Rebels open spring practice a year older, hopefully wiser and definitely heavier

By Taylor Bern

Monday, March 7, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Tony Sanchez’s debut season as UNLV’s football coach finished with a 3-9 record that only felt like more of the same if you looked at nothing but the record.

On the way to three victories were four one-possession losses and enough simple what-ifs to fill the entire offseason. Such as, what if UNLV’s tackling hadn’t dropped off significantly as the season wore on?

“We gave up more than 800 yards after first contact,” Sanchez said. “… How good could we have been if we were just 50 percent in tackling?”

Or you could easily look at the single most important position on the field, quarterback, and wonder how much closer to .500 the Rebels could have gotten with better, or even more consistent, play at the spot. Senior Blake Decker was always in and out of the lineup because of injuries and sophomore Kurt Palandech struggled to beat opponents through the air, though he was effective on the ground.

“How many games did we go into last year where Kurt goes in and who’s his backup? It’s (redshirt Dalton Sneed), and you’re hoping not to pull that redshirt,” Sanchez said. “And that’s it, that’s kind of who we were.”

But it’s not who the Rebels are now as they begin spring practice this morning at 8:10. UNLV will be out at Rebel Park for 14 morning practices before finishing with the Spring Showcase at noon April 9.

The first difference people are likely to notice is at quarterback, where Palandech and Sneed are in a battle with perceived favorite Johnny Stanton, who transferred into the program from Saddleback College. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, Stanton started his career at Nebraska under current UNLV offensive coordinator Barney Cotton, who helped convince the physical quarterback that there could be playing time in the desert.

“Let’s face it, we all know we brought him here for a reason. We didn’t bring him here just to fill a roster spot,” Sanchez said. “… When you look out there, you’re going to see a huge difference in that group. Bottom line is, we have to be a tougher guy at that position.”

Depth will be the biggest way to improve the defense, but on offense Sanchez sees physical change as paramount. He wants the quarterbacks to be tougher, but part of that has to come from an offensive line that allowed 33 sacks last season, the second most in the Mountain West.

“That’s the biggest thing, we want to be a more physical group at the point of attack,” Sanchez said.

Left tackle Kyle Saxelid is walking around 22 pounds heavier than he played last season, Sanchez said, and that’s a trend throughout the line. They always knew they needed to get bigger, and now they want to combine that with the confidence that should come from playing a second season in the same system.

It also helps that the man in the middle is back to anchor things. Sanchez called senior center Will Kreitler the probable team MVP from last season and a likely team captain this year.

“Will Kreitler is Will Kreitler, he’s the best of the lot,” Sanchez said. “He’s a guy who can be a first-team all-conference guy. Kreitler is a freakin’ stud.”

The Rebels expect the offense to have some more weapons to play with, too, because while running backs Lexington Thomas and Xzaviar Campbell are back as sophomores, Sanchez thinks receivers Brandon Presley and Darren Woods Jr. are in line for bigger roles. Woods, a redshirt freshman from Missouri City, Texas, is an example of a guy the Rebels could have used a bit last season, but they felt it was better for his long-term development to sit out and keep the year of eligibility.

“Wait til you see this guy, he’s going to have an unbelievable year at wideout,” Sanchez said.

UNLV isn’t going to do things much differently this season. Instead, the Rebels believe that another year in the system plus another year of roster upgrades are going to lead to winning the kind of close games they lost last year.

Starting today, the next 15 practices are about putting in the groundwork to make that happen.

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