Newcomers making an impact on defensive line

Entering the start of fall practice this week, the biggest question surrounding the 1999 UNLV football team was the defensive line.

Three starters, including all-WAC defensive end and team MVP Talance Sawyer, had graduated. Most of the returnees were either inexperienced and/or woefully undersized. Others, it would be fair to say, probably had no business being in a Division I program.

But if the first two days of fall practice are any indication, Rebel defensive coordinator Jeff McInerney can breath a little easier.

Don't expect the second coming of the Steel Curtain, but thanks to a handful of talented newcomers, the Rebels appear to have the makings for at least an adequate defensive front when they open the John Robinson era on Sept. 2 at North Texas.

Two highly touted junior college transfers, Ahmad Miller (6-4, 308) and Anthony Suggs (6-1, 270), along with star prep recruit Kawika Sagapolu (6-4, 285) of state champion Cimarron-Memorial High School have more than lived up to their press clippings so far. And late signee Saeed Abdul-Malik (6-4, 245), older brother of USC all-Pac-10 defensive end Sultan Abdul-Malik, and walk-on tackle Dietrich Canterberry (6-4, 295) of Lynwood, Calif., High School have also been pleasant surprises.

In fact, it wouldn't be surprising to see Miller, Suggs, Sagapolu and Abdul-Malik in the starting lineup in the Rebels' opener if they continue to improve during the next couple of weeks.

"It's a day-to-day deal," McInerney said following practice Tuesday morning at Rebel Park. "You don't come in and pronounce them starters. Obviously, their ability level is above what we have. That's a fact."

And it's just as obvious that returning starter Rod Jones and spring practice stars such as Bill Cofer, Bret Gilbert, Ahmad Briggs and Alonzo Jones better be ready to rumble for playing time when two-a-day workouts begin for the entire squad on Thursday morning.

"To this point, (the newcomers) have been everything that I'd thought they would be," McInerney said. "Our evaluation on film has been correct. Everything we have expected of them to this point has been as good, if not better, than we thought, especially Sagapolu."

Although there were times during his senior year when some scouts questioned whether he might be overrated, Sagapolu, who has dropped 20 pounds to 285 since the start of the summer thanks to a rigorous conditioning program, has shown outstanding quickness to go along with his good size and strength (350 bench).

"I don't want to build this kid up too much because he's a local kid and you put all these high expectations on him like he's going to carry the program," McInerney said. "But he's wickedly talented."

Miller also has shown excellent mobility despite his size (6-4, 308). He bench presses 400 pounds.

"He's done wonderful," McInerney said. "We have a weight challenge in that for him to be as effective as we need him to be, he probably needs to lose about 15 pounds. It's got to be gradual, though. He's very talented. He's quick and can burst. But he needs to lose a little weight for his overall agility and to keep away from injury."

Abdul-Malik "reminds me so much of his brother. He's the same kind of player."

Suggs, who has bench pressed 500 pounds, should be an effective inside run stopper for the Rebels.

"He's short, but he's exactly what we said he was," McInerney said. "He's blue collar, has great feet after contact and plays with great pad level. He's going to make tackles."

* THOMAS DEBUTS: It was a day later than he had hoped, but quarterback Jason Thomas, a transfer from USC, finally got to work out with his new team on Tuesday.

Perhaps the top recruit in UNLV history, the 6-4, 230-pound Thomas was to have practiced on Monday night. However, he found himself in the doctor's office after becoming dehydrated and suffering from a migraine headache.

"The one thing I learned is to drink a lot of water out here," Thomas, who grew up near the cool breezes of the Pacific Ocean in Carson, Calif., said. "That was tough. (The dry desert heat) is something I've got to get used to."

Thomas said he had never had a migraine before.

"I couldn't see, I was light-headed and I thought I was going to throw up," he said. "I went back to my room and I couldn't sleep. ... Part of the problem is that all I had to eat that day was a nutrition bar. It was a combination of not eating right and not getting enough fluids."

Thomas, wearing his familiar No. 2 jersey, got a number of reps on Tuesday along with freshman recruits Matt Ray and Ryan Hanson and walk-on JR Davies.

"It felt really good to get back out there again," he said. "Just being around the guys is a feeling that you miss."

Thomas, who earned a rare unanimous 10 votes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram's Best in the West poll of college coaches his senior year at Compton's Dominguez High School, must redshirt this year. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

* RADIO DEAL CLOSE: UNLV athletic director Charles Cavagnaro, who stopped by to watch Tuesday's early 7 a.m. practice on the way to work, said the school should have a new radio contract "by the end of the week."

Cavagnaro said almost 2,000 new season tickets have been sold.

"Considering where we were at last year (0-11), that's pretty impressive," he said.

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