What Mountain West coaches, players are saying about UNLV football

By Jesse Granger

Friday, July 28, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Since Tony Sanchez took over the UNLV football team in 2015, he has preached about changing the culture of the program.

The change is obvious, from the sharp uniforms and turf design at Sam Boyd Stadium, to the hip hop-themed practices. After only three wins in his first season at the helm, and four in his second, Sanchez and the Rebels finally appear ready to see results on the field.

The media certainly think so. UNLV was predicted to finish third in the West Division — the highest preseason mark the Rebels have received since the Mountain West split into divisions in 2013.

Here are what some of the players and coaches around the conference had to say about the Rebels during this week’s media days.

Asauni Rufus, defensive dack, UNR

UNLV has traded the Fremont Cannon with its rival in five straight seasons, with UNR capturing it last year. UNLV heads to Reno in the season finale on Nov. 25, where the Rebels have won two straight times. Rufus, a junior defensive back, had five tackles and an interception in the Wolf Pack’s 45-10 win against UNLV on Nov. 26, 2016.

Losing the (Fremont) Cannon in Mackay Stadium was devastating. You know in Reno that’s what you play for, so having a hand in losing it was disappointing, so helping bring it back was that much more sweet.

Jahlani Tavai, linebacker, Hawaii

With an unofficial rivalry, UNLV and Hawaii always seem caught in nail-biting games. The Rebels edged the Warriors by three points last season on the Big Island and have won three of the last four games between the two. This year, they host Hawaii Nov. 4. Junior linebacker Tavai had 14 tackles in the Warriors’ 41-38 loss to UNLV on Oct. 15.

My first year playing out here was pretty exciting. It was my first time in Las Vegas and I didn’t expect to have that many fans out here. It’s called the “Ninth Island” and it feels like another home game even though it’s UNLV’s home turf.

The games (with UNLV) have been exciting because they’ve always been close. I know there’s a little rivalry going on between us and I always look forward to them.

Josh Allen, quarterback, Wyoming

The Cowboys won’t play UNLV, but Allen — who is currently the top NFL quarterback prospect according to many experts — had one of the biggest games of his career in last year’s 69-66 loss to the Rebels. Allen threw for 334 yards and four touchdowns in the triple overtime game.

That was crazy. We were at the 1-yard line, third and 13 with 36 seconds left and we were able to drive down the field. Tanner Gentry made a left-handed catch and I was begging coach to go for two because I knew it would be tough to stop (UNLV) in overtime.

They played extremely well in that game and they had no quit in them, and neither did we. They just fought a little harder at the end.

I think we had the No. 2 and No. 3 plays in SportsCenter’s top 10 that week, and Gentry had a few one-handed catches. It was one of the craziest games I’ve ever been in, but hopefully we don’t have to score 66 points in a game ever again.

Mike Bobo, coach, Colorado State

Colorado State doesn’t play the Rebels in 2017, but coach Mike Bobo may have some insight into what the Rebels' next few years of recruiting may be like. The Rams will be moving into their brand-new $220 million stadium this season, but Bobo has used it as a recruiting tool for three years.

My first year we had videos and computer drawings that we showed. The second year we could walk them through the concourse with a lot of walls and tell them "This is going to be here, here’s a view of what it will look like."

It’s going to raise the bar of what we are trying to do there. It’s a great tool for recruiting. Let’s be honest — 16-18 year old kids like new things and they liked to be wowed. It lets them know the resources are here for them to develop.

Rocky Long, coach, San Diego State

The Aztecs are back-to-back conference champs after an 11-3 season in 2016. San Diego State has won three straight, and nine of the last 11 meetings over UNLV. With the new practice facility and stadium on the horizon for UNLV, Long thinks the Rebels could get a major boost.

I think Tony does a great job coaching and a good job of recruiting, and the more things he has to recruit with the chance of getting players increases. Anything that you do that helps recruiting helps your football team.

Normally UNLV is a very skilled, fast football team.

Andre Chachere, cornerback, San Jose State

The Spartans have owned the Rebels as of late, winning seven straight against UNLV. The Rebels hope to end that streak on Sep. 30 when they host San Jose State at Sam Boyd Stadium. Senior cornerback Chachere had five tackles and a forced fumble in the Spartans’ 30-24 win over UNLV on Oct. 29, 2016.

I feel like sometimes we had those stretches where it’s difficult but I can see them doing some big things. They’re a good program and I like competing with them.

Bob Davie, coach, New Mexico

New Mexico and UNLV have split the last 12 meetings an even 6-6 and have very common issues with sustained success in football. Lobos coach Bob Davie spoke with media about issues with recruiting due to older facilities and one of the lowest budgets in the conference. He believes UNLV’s situation is similar, but it might not be for long.

They’re going to have a brand-new stadium that’s state of the art, and there’s a commitment there. They are a nontraditional situation, similar to ours in a way, in that both of our campuses are full of commuters and that’s a tough situation.

That stadium will make that all of a sudden a very attractive destination, and the momentum of that, even though it’s going to be three years until they play in it. They are moving in the right direction and they’re doing it in a nontraditional way with the Raiders, but that’s a nontraditional place in Las Vegas.

Matt Wells, coach, Utah State

The Aggies haven’t faced a Sanchez-coached UNLV team but will for the first time on Oct. 21 when they travel to Las Vegas. The Rebels went 2-2 in games decided by a touchdown or less in 2016, and had a few other close games get away in the final quarter. Utah State had even more issues in close games, going 0-4 in such contests.

We haven’t played them in the last two years so we’ve kind of missed them. I certainly have a lot of respect for coach Sanchez, knowing him from when he was a high school coach through recruiting.

He’s got a good staff and they recruit hard. They are going to be in close games and if you find a way to win those games that’s how you turn a program around. That’s how you get people excited to raise money and turn things around.

I think coach Sanchez and UNLV are on the right track.

Troy Calhoun, coach, Air Force

The Falcons will face UNLV for the first time in three years when they host the Rebels on Oct. 14. Coach Troy Calhoun recruits the Las Vegas Valley heavily and has noticed the rise in talent level in recent years.

UNLV is a program that’s going to be very, very strong with recruiting. If you look at their location and went 300 miles in any direction you start talking about Phoenix and Southern California, in addition to how strong the high school football is here in Las Vegas.

It’s amazing the ascent and how excellent the high school football play is here in the Las Vegas area. It’s an area we’ve recruited pretty strongly.

Bryan Harsin, coach, Boise State

The last time UNLV beat Boise State was in 1976 — a week before Broncos’ coach Bryan Harsin was born. Since entering the Mountain West Conference in 2011 Boise State has beaten UNLV four times by an average of 24 points per game. Last season’s 17-point loss was the Rebels’ best showing in Boise and Harsin has seen UNLV’s improvements from year to year.

Being around (Sanchez) I think he’s done a good job. I think he’s working to put in place the facilities and things like that we all know we need to be successful.

He leads his team well. We’ve had the chance to play against them a couple times and from what I’ve seen it’s a team that’s gotten better and that tells me the coaches have them headed in the right direction.

Jesse Granger can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Jesse on Twitter at twitter.com/JesseGranger_.