Lofty goals keep Cornett grounded

Tim Cornett walked off the practice field at 9:15 p.m. Monday and, after conducting two media interviews, headed into the locker room.

He planned to be asleep by 10:30, so he could wake up in plenty of time for an 8:30 a.m. class Tuesday.

These days, Cornett always seems on the run - giving UNLV one of its few bright spots this young football season.

The junior running back publicly set eye-opening goals of 1,600 yards rushing and 2,000 all-purpose yards. He is on an early pace to reach both.

Entering Friday's 6 p.m. game against Washington State at Sam Boyd Stadium, Cornett has rushed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 5.6 yards per carry. He is on pace to finish with 1,807 yards rushing; his 317 all-purpose yards place him in line to hit 2,061.

Cornett, though, said his expectations are even higher than the surprisingly high goals he previously announced.

"I feel like I went above and beyond in the offseason, and I feel like with the goals I really short-changed myself," Cornett said. "But I felt like I would've come off overconfident or cocky."

Coaches are trying to be careful with how they use Cornett, who missed most of the second quarter in each of the first two games. Coach Bobby Hauck said he doesn't want to wear down the 6-foot, 210-pound back.

"I feel like the coaches know what they're doing by sitting me out," Cornett said. "I felt like that helped me a whole lot during the games."

But Cornett hasn't exactly been ignored, receiving 25 carries in each of the first two games.

"A great tailback and a guy that can really play like he's shown, you 'feed the stud,' in essence," offensive coordinator Brent Myers said. "For a good guy like him who can handle it, who's physical, I think anywhere from 18 to 25 (carries a game) is a great number."

UNLV also is making a concerted effort to run a balanced offense.

Hauck doesn't want a repeat of last season's nonexistent air attack that allowed opponents to load up the box. He also knows the only way for a young quarterback to improve is to give him the freedom to grow and throw.

Redshirt freshman Nick Sherry has thrown 64 passes, but the run-pass ratio isn't tilted to him and his receivers as it might sometimes seem. UNLV has 84 rushes and 65 passes. Turn Sherry's five sacks into pass attempts, and the numbers are 79 rushes to 70 pass plays.

"That's what we want to try to establish is the confidence that we don't have to run it all the time," Myers said.

Many of the run plays have been up the middle. The Rebels want to wear down opposing defenses, and Cornett has down a knack for following inside blocking and picking up tough yardage.

But he also possesses outstanding speed, as shown by his 42-yard touchdown run after bouncing outside against Northern Arizona on Saturday.

UNLV called several toss sweeps against NAU to try to get Cornett into the open field.

"We may need to do a little more in going back and evaluating the tape," Hauck said. "He does have good speed."

In the season opener, Minnesota used a defensive scheme that limited the outside runs.

"We didn't have some of those plays available to us on the perimeter." Hauck said. "Against NAU, we missed some blocks on the perimeter that would've turned into a little more production."

But, considering Cornett rushed for 127 yards against Minnesota and a career-high 141 against NAU, Hauck noted, "We ran it pretty well."

■ NOTES - Tickets are on sale for the UNLV Hall of Fame induction ceremony Oct. 12 at the South Point. The 1984 California Bowl champion team, former football player Kevin Thomas and ex-basketball player Linda Frohlich headline the class. ... UNLV opened as an 11-point underdog, but the betting line has dropped to nine.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.