Monday, Aug. 15, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.
Heading into fall practice, wide receiver Tremayne Kirkland was being counted on to do big things in new UNLV head coach Mike Sanford's shotgun spread option offense.
And that was before the man Kirkland shared the H-Back position with, senior Alvin Marshall, was forced to quit football because of a heart condition.
Now the electrifying junior from Sacramento, Calif., is going to be counted on to shoulder an even bigger load in the Rebels offense.
Now the main issue is whether Kirkland's surgically repaired right shoulder is up to the task.
Kirkland, who led the Mountain West Conference in punt returns with a 12.6 average as a freshman, sat out the entire 2004 season after severely dislocating his right shoulder on a punt return in a fall camp scrimmage at Sam Boyd Stadium.
"(Ryan) Claridge landed on it and rolled on it and it just popped out of place," Kirkland recalled. "I had never been hurt like that before. It was the week before our (season-opener) at Tennessee, too. That made me feel even worse because I felt like I was letting the team down."
Kirkland eventually had surgery to repair the injury. A screw was inserted in his shoulder to help stabilize it.
"Then they wrapped it with cartilage just to make sure it wouldn't come out again," Kirkland said. "Then I had another surgery three or four months ago to take the screw out."
Kirkland saw limited non-contact action during spring practice while trying to pick up Sanford's new offense. And he survived Saturday's first practice in full gear without any problems.
"It's feeling good right now," Kirkland said. "I haven't really gotten hit yet, but for the little contact I have had, it's holding up pretty well."
Kirkland has added about 10 pounds to his still-slender 5-foot-11-inch frame after spending the summer in the weight room with team strength and conditioning coach Mark Philippi.
"I had to," said Kirkland, who now weighs 159 pounds. "Coach Sanford and I had a meeting before the summer and he stressed he really needed me to get in the weight room so I could get stronger and last the whole season and reach my potential as a football player."
Kirkland, who says he was timed at 4.32 in the 40 by the Tennessee Titans at the school's Pro Day two years ago, said he had done minimal weight lifting in the past.
"With Alvin out, it's even more important that I stay healthy for the team," Kirkland said.
Sanford, who compares Kirkland's explosiveness and quickness to a wide receiver he coached at USC, former NFL first round pick R. Jay Soward, agrees.
"He's a dynamic player," Sanford said. "He's extremely quick. He's a special player with the ball in his hands. But he only participated in about 25 percent of our spring practice because of the shoulder, so he's got a ways to go as far as picking up the offense. He's got to get to the point of knowing what he's doing without having to think about it."
Kirkland says that is his main focus in fall camp.
"I've got to be precise on what I do on each play," he said. "That's something Coach Sanford really stresses to us ... being very precise on how you run each play. That's what I am working on each day out here. I need to be precise ... and also stay healthy."
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