Vic Viramontes and Farrell Hester to split snaps at linebacker

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 | 2 a.m.

Few recruits have committed to UNLV with as much fanfare as Vic Viramontes. The 6-foot-2 linebacker was the No. 2 junior college linebacker available in the Class of 2019, and with offers from TCU, Nebraska, Baylor and Boise State, there was reason for celebration on Maryland Parkway when Viramontes committed to the Rebels in December.

The hype was stoked even further when Viramontes announced his commitment with a selfie in which he cosplayed as his larger-than-life neon namesake, Vegas Vic.

Fast forward to Sunday night, however, and UNLV’s first depth chart of the 2019 season showed Viramontes listed as a co-starter at middle linebacker, along with returning junior Farrell Hester.

On Monday, head coach Tony Sanchez said it hasn’t been a case of Viramontes not living up to expectations, but rather a competitive training-camp battle that brought out the best in each player.

“When you look at those two guys, what they’ve done is they’ve elevated each other’s level of play,” Sanchez said. “Obviously Vic came in with a lot of accolades. Farrell’s a guy that’s been a good steady Eddie, but now he’s getting ready to go into his junior year and that’s kind of when you hit your stride. What I’ve loved is that it’s taken Farrell’s game to a whole other level and it’s pushed Vic to a whole other level.”

Viramontes joined the Rebels in time to be a full participant in spring practice, and he and Hester were listed as co-No. 1’s throughout those sessions.

As a sophomore at Riverside CC last year, Viramontes produced 66 tackles, 1.5 sacks and one interception in his first year as a defensive player. Hester played in all 12 games UNLV last year, starting five and posting 33 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.

Sanchez said that in the Rebels’ preferred 3-4 alignment, both Viramontes and Hester are middle inside linebackers and he doesn’t expect any situations in which they would share the field. That means when one plays, the other will be on the sideline.

Hester will get the start on Saturday in the season opener against Southern Utah.

“You’re going to see those guys probably play about an equal amount of snaps,” Sanchez said. “Farrell will probably get the start right away, settle Vic in a little bit, then Vic’s going to get in there. They’re going to split that job 50/50.”

While UNLV fans may be concerned that Viramontes couldn’t win the job outright, Sanchez sees his MIKE platoon as a good problem to have.

“I don’t see them being on the field at the same time, based on skill sets,” he said. “Vic’s a little bit faster, Farrell’s probably a little bit more knowledgeable right now of the system, reads things a little bit quicker. That’ll come with Vic. But both of those guys are really good.”

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