Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008 | 11:33 p.m.
While UNLV is shuffling items around with its defensive depth chart to cope with some injuries, upcoming opponent Arizona State is trying to find ways to get its younger guys up front more game reps.
To be specific, one of those defensive stoppers is freshman Lawrence Guy, a Western High product making an early impact for the No. 15 Sun Devils.
"I expected to work hard and see what they were going to let me do," Guy said. "I'm fortunate to have the chance to play a lot as a freshman.
"All I did was work really hard at all the things they told me to do. Coach told me I could be a big help for the team, and (asked me) 'Would I like to play this year?' I knew I was going to be playing. I just didn't know what was going to happen when I started playing."
The results are positive so far.
Guy, heralded a year ago by Rivals.com as the top senior recruit in Nevada, has seen significant snaps in his first two games at ASU, totaling 4.5 stops so far.
Now he gets a shot at some familiar faces, being a former high school teammate of current Rebels Phillip Payne and Ronnie Paulo.
Guy said he and Paulo text back and forth a couple of times each week.
Knowing the foe a little better than normal may be an added incentive for Guy to focus strictly on UNLV this week, as some of the buzz surrounding ASU is already next weekend's showdown in Tempe with No. 2 Georgia.
Though he says it won't be an issue for anyone.
"This week is UNLV," Guy said. "So all we're looking at is UNLV."
A chicken stir
Apparently, there were some conspiracy theorists who went against the decision by a local chain of Chick-fil-A restaurants in the Phoenix area's decision to hand out 'Bring on Georgia' signs last week at Sun Devil Stadium.
Arizona State, who of course faces UNLV this Saturday, will play its highest-profile non-conference game next Saturday against the No. 2 Bulldogs.
According to the Arizona Republic, 16 franchise locations in the area combined this year to become an Arizona State football sponsor, having contributed more than $40,000 already to the athletic department.
The confusion came when some wondered if the signs were connected with Chick-fil-A's national headquarters - located in Atlanta, not too far from the UGA campus in Athens - as a way to secretly support the Dawgs.
"They were not aware we were going to put the signs out," local chain owner Jeff Myles told the Republic. "We're a new partner and still learning the ropes."
Miller familiar with Carpenter ... kinda
UNLV junior Jimmy Miller, expected to split snaps almost evenly with sophomore Ronnie Paulo at the middle linebacker post this week, doesn't have much of a history with ASU standout quarterback Rudy Carpenter.
But he has some.
Miller, a Los Angeles product, has a brother who grew up playing quarterback. Jimmy would tag along to the Air Seven Quarterback Camps, where the current Sun Devil star was honing his skills.
"He's got a strong arm, and he's got good pocket presence," Miller recalled. "Rudy Carpenter's a very smart quarterback. I've known him since he was young. He knows where the ball's going, and you've got to find out where it's going as fast as you can with a guy like that, because he's gonna expose you if you're a stp late.
"He's your average Southern California quarterback right there - A lot of technique drilling, he's very sound with his feet and his drops. You've got to do the same.
TV schedule
Fox Sports Net will televise Saturday's game live, which is set to kick off at 7 p.m. PST. It will also air on a tape-delay basis on other FSN channels beginning as early as 9 p.m.
Injury note for ASU
Linebacker Gerald Munns played through some pain en route to earning Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors. He had a team-high seven stops and the first pick of his career in the Sun Devils' 41-17 victory over Stanford last weekend.
He did so with a broken pinkie on his left hand.
He'll opt to wait a week now before playing with that injury. Munns will sit this Saturday against UNLV, but should return when ASU takes on Georgia.
There is still no word on the status of star tailback Keegan Herring, who tweaked a nagging hamstring injury in the Stanford game.
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