010.

But a week before the Rebels departed for preseason camp in Ely, Orth got a call saying his services would be needed. Even then, there was a chance Orth would redshirt. But Orth impressed coaches enough to get him on the field less than a year out of high school.

“We expect every freshman to redshirt, but when you got to use him, you got to use him,” UNLV defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell said. “We needed a backup that could play against teams that were going to be in three wides when we put out our nickel personnel. Beau can play very well in spaces. He has good hands and can run, and that’s what we need.”

Orth had his work cut out for him in camp with the Rebels. At Bishop Gorman, he played almost exclusively at safety, but in Ely, the UNLV coaches asked him to play a mobile linebacker position to come in games on third down to blitz and play coverage.

So far, Orth has four tackles, a pass breakup, a forced fumble, a tackle for loss and the interception while playing in five of UNLV’s six games.

Therrell said it was Orth’s enthusiasm and work ethic that earned him a spot on the team as a true freshman.

“Beau is the type of person that when he makes a mistake, he feels like he let everybody down,” Therrell said. “It just makes him sick. He has a look like someone just punched him in the stomach. One day he made a mistake in practice and the next day I found out he went and watched film after practice for two hours. If you get enough guys like that, you’ll win a lot of football games.”

Before his first season of college football is complete, Orth said he wanted to gain weight — he currently weighs 208 pounds, down from 215 his senior year at Gorman — and learn as much as possible.

He said there is no greater motivation to work hard than getting a chance for more playing time on the team he grew up watching. Orth added he couldn’t imagine playing college football for anyone other than the Rebels.

“When we went to Ely, we were gone for three weeks and I hadn’t seen my mom and dad, and I was like, ‘This kind of sucks,’” Orth said. “If I was gone until Christmas break playing for another school, it’d be over, man.

“It’s good to be able to see my folks once a week and play in front of the hometown crowd. I’m really loving it here. I just want to help the team.”