Hard hit draws ire from receivers coach
ELY — A day later, UNLV wide receivers coach Kris Cinkovich still was upset.
One of his players, senior Rodelin Anthony, took a hard shot from sophomore cornerback Kenny Brown during a no-tackling drill Sunday, and now Anthony is out at least a week because of a concussion.
“When Rodelin’s down, somebody will step up and get some (repetitions) and hopefully be a better player,” Cinkovich said. “That’s how I look at it. There isn’t any other way to make any sense out of it.”
Anthony’s injury did not appear serious at first, and he even returned for a two-minute drill. He caught four passes for 65 yards over two drives. But coach Mike Sanford said Anthony began “to feel a little woozy” that night.
Anthony was coherent Monday, but trainers don’t want to take chances with a head injury. Like his position coach, Anthony wasn’t happy when the hit occurred.
“I really wanted to get up and sock him,” Anthony said of Brown. “I wanted to make sure I had a chance to get the ball and go right at him.”
Anthony didn’t get the chance because Sanford had thrown Brown off the playing field. Brown apologized to Anthony, who said there are no hard feelings.
Anthony appreciated that a fellow receiver, senior Jerriman Robinson, immediately came to his defense after the hit by yelling at Brown.
• INJURY UPDATE — Two wide receivers, Ryan Wolfe (stomach illness) and sophomore Phillip Payne (knee), returned to practice. But freshman wide receiver Mark Barefield aggravated a sprained right shoulder. He is expected to be OK.
Freshman offensive lineman Doug Zismann will miss at least a week because of a concussion.
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Read the latest practice reports at lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.