Hauck’s recruiting pitch a hit with locals

UNLV's football recruiting figured to take a hit this offseason after recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach Ty Gregorak was arrested in early May and forced out of the program.

But that doesn't appear to be the case.

In conjunction with the school's quick, decisive action to remove Gregorak, recruits' enthusiasm for first-year Rebels coach Bobby Hauck seems to have blunted any negative effects.

"He comes and sells, especially to Las Vegas kids, that they're building something special here," said Brandon Huffman, Scout.com's West recruiting manager. "A lot of guys with offers from Utah and Pac-10 schools are mentioning UNLV much more prominently. It isn't like in the past when guys were looking for any and every reason to get out of Las Vegas."

Hauck brings instant credibility to UNLV after a successful seven-year run at Montana, where he led the Grizzlies to three Football Championship Subdivision title games and an 80-17 record.

The Rebels, in contrast, haven't had a winning season or bowl appearance in 10 years.

Attracting local players was one of Hauck's top priorities when he was hired in December. Of the 20 who signed Feb. 3, eight were from valley high schools.

UNLV has no commitments for the current class, but that's not unusual at this point. As in his first class, Hauck is making locals his priority.

"I like how they're trying to keep the talent in Vegas," Palo Verde running back Brandon Wright said. "The other staff (under Mike Sanford), I don't know about, but they didn't try to keep all the kids in Vegas."

Wright, a Rivals.com three-star recruit, has about a dozen scholarship offers, many from Pac-10 and Mountain West conference schools, including UNLV. He favors California and Colorado, but said UNLV is "in the picture because I want to stay close to home."

Bonanza running back DeSean Martin, another Rivals three-star, also has been offered by UNLV. He also is considering Colorado State and Northern Arizona.

"UNLV is one of my top picks," he said, explaining that UNLV's staff reminds him of the player-friendly coaches at Bonanza. He also said Gregorak's situation could have occurred just about anywhere.

Gregorak was charged in Boulder, Colo., with theft and trespassing after allegedly breaking into a bar bouncer's car and taking a .45-caliber handgun and a wallet. The charges were dismissed Friday; prosecutors determined the case wasn't strong enough for conviction.

Even so, Hauck said opponents haven't tried to use the incident against UNLV.

"Recruiting in general in football, most guys are pretty positive," he said. "When we recruit, we don't talk about other schools. We talk about us."

Hauck long has been known as an excellent recruiter, dating to his days as an assistant at Colorado and Washington. That reputation only grew at Montana, and even with a late start for this year, he put together a UNLV class that impressed recruiting experts.

"Hauck has more to do with recruiting than most head coaches do," Scout.com's Huffman said. "He's a guy who will sell the vision, sell the school. Even head coaches who are dynamic let the assistant coaches do the legwork."

Hauck said he thinks a head coach must be hands-on.

"I think that, not just here, if you don't have a head coach to close the deal, you're working with a deficit," Hauck said.

The best way to lure top recruits is to win, which won't be easy this season, even with a veteran team that fell one victory shy of bowl eligibility the past two seasons. UNLV faces possibly the toughest schedule in school history, with nine of 13 opponents having appeared in a bowl game last season.

The Rebels open against Wisconsin on Sept. 4 at Sam Boyd Stadium. They also host Texas Christian and play at West Virginia, Brigham Young and Utah.

If the Rebels surpass expectations, Huffman said Hauck is capable of parlaying that into more recruiting gains.

Huffman cited Washington, which went 5-7 last season under first-year coach Steve Sarkisian. He took over a program that went 0-12 in 2008 and has made solid recruiting gains this year.

"The first year, if you win one or two games, you can say it's with players you inherited and it's usually a wash," Huffman said. "But if you win five or six games, there's hope about what (the coach) can do when he starts getting more talent and more of his guys."

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