Bishop Gorman recruits plan to ‘Play Like A Champion’ for UNLV

Borrowing a phrase from Notre Dame, the words "Play Like A Champion Today" are prominently displayed on a sign in the Fertitta Athletic Training Center at Bishop Gorman High School above the doors leading to the football field.

Play like a champion is exactly what three-star Gaels offensive linemen Jaron Caldwell and Julio Garcia II plan to do at UNLV for Tony Sanchez, their former Bishop Gorman coach.

"Next year, we're definitely going to win. There's no question about that," Caldwell said. "I know for a fact, with him being coach, the next couple of years we'll be in a bowl game and have a really good chance to be the Mountain West champion.

"The way he works and the way he pushes all the players and the other coaches to work, I know he's going to turn UNLV into something great. I'm really excited to help turn around the program and be a part of something special."

Best friends and team captains for the two-time defending national champion Gaels, Caldwell and Garcia were the first two players to commit to the Rebels' 2016 recruiting class, arguably the best in UNLV history with a school-record 10 three-star recruits. The 6-foot-3-inch, 315-pound Caldwell and 6-3, 325-pound Garcia pledged their allegiance to UNLV in February 2015, less than three months after Sanchez was hired.

"I always wanted to go to UNLV. Having coach Sanchez as a coach is a big plus," said Garcia, who represented the United States in an under-19 all-star game against Canada on Sunday at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

"I felt bad. I've been living in Las Vegas all my life and UNLV wasn't a very good program and I wanted to make a difference," he said. "I like playing for coach Sanchez because he's a winner and he expects a lot. He only wants tough guys and those are the type of players I want to be surrounded with."

Since becoming the earliest UNLV football commits, Caldwell and Garcia have spurned scholarship offers from Boise State, Colorado State and other schools.

"Those guys were loyal and stuck it out and it's going to pay dividends," said Sanchez, who guided Bishop Gorman to an 85-5 mark and six straight state titles before leaving for UNLV in December 2014. "What they're going to do and be a part of here is going to be pretty darn special and this town won't forget.

"It's kind of like (Gorman product and UNLV freshman Stephen) Zimmerman in basketball. It's a big deal when a local guy decides to make UNLV his home. It won't just pay off for him for the next four years, it will pay off for him for the next 50 years."

While a pipeline from Bishop Gorman to UNLV would be ideal, Sanchez — whose brother, Kenny, replaced him as Gaels coach — also plans to mine other local talent, such as signee Donovan Outlaw, a two-star offensive lineman from Coronado.

"We hope to have Las Vegas as a pipeline," he said. "I think we're going to have to work just as hard to recruit Gorman kids as we will any other kid in town. There's nothing given. I think my brother being there obviously adds some familiarity and all the time I spent there, but at the same time when push comes to shove you've still got to go recruit them.

"Now me being here at UNLV, I don't look at Gorman as, 'Those are my guys.' I look at Las Vegas as, 'Those are my guys.' I want every school in this town to have a relationship with UNLV."

The Rebels had offered scholarships to several other local products, including three-star Desert Pines defensive end Anthony Smith, who signed with Colorado State; three-star Desert Pines offensive lineman Samuelu Poutasi, who signed with Oregon; and two-star Legacy defensive end Derriyon Shaw, who signed with Boise State.

"Our job is to make sure we're in the fight for all our local guys," Sanchez said. "We don't ever want a local guy who we feel can help us win to leave here without us doing our due diligence and making sure we recruited him in the appropriate way."

Caldwell and Garcia both hope to contribute as true freshmen for the Rebels.

"Jaron's got a huge upside. He's a guy who can come in and compete right away on Day One," Sanchez said. "Julio's another guy who physically probably has the tools to come right in and push the group right away and add depth."

The same can be said of several members of UNLV's recruiting class.

"There's a lot of guys here that can come in and push the group and that's really what we want," Sanchez said. "It's a culture of competition. It has to be that way. Nothing should ever be comfortable."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33