Cox to return from injury Wednesday

ELY — Sophomore C.J. Cox is expected to take a step Wednesday toward rejoining the competition for UNLV's starting tailback.

Cox, who has been limited in football practice because of a hamstring injury, is expected to take part in half of drills this morning and about 75 percent of Friday's drills. The team is off Thursday to travel back to Las Vegas.

The hope is Cox will be completely ready to go Saturday, which is two weeks before the opener against Sacramento State at Sam Boyd Stadium. A decision at tailback probably will be made in about a week.

Coach Mike Sanford said Cox would be given every chance to win the position "within reason. I mean he can't go up till the day before the game. He's got to prove (it). Right now, we've got some guys that are going. Not that it's his fault that he got injured, but at the same time, we've got a time issue. As we get closer to the game, we've got live situations, and those are the only things we have to evaluate."

There hasn't been a rush to bring Cox back because hamstring injuries can linger if the player doesn't rest. The hope is he would be completely ready to when the season begins.

"I tried to come back a little bit earlier, probably about a week ago, but I hurt (the hamstring) again," Cox said. "We're just being real cautious right now."

OTHER POSITIONS

Sanford said there wasn't the same type of urgency to find a punter or figure out the cornerbacks and safeties, that all the positions could go up to the first game. The cornerbacks and safeties starters could depend on opponent and alignment anyway and change from week to week.

STILL GOING STRONG

The Rebels didn't scrimmage this morning, but that doesn't mean they backed off on their intensity.

"It was a very, tough, physical, hard practice," Sanford said.

PRACTICE HIGHLIGHTS

— Senior nickel back Terrance Lee had a nice breakup of a pass to senior wide receiver Jerriman Robinson.

— Sophomore quarterback Mike Clausen zipped a nice deep pass to junior wide receiver Tate Knutson.

— Junior quarterback Omar Clayton threw a perfect pass to sophomore wide receiver Michael Johnson over two defenders down the right sideline.

— Junior safety Calvin Randleman had a nice breakup of a pass to junior tailback Channing Trotter, and junior cornerback Warren Zeigler had one of a pass to Knutson.

— Senior wide receiver Renan Saint Preux made a tough catch with freshman cornerback Cedric Coleman providing tight coverage.

— Clayton threw a pinpoint pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Wolfe, who made the reception at the right sideline even with Lee providing tight coverage.

— Saint Preux made a difficult catch while falling backward.

AWARD TIME

Senior defensive end/linebacker Jason Beauchamp is on the watch list for the Lombardi Award, which goes to the nation's top offensive or defensive lineman.

At practice this morning, junior tackle Matt Murphy wore the black jersey for the offense and junior linebacker Ronnie Paulo for the defense, meaning they were the top practice performers Monday. The other nominees were Robinson on offense and senior tackle Martin Tevaseu on defense.