Freshman Payne catches on, earns starting nod for Rebels

UNLV coach Mike Sanford was careful to caution it wasn't set in stone, but the football team's depth chart for Saturday's opener against Utah State lists incoming freshman Phillip Payne as a starting wide receiver.

Sanford said much can change between now and the 7 p.m. kickoff at Sam Boyd Stadium, such as the offensive formation the Rebels take on the field for the first play.

But even if Payne doesn't start, his place atop the depth chart is a statement for what he accomplished after graduating from Western High School.

"To put a freshman there means a lot to me because (coaches) have confidence," Payne said.

Another newcomer, junior college transfer Terrance Lee, nailed down a starting job at strong safety.

Lee did it without the benefit of being with his new teammates in the spring or summer so he could finish schoolwork at Arizona Western College in Yuma.

"I just wanted to come out and compete and do whatever I could to help the team even if I wasn't starting," Lee said.

Lee beat out fellow junior Wiselet Rouzard, who now also must hold off incoming freshman and Shadow Ridge High graduate Chris Jones as well as sophomore Travis Dixon.

"The No. 2 part of it is very much up in the air," Sanford said.

Sophomore Channing Trotter is No. 2 at tailback, and probably will keep that slot in the game.

Incoming freshmen C.J. Cox and Imari Thompson also are in contention, and Sanford said all three will play.

"But it's really not like a (Nos.), 2, 3, 4," Sanford said. "It's more like a 2, 21/2, 2 5/8."

The Rebels still don't know sophomore right cornerback Quinton Pointer's status. He has been out since the first week of training camp with a dislocated left elbow, and the likely replacements would be senior Lorenzo Bursey Jr. or redshirt freshman Will Chandler. Junior Ryan Tilliman also is a possibility.

The kicker and punter jobs are still close.

Sophomore and Bonanza High grad Ben Jaekle, who handles kickoffs, is battling junior Kyle Watson to kick field goals and extra points, and a decision could be made late in the week.

The punting choice between junior Brendon Lamers and senior Dack Ishii might not be decided even by then.

"We might even go into the game and punt them both," Sanford said.

• NOTES -- Defensive tackle Jacob Hales is the recipient of the Tom Wiesner Award and will wear the Wiesner jersey this season. The honor goes to the senior who best exemplifies the "courage, enthusiasm, dedication and toughness" of the late Tom Wiesner, a longtime UNLV football booster. ... Wiesner will be inducted posthumously into the Wisconsin Hall of Fame on Friday. Wiesner is being inducted as a former Badgers football player, boxer and booster. Wiesner died in 2002 of leukemia. He was 63.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.