Rebels still striving to make local advances

He wanted to make a strong early statement that recruiting local players is important to him, and he went on to sign eight valley players in his initial class.

But it appeared that Las Vegans had stopped paying close attention to their local university when UNLV signed one player the following year and appeared as if it would sign just one this year.

Then Gorman players Marc Philippi and Ron Scoggins flipped on commitments to New Mexico the night before the Feb. 1 signing day, opting instead for UNLV.

Hauck is careful not to overemphasize what their signings meant to his local recruiting efforts, but there is little doubt it would have been a blow to lose those players to a school that has won one game each of the past three seasons.

Philippi, a defensive back, acknowledged many local prospects are in a wait-and-see stance when it comes to determining whether to sign with a UNLV program that hasn’t experienced a winning season since 2000.

“Most kids want to go to a winning school,” Philippi said. “It’s not the only thing; it’s a factor in it. But I think if we start winning, it will help draw a lot of local kids here.”

Philippi and Scoggins, an offensive lineman, share similar stories when it comes to switching their commitments.

Both thought about playing in front of family and friends and at a school where they have strong connections.

Philippi’s father, Mark, was the school’s longtime strength coach. Scoggins’ dad, Ron Sr., played for UNLV during its glory days in the mid-1980s when Randall Cunningham quarterbacked the team.

The elder Scoggins remains friends with Cