Rebels to wrap up promising recruit package

Coach Robinson and staff line up winners for signing

With Wednesday's national letter-of-intent signing period less than 48 hours away, new UNLV head football coach John Robinson and his staff have been busy putting the finishing touches on their first recruiting class.

Considering Robinson and company have barely had a month to recruit, they appeared to have made the most of their time.

The Rebels:

* Landed a much-needed, game-breaking running back in Jeremi Rudolph of Southwest Mississippi JC.

* Shored up their woeful quarterback situation with the commitments of midyear JC transfer Jason Vaughn (6-4, 205) of Middle Georgia JC and high school stars Ryan Hanson of Los Alamitos (Calif.) and Matt Ray of Quincy (Calif.)

* Got arguably the two top prep prospects in the state of Nevada in Cimarron-Memorial defensive lineman Kawika Sagapolu and Cheyenne High School QB/DB Lawrence Turner.

The Rebels also appear to have helped themselves at tight end, wide receiver and defensive back. Depending on the decisions of a few key defensive line prospects in the next two days, there could be marked improvement there as well next fall.

Here is a position-by-position review of commitments and other UNLV prospects.

Quarterback

COMMITMENTS: Jason Vaughn (6-4, 205, Middle Georgia JC); Ryan Hanson (6-2, 210, Los Alamitos, Calif., High School; Matt Ray (6-3, 190, Quincy Calif., High School).

STILL OUT THERE: None.

COMMENTS: With only one quarterback, sophomore Chris Hayward, returning on scholarship, this was Robinson's No. 1 priority. Vaughn, who dazzled UNLV coaches and players with his leadership skills during his recruiting visit, already is enrolled and will give Hayward a battle for the No. 1 job in spring practice. Hanson will likely see action as the team's long-snapper in the fall and will battle Ray for the No. 3 spot. Both are good athletes with better-than-average throwing arms at this stage of their careers. Two other incoming freshman recruits, Cheyenne High School star Lawrence Turner (6-0, 180) and Toby Smeltzer (5-10, 190) of Cimarron-Memorial, also will be given shots here. Arizona State transfer Chad Elliott, who expressed some interest in UNLV, which had urged him to attend junior college this year, decided to enroll at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo i nstead.

Running back

COMMITMENT: Jeremi Rudolph (5-10, 180, Southwest Mississippi JC).

STILL OUT THERE: None.

COMMENTS: The star of Robinson's first recruiting class, Rudolph was rated the No. 2 player in the state of Florida four years ago at Orlando Apopka High School behind Duante Culpepper and ahead of Peter Warrick before deciding to give professional baseball a try with the Toronto Blue Jays' organization. He is expected to be a Terry Metcalf type of runner and return man for the Rebels, who desperately needed an offensive player with his kind of big-play, momentum-changing ability.

Wide receiver

COMMITMENTS: Nate Turner (6-2, 200, Compton, Calif., JC); Michael Johnson (5-11, 180, Vista, Calif., High School).

STILL OUT THERE: None.

COMMENTS: Turner, who excelled on a Tartar squad that went 0-10, should step right into the spot vacated by all-time UNLV career receiving leader Damon Williams. He's a big target with good hands and the speed to turn a small pass into a big gain. He's already enrolled and will take part in spring practice. Johnson, who garnered four votes in the Long Beach Press-Telegram's presitigious Best in the West poll, was being recruited by the likes of UCLA earlier this year. He was regarded as one of the top three college prospects in San Diego County and was a key member of a Panthers squad that has won three straight San Diego CIF Section 4-A titles.

Tight end

COMMITMENTS: Jermaine Curtis (6-3, 230, Mississippi Gulf Coast JC); Leslie Brooks (6-4, 240, Moreno Valley, Calif., High School).

STILL OUT THERE: Van Brown (6-5, 225, Alhambra, Calif., High School).

COMMENTS: The Rebels had to sweat out a late visit by Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer to get Curtis, a Shannon Sharpe-type of H-back/tight end who should make an immediate impact in the fall. Brooks signed with UNLV last year and is one of former coach Jeff Horton's 5 1/2-year plan guys. Brown visited Oregon over the weekend and will decide between the Rebels and Ducks. Long Beach Poly tight end Jeremy Johnson (6-5, 200), who had a weekend visit canceled when Curtis committed, will likely wind up at Fresno State or UTEP.

