Gabe McCoy wants to make impact despite being ineligible for opener

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019 | 2 a.m.

The UNLV defense won’t be at full strength in Saturday’s season opener against Southern Utah, and it’s because of 10 snaps from the 2015 campaign.

In the second game of that season, a 37-3 home loss to UCLA, the Rebels used freshman linebacker Gabe McCoy on a handful of special teams plays. The idea was to get his feet wet at the Division I level, but it ended up being McCoy’s only playing time of the season; he redshirted the rest of the way.

McCoy has since blossomed into one of UNLV’s best defensive players, as he led the team with 13.5 tackles for loss last season. But over the summer, the NCAA ruled that because he was active for that 2015 game, he’ll have to sit out the 2019 opener.

McCoy will be eligible to play in the remaining 11 contests on the Rebels’ schedule this season, but this week the senior captain's main job will be helping his replacements prepare for game day.

It wasn’t an easy ruling for McCoy to swallow, but he’s making the best of it.

“It’s a hard situation,” McCoy said. “I love this game, and missing a game, it messes with you. I’m doing everything I can to help out. That’s what I’m supposed to do as a leader on this team, so I’m going to get the young guys ready. They’ll be ready and they’re going to be just as good as me out there on the field.”

McCoy’s role shifted from that of a traditional linebacker to more of an edge rusher last season — a hybrid position called the “Rebel” in Tony Sanchez’s system — and the results were revelatory. He tied for the team lead with 4.0 sacks and, and Phil Steele named him as a preseason second-team All-Mountain West selection.

Once McCoy is free to suit up in Week 2 against Arkansas State, he plans to pick up right where he left off.

“Last year was a real good breakout season for me, especially going from linebacker to more of an edge,” he said. “I want to reach those numbers again, even higher numbers. I want to lead the conference.”

In McCoy’s absence, freshman Jacoby Windmon is listed as the starter at the Rebel position. The New Orleans native is a little smaller than McCoy (Windmon is 6-foot-2, 210 pounds compared to McCoy’s 6-foot-2, 220 pounds), but as an early enrollee he was able to go through spring practice with the team.

After a full training camp at the Division I level, Windmon is raring to get on the field and make his mark.

“I feel like I’m fitting in the program well,” Windmon said. “I’m still adjusting to it. This is definitely a transition, from high school to here, but based on what we’ve been doing in practice I feel good about Saturday.”

Windmon said McCoy has been working with him, helping the youngster learn the finer points of the edge-rushing trade in advance of his college debut.

“We’ve got a very close relationship,” Windmon said. “He helped me with a lot. He helped me with my hands, got my hands a lot faster. We’ll always stay after [practice]. We’ll do the hurdles, get my hip mobility going, get me loose. He’s always there when I need him, coaching me up.”

Though Windmon has respect for his captain, he fully intends to capitalize on his big opportunity on Saturday.

“I’m going to make a lot of big plays,” Windmon said. “I’m going to make sure of that. I know Gabe’s a good player, but my goal is to be better.

“I’d describe my style of play as a fast, physical dog,” he continued. “I like to hit. I like to make the crowd go ‘Oooh.’ You’ve still got to have fun with the game. I like to have fun and play hard at the same time.”

That attitude is fine with McCoy, who plans to be the Rebels’ most vociferous coach/cheerleader against Southern Utah.

“I’m going to be me,” McCoy said. “I’m always that guy that brings energy. I’m the juice guy, everybody knows that, but I’m also going to be a coach. I’m going to coach up the young bucks and the young linebackers, but for sure I’m going to bring the juice and make sure everybody is on top of the game, being loud and everybody is communicating and having fun out there.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.