Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Green Valley’s Brown first local in UNLV football’s 2018 class

Las Vegas Sun HS Football Portraits

Christopher DeVargas

Eric Brown, of the Green Valley HS football team, poses for a portrait at the Las Vegas Sun’s high school football media day August 2, 2017, at the South Point.

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017 | 5:03 p.m.

The UNLV football program received its first verbal commitment from a local player for its 2018 recruiting class. It comes in a position where the Rebels have many locals in key spots.

Green Valley High offensive lineman Eric Brown announced his commitment today on Twitter, posting, “I decided to commit to the very first school that believed in my ability to play.”

UNLV was the first to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive lineman, who also had offers from Hawaii and UNR.

The Rebels’ offensive is dominated by local players. Jaron Caldwell (Bishop Gorman), Julio Garcia (Gorman), Justin Polu (Silverado), J’Ondray Sanders (Basic) and Zack Singer (Gorman) have each started games this season. Coronado’s Donovan Outlaw, a redshirt freshman, is part of the second unit.

There are about 22 locals currently on the UNLV roster, including Mike Hughes Jr. and Dalton Baker — arguably the Rebels' top defenders — and Devonte Boyd, one of the program's best all-time receivers. Coach Tony Sanchez has long expressed his desires to build the program with locals, and Brown is the first from 2018 to commit.

Verbal commitments are non-binding until a letter of intent is signed. The early signing period is Dec. 20-22.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21