Offensive line

COMMITMENTS: Greg Hulett (6-3, 290, Los Angeles Valley JC); Dominic Furio (6-3, 280, San Pedro, Calif., High School); Shane Lockhart (6-4, 275, Las Vegas Valley High School); Joel Menendez (6-3, 260, Las Vegas Silverado High School).

STILL OUT THERE: None.

COMMENTS: Hulett, an all-conference left tackle in JC who picked the Rebels over Indiana and BYU, will likely be switched to center, where he will battle for the starting job. Furio received early attention from USC and was a three-year starter for a Pirates' team that won back-to-back Los Angeles City Section 4-A titles in 1996 and 1997. Despite commiting to UNLV two weeks ago, he visited New Mexico over the weekend but reportedly still plans to honor his commitment. Lockhart and Menendez are two more of Horton's 5 1/2-year plan guys who must be resigned Wednesday and will count as part of this recruiting class.

Defensive line

COMMITMENTS: Kawika Sagapolu (6-4, 285, Las Vegas Cimarron-Memorial High School); Karman Saulsberry (6-4, 260, Northwest Mississippi JC).

STILL OUT THERE: Ahmad Miller (6-4, 280, Southwest Mississippi JC); Willie Sams (6-4, 285, Southwest Mississippi JC); Draper Redmon (6-5, 260, Northwest Mississippi JC); George Heather (6-6, 285, Santa Maria, Calif., Hancock JC); Travis La-Boy (6-4, 250, Napa, Calif., Marin Catholic High School).

COMMENTS: Anybody who watched UNLV's defensive line get pushed around last year realizes this was a high priority item, especially considering the loss of all-WAC defensive end Talance Sawyer to graduation. Sagapolu was the state's top recruit and should see some playing time at tackle. Saulsberry was probably headed to Oregon State until Robinson hired away Beavers defensive line coach Jeff McInerney to be his defensive coordinator. Miller, the only prospect to visit over Super Bowl weekend, and Sams, who already has an NFL defensive lineman's body, both reportedly are leaning to UNLV over Houston and South Carolina. Both are good friends of Rebel recruit Jeremi Rudolph. Heather and La-Boy have also visited UNLV as has Oxnard (Calif.) Rio Mesa defensive end Kevin Mack (6-4, 225), who committed to Oregon.

Linebacker

COMMITMENTS: None.

STILL OUT THERE: None.

COMMENTS: With a talented group of youngsters like James Sunia, La'anui Correa, Austin Allen and Bill Cofer already on board, this was not a high priority item. Rebels zeroed in on only a few top-notch prospects including Cimarron's Arnold Parker (Utah), Vacaville (Calif.) High School's Josh Rogers (Oregon) and Long Beach (Calif.) Poly High School's Dennis Link (UCLA), and lost them all.

Defensive back

COMMITMENTS: Tosh Burrus (6-0, 185, Santa Rosa, Calif., Montgomery High School); Alvin Lee (5-10, 175, Southwest Mississippi JC); Dion Jackson (6-0, 180, Las Vegas Valley High School); Jamal Wynn (6-0, 185, National City, Calif., Sweetwater High School); Lawrence Turner (6-0, 180, Las Vegas Cheyenne High School); Toby Smeltzer (5-10, 190, Las Vegas Cimarron-Memorial High School).

STILL OUT THERE: None.

COMMENTS: A major weakness a year ago figures to get a whole lot stronger with this group. Burrus was the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat's Offensive Player of the Year this past season after rushing for 2,242 yards and 30 touchdowns but is considered an even better defensive prospect. Lee is a top-notch JC corner who should see immediate action. Jackson, the Las Vegas Player of the Year in 1997, and Wynn are two more Horton 5 1/2-year guys who are very athletic. Turner and Smeltzer will both get a shot at quarterback first but could wind up on the other side of the ball if things don't work out well on offense.

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