UNLV football recruiting: 5 takeaways from signing day

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017 | 3 p.m.

Tony Sanchez introduced UNLV's 2017 recruiting class today, welcoming 14 high school recruits and four junior college prospects to the program. This group will eventually form the nucleus of the Rebels, so how did Sanchez and his staff make out on the recruiting trail? Five takeaways from the incoming class:

Quality over quantity

UNLV only added 18 players, leaving three open scholarship spots for potential walk-ons or transfers. The smallish size of the class hurt the Rebels in some recruiting rankings, but Sanchez believes in the quality of the players who did sign on the dotted line.

“To me it’s the quality, not the quantity you’re bringing in,” Sanchez said. “Some years you’re going to bring in 25; some years you’re going to bring in 15. It just kind of depends on the numbers…It’s one of those deals where you’ve got to believe in what you’re doing, your evaluation process.”

Sanchez pointed to some of the Rebels’ more productive players as examples of recruits who outperform their rankings.

“I like the guys we brought in. I think they’re guys that are going to help us win a bunch of football games. No one knew who Lexington Thomas was a couple years ago, and he’s a heck of a player. I’m not sure how highly recruited Devonte Boyd was coming out of high school, and I think he’s done pretty well for himself. There’s all kinds of guys out there.”

It will be two or three years before we know if any of the 2017 recruits turn into the next Thomas or Boyd, but for now it sounds like Sanchez is content with the potential of the incoming class.

Local recruiting

One of Sanchez’s main objectives when he was hired was to clamp down on local recruits and not let them out of the state. UNLV has made some progress in that area, as safety Greg Francis (Bishop Gorman), linebacker Farrell Hester (Bishop Gorman) and quarterback Marckell Grayson (Desert Pines) are some of the headliners of the 2017 class, but Sanchez knows there is still a long way to go before the Rebels have Vegas on lockdown.

Sanchez pointed to the construction of the Fertitta Football Complex, set to break ground in the spring, as a potential turning point in future recruiting battles.

“We’d love to keep ‘em all home,” Sanchez said. “We offered over 20 kids [from Las Vegas]. I think we kept three amazing kids home, but until that building is built, until we continue to have progress, it’s going to be tough to keep some of those kids home.”

Las Vegas continues to produce an impressive amount of talent, with some locals opting for Big Ten and Pac-12 and other Power Five offers. Sanchez knows the Rebels can’t quite compete with those schools yet, but he thinks UNLV is becoming a more viable option for homegrown stars.

“We’re not getting beat by teams in our conference, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “The great thing about it is there’s not one kid that went to a big-time school that didn’t come see us. Not one. There’s not one kid on the list that didn’t come into my office, sit down with me, walk out there at spring football, come watch a practice. The overwhelming majority stood on the sidelines before a game. So they’re participating in the process, and a lot of them for the first time. In the past, those kids would never show up.”

Rebuilding defense

UNLV’s defense wasn’t very good in 2016, and the Rebels are losing a lot of experienced players from that unit. But the 2017 class offers some potential reinforcements, with Hester and Francis standing out as potential impact players early in their careers. Hester is a physical, 6-foot, 240-pound linebacker who led Bishop Gorman in tackles the last three years, while Francis is a 6-foot-2 safety who could compete for a role immediately, as the Rebels graduated both of last year’s starting safeties.

Sanchez also pointed to juco linebacker Jacob Rominger and prep linebacker Spencer Katoanga as players who could come in and compete for snaps right away. (The coach even likened Katoanga to graduated star linebacker Tau Lotulelei, though it was more about Katoanga’s hair than his playing style.)

Long-term projects

Not every recruit can contribute right away, and Sanchez singled out offensive lineman Ashton Morgan and defensive lineman Nate Neal as players with long-term upside.

Morgan is a 6-foot-5, 295-pounder from Chico, Calif., who drew praise from Sanchez for his quick first step. Neal is a 6-foot-3 pass rusher who needs to be introduced to the weight room (he’s currently listed at a lean 215 pounds), but Sanchez said Neal’s fast-twitch athleticism intrigued the coaching staff.

Morgan and Neal were both rated as 2-star prospects by Rivals.com, but Sanchez thinks both could eventually be molded into contributors.

O-line opening

UNLV only graduated one offensive lineman from last season’s two-deep depth chart, but that one player won’t be easy to replace, as center Will Kreitler was one of the leaders up front. But Sanchez thinks juco product Sid Acosta could be a suitable replacement.

A 6-foot-1, 305-pounder from California, Acosta is already enrolled at UNLV and will participate in spring practice, which should give him a leg up on claiming the starting job.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.