Optimism

Am I optimistic? Yes. Is that a good thing? Of course it is! An optimist thinks everything is a good thing. Before I go on, let me mention that I am one of those UNLV Football fans that every year I somehow spill this out of my mouth, “This year is the year.” So before this optimism wears out. Let me tell you why this year is the year.

Mike Sanford is a fantastic coordinator. He will have alot of success as a coordinator. Simply put, he isn’t Head Coach material. Bobby Hauck however is a good head coach. He fits well in UNLV. He is hard-nosed, understands west-coast recruiting, defensive minded, and carries a small ego. His career at Montana speaks for itself.

-7 Conference Titles

-3 National Title Appearances

-5 Seasons of 11+ Wins

-0 Seasons with a losing record

That last point to me is the most important. UNLV has failed to have a winning season since 2000. I was 11 years old and probably spent half the game watching cartoon network, and the other half the game jumping up in down in my Jason Thomas jersey.

Bobby Hauck reminds me a lot of Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. They both yell, and are known for having tough practices. In fact, they have a similar records.

-6 Conference Titles

-3 National Title Appearances (1 Championship-2000)

-9 Seasons with 11+ Wins

-0 Seasons with a losing record

When Sanford got fired, we had to wait for a new Athletic Director before finally getting a new head coach. I thought that Hauck was the best option available. The last thing UNLV needed was another coordinator and must I say it, a softie.

Short term, Hauck will install a simple offense and an efficient defense. Just enough to possibly get a winning season in his first three years.

Long term, we have a guy who is experienced in west coast recruiting. He was an assistant coach in Washington, and UCLA. So far, he has done a simple idea that all other previous coaches forgot to consider. Las Vegas athletes. For years, we saw some of our top athletes move out of state to play football. Before even starting this season, he already has a handful of local talent. Talent that likely would have ended up with conference rivals.

I don’t think that it is a stretch to say that his Montana teams could beat UNLV.

I know we are a basketball school, and I don’t consider that a bad thing. The underlying challenge that Coach Hauck has is to accomplish is filling up Sam Boyd Stadium and getting local residents to care. The only way to do that is getting more numbers in the “W” column then in the “L” column. Lon Kruger did it with basketball, and the Mack is as loud as it has been years.

Omar Clayton is a consistent QB. With the exception of one game, he threw for over 50% all year and had a passer rating of over 100 in all but two games. With a simpler offense, those numbers could go up. We have depth in the QB position with Mike Clausen as a more then effective backup.

The running back situation is up in the air. Besides Frank the Tank and Dominique Dorsey, its hard to think of some consistent backs the Rebels have had over the past 10 years. But now, with a simpler offense, with a handful of backs that can share the load. We might be able to see consistency on the ground game.

As I said earlier. Mike Sanford was a great coordinator and will go on to be a great coordinator in college football. UNLV has finally got a Head Coach that isn’t past his prime. f think the future is bright for UNLV Football. Then again. I’m an optimistic.

and optimistically thinking....... This is our year.