In the true spirit of Las Vegas, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham is holding his cards close to his chest this week. The third-year coach has refused to name who will start at the quarterback position against UNLV.
“It will be a game-time decision,” Whittingham said.
Brian Johnson returned to practice this week after sitting out two games with a separated shoulder, but it is uncertain whether the coaching staff will risk playing him against the Rebels.
Regardless of whether Johnson plays or not, Whittingham has made it clear that freshman Corbin Louks will be a part of the offense for the rest of the year. Louks came in on spot duty against UCLA and gave the Utes a legitimate running threat under center.
“Corbin Louks is going to be part of the package each and every week,” Whittingham said. “We think he adds a similar type of spark that the Weddle package added last year. It’s a little different, though, in the fact that we have a viable thrower out there. Corbin knows the offense in its entirety, so it’s just a matter of us picking which set of plays that we want to construct for him.”
Meanwhile, backup Tommy Grady played his best game to date against the Bruins, completing 17 of 30 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns.
Prior to the UCLA game, the Utes were planning on rushing Johnson back to the field for UNLV. But, with the emergence of Grady, the Utes will likely take a more conservative approach to bringing him back.
“Obviously, we want to get Brian back as quickly as possible, but the nature of the injury is such that the longer we can delay the return, the less risk of re-injury,” Whittingham said.
Whoever plays at quarterback tomorrow will have to be aware of Rebels’ linebacker Beau Bell. The Butkus Award candidate (top linebacker) has been wreaking havoc throughout his career at UNLV, and this year is no exception. In just three games, Bell has already recorded 31 tackles and two sacks.
“Beau Bell is the heart and soul of their defense,” Whittingham said. “He’s a tremendous defender, and he’s all over the place. He’s doing the same thing he’s done for the past three years, and you’ve got to always understand where he is lined up. He’s the guy that makes plays.”
Bell and the Rebels are up against more than just a question mark at quarterback. They are going up against history. UNLV hasn’t beaten Utah since 1979 and have been the victim to a Utah win 11 times.
“Obviously, this is an important game because of who Utah is and what their history has been in this conference,” said UNLV head coach Mike Sanford. “In order to make noise in this conference, you have to beat Utah.”
Both the Rebels and the Utes have the luxury of knowing how the other team will line up offensively. Sanford was once the offensive coordinator for the Utes and still runs the spread offense, as does Utah.
But while the Rebels have failed to establish a running attack in their first three games, the Utes are enjoying the coming out of Darrell Mack.
The junior from Spring Valley, Calif., rushed for 107 yards on just 19 carries last week against a Bruins team that had stifled the run up to that point. Mack also proved a viable threat in the Utes’ passing game, catching two touchdowns in the upset victory.
The Rebels’ biggest running threat is freshman quarterback Dennis Dixon. In the Rebels’ season opener against Utah State, Dixon rushed 129 yards and one touchdown. Since that game, however, the freshman has been kept under control, rushing for a combined total of 46 yards over two games.
“You can tell (Dixon) doesn’t lack confidence by any means,” said Utah safety Steve Tate. “He makes plays, so we’ve got to be ready to stop the run because he’s a double threat for us.”
The Rebels share an identical 1-2 record with the Utes, but have taken a different route getting there.
After opening the season with a 23-16 win over the Utah State Aggies in Logan, UNLV showed what they are truly capable of, nearly upsetting then-No. 5 Wisconsin. The Rebels actually led 13-12 with just under two minutes left before the Badgers made a comeback and won the game 20-13.
All of that promise and progress came to a screeching halt last week when No. 19 Hawaii went into Las Vegas and shredded the Rebels 49-14.
The Utes, on the other hand, are coming off one of the biggest upsets in school history. Although his team looked good in nearly every facet against the Bruins, Whittingham is weary of a letdown.
“We’ve got to understand that as nice as that win was against UCLA, it’s one game,” Whittingham said. “We’ve got to build upon that. We can’t get caught up in ourselves or any of that type of thing. We’ve got to go right back to work.”