Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich quarterbacked old Las Vegas Gladiators

Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich knows what it’s like to call Las Vegas home, if even for a short time, and he has a part in the city’s football history.

He played quarterback in 2007 on the final Las Vegas Gladiators team before the Arena Football League squad left for Cleveland.

The Gladiators played their first four seasons at the Thomas & Mack Center, but moved to Orleans Arena for their final year, when attendance dropped roughly in half to an average of 5,383.

“I remember practicing on the parking lot,” said Rolovich, whose Rainbow Warriors play UNLV at 3 p.m. Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium. “The circus was in town. The elephants made a few accidents that ended up dripping into our practice field. It was good times.”

Though the Gladiators went 2-14, Rolovich completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 1,253 yards and 23 touchdowns with four interceptions.

“I loved the Las Vegas Gladiator days,” Rolovich said. “We didn’t win many games, but I remember a win at Utah. We beat them on a last-second throw. It was an awful decision by me. I should’ve thrown it away. We should’ve kicked a field goal. We ended up catching it with like .1 seconds left.”

Breaking out

Much was expected of UNLV senior wide receiver Devonte Boyd, but he went through a recent three-game stretch in which he caught six passes for 45 yards. That changed in Saturday’s 26-16 victory at Fresno State when Boyd caught five passes for 62 yards.

UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said offensive coordinator Barney Cotton made a concerted effort to get Boyd involved early.

“Boyd’s a real emotional guy,” Sanchez said. “When you get him involved early, it’s really going to add a spark. I think the thing that he did, too, that was really needed, he added a lot of leadership. He came out and he was loud and vocal, and he was real communicative. I think that got him going.

“He’s been a great player ever since he got to campus. He’ll continue to be that for us. He’s going to help us down the stretch tremendously.”

Boyd, who went to Basic High School, has 189 career receptions, 13 behind Casey Flair (2005-08) for second place in school history. Boyd has 3,107 career receiving yards, putting him 388 behind all-time leader Ryan Wolfe (2006-09).

New series with Cal

UNLV announced a four-game series with California beginning Aug. 29, 2020, in Las Vegas at what could be the first college football game at the new Raiders stadium.

The Rebels will play at Cal in 2022 and 2025, and the Golden Bears will visit UNLV in 2026.

Family night out

Being a college coach means a lot of missed time at home, so Sanchez wanted to make sure his assistants didn’t miss out Tuesday night for Halloween.

“All of our guys that have kids, I will kick them out of the office right before the sun goes down because you don’t get those opportunities back,” Sanchez said Tuesday. “Sometimes we grind, we grind, we grind and we forget that those are special moments. I’ll get home and throw on my pirate hat and hand out some Snickers bars.”

Injury update

Rebels junior linebacker Bailey Laolagi and junior cornerback Jocquez Kalili, who are being held out of contact at practice with shoulder injuries, are questionable for Saturday, Sanchez said.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.