UNLV notes: Preview magazine names Thomas first-team QB

Jason Thomas has yet to officially throw a pass for UNLV's football team.

He still hasn't even been named the starting quarterback for the Rebels heading into fall practice.

But the sophomore transfer from USC, regarded by some scouts as the top prep athlete to come out of Southern California in more than a decade, is already a first-team all-Mountain West Conference quarterback pick.

Lindy's Football Annuals named Thomas its first-team all-MWC quarterback as well as its Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year in issues that hit the newsstands this week.

Four other Rebels -- running back Jeremi Rudolph, offensive tackle John Greer, cornerback Kevin Thomas and punter Ray Cheetany -- were first-team all-MWC picks by Lindy's, while linebacker James Sunia and kick returner Duane James were second-team selections.

"Oh, wow," Thomas said when informed of the news. "I appreciate it."

"This is a guy that could play at any program in the country --- yes, maybe even USC if given the chance --- and he's going to make a big splash in the Mountain West," Lindy's senior editor Don Borst said of the selection.

The 6-5, 230-pound Thomas was asked if he might feel any extra pressure because of the huge preseason buildup.

"No, they can't expect any more of me than I expect of myself," Thomas said. "I've been working out hard twice a day. I'm doing everything I can to get myself ready for the upcoming season."

Thomas was listed a tri-No. 1 on UNLV's final spring depth chart with sophomore Matt Ray and senior Jason Vaughan.

"Jason is still very much in a learning mode at this point in his career," UNLV coach John Robinson said. "Most of the people who rate him like that probably haven't seen him play or practice yet. But we do have very high expectations for him. Still, you've got to take it one step at a time."

That's quite a jump compared to where the Rebels were a year ago. UNLV was ranked 86th last year by Lindy's and 83rd in 1998.

One magazine that apparently is still not very impressed with UNLV is Athlon, which picked the Rebels 88th nationally and to finish seventh in the MWC this year. Lindy's picks the Rebels to finish fourth behind Utah, BYU and Colorado State while The Sporting News tabs UNLV fifth.

Schembechler, who developed a close friendship with Robinson from their old USC-Michigan Rose Bowl battles, was invited to stop by UNLV by Robinson, who also showed Bo some of the better sights on the Strip during his stay.

"That was pretty awesome," UNLV offensive line coach Rob Boras said. "We didn't just talk about the X's and O's kind of stuff, but also about different motivational things. Just being able to sit there and ask him questions and get his perspective on the game today and how he'd do things ... you could have sat there 10 hours and not run out of things to talk about."

The main entrance in front of the Lied Athletic Complex is having a patio installed along with several walls.

"I'd like to put plaques with our Hall of Famers and co-captains on those walls," Robinson said.

An even bigger project is the installation of new lights for the field. The Rebel Football Foundation raised $100,000 for the much-needed upgrade.

"You could barely see the ball at night out there," Robinson said. "We had to use a bunch of noisy generators. But with these improvements our practice field will now be one of the best."

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