UNLV football eyes competitive fall camp

If UNLV spring football was boring from a newsmaking standpoint, the program's August preseason camp should be anything but dull.

There should be intense competition at tailback, rush end and in the secondary. All three are areas of need for a team where newcomers could have a considerable impact.

At tailback, incoming freshman Bradley Randle will compete to replace Frank Summers, who as a two-year starter rushed for 1,668 yards.

Coach Mike Sanford stopped short of saying Randle needed to win the job, "but it's open for him to do that."

Randle was a three-star prospect listed by Scout.com and Rivals.com as the nation's No. 50 running back. He will face a crowd of competition at UNLV.

Sophomore C.J. Cox entered spring drills as the No. 1 back and ended it sharing the position with senior Chris Brogdon, who came on strong as camp ended last week. Redshirt freshman Imari Thompson and junior Channing Trotter, who are listed as even in backup roles, are also in the mix.

Cox, who gained 191 yards last season, is the leading returning rusher.

Sanford said finding a starting tailback and improving the quality of his backup linemen were the two greatest concerns on offense.

Defensively, the focus is on finding someone who can chase down quarterbacks and on solidifying the secondary.

UNLV recorded 11 sacks last season, second-to-last in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels signed three-star junior college prospect B.J. Bell, the brother of former UNLV linebackers Beau and Zach, to improve the rush.

Though Bell doesn't arrive until August, Sanford already has him listed as even with senior Heivaha Mafi. Bell was ranked the nation's No. 45 junior college prospect by Rivals.

"Mafi had a good spring and Mafi's a good player, but if B.J. Bell can be a great pass rusher coming off the edge, yes, I think that's a great thing," Sanford said. "I wouldn't really say (we need that), but that would be awesome if that could happen, if he can be a dynamic player for us this year."

The secondary is really open. Only senior nickel back Terrance Lee has nailed down a spot, an important position considering how many spread teams the Rebels will face this fall.

The four other secondary positions are listed as even battles for starting jobs.

Sophomore Deante Purvis and junior Warren Zeigler are at one cornerback spot, and junior Quinton Pointer and sophomore Will Chandler are at the other.

Sophomore Chris Jones and junior Alex De Giacomo are co-No. 1s at one safety position, and junior Travis Dixon and senior Marquel Martin will fight for the other spot.

Secondary was such a concern that the Rebels signed three midyear junior college transfers, and another transfer, junior Mike Grant, will arrive in August and compete at cornerback.

Sophomore cornerback Kenny Brown was hampered by a hamstring injury, but Zeigler and De Giacomo seemed to make the most of arriving early from junior college ball.

"Zeigler, excellent, really good spring, right in the middle of this thing," Sanford said. "I'm anxious to watch (Brown) in the summer and fall. De Giacomo is right in the middle of the competition at the safety position. Those were good additions."

• NOTES -- Sanford said the players who had the best spring were junior defensive tackle Malo Taumua, senior wide receiver Rodelin Anthony and sophomore receiver Michael Johnson. ...

Sanford leaves today to visit his son, Mike Jr., who recently became Yale's tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator. While in the area, he said he also might see how the New York Giants and Jets run their operations.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. To see how the entire depth chart breaks down, go to lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.