UNLV football gets lesson on discipline during scrimmage at Nellis Air Force Base

By Taylor Bern

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015 | 4:43 p.m.

Lt. Col. Cameron Dadgar, the commander of the 549th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, knows a lot about being a leader. It’s less an attribute than a requirement in his career.

If he had been called upon from the sidelines Saturday to give an impromptu pep talk to a UNLV football team holding its first-ever practice on the base, Dadgar might have leaned on a recent favorite about the pursuit of excellence.

It’s not something that can be compartmentalized, Dadgar would implore, rather something to pursue at all times in all fields. Basically, don’t expect to be an excellent football player if you turn around and slack off in school or your personal life.

Dadgar knew he didn’t necessarily need to be the guy delivering that message, because the players had already heard it and would continue to from the same guy who shared it with Dadgar: first-year UNLV coach Tony Sanchez. In a quasi-exchange program that saw Dadgar’s boss, Col. Kenny Smith, visit UNLV on the day players reported for camp, Sanchez recently came to Nellis to meet with a small group and discuss leadership.

“He’s looking to build a culture of excellence,” Dadgar said, “and that’s exactly what the military tries to promote in its best leaders.”

In other words, Sanchez fit right in Saturday under a cloudless sky and an unforgiving sun, running his players through the first scrimmage of the year. The Rebels took over an all-purpose field at Nellis and ran through about 60 plays in front of a handful of fans.

In recent years at this time the Rebels would have been up in Ely, where temperatures would have felt 20-30 degrees lower than on top of the field turf at Nellis. That, to Sanchez, is the point. There was a message behind traveling 30 miles northeast of campus to the base during the hottest time of the day.

“Think about the mission of the Air Force on a daily basis,” Sanchez said. “They do not put their guys in comfortable situations. They put them in the hardest situations so when that obstacle comes, they’re ready and prepared for it.”

The heat didn’t seem to bother starting quarterback Blake Decker, who was solid and continued his burgeoning connection with sophomore receiver Devonte Boyd. Decker tossed a couple of touchdown passes and after the scrimmage shrugged off the extra heat that likely came with the quarterbacks’ new black jerseys.

“I’d rather look good in a black jersey than be cool and comfortable in a yellow jersey,” Decker joked.

The defensive highlight of the day was probably cornerback Jonavaughn Williams returning an interception for a touchdown when a receiver slipped out of his route. The pick wasn’t entirely the fault of quarterback Kurt Palandech, but it wasn’t exactly an aberration for the backups, who hardly completed a pass when Decker wasn’t in the game.

For the scrimmage, the quarterbacks were all “live” except Decker, whom the defense wasn’t allowed to touch. Decker will get some live reps in camp, too, but Saturday’s decision plus the performances from guys behind him shows how important Decker will be to the offense.

In fact, the main takeaway might have been that the pursuit of excellence in any form will have to start with Decker remaining healthy and leading from the field.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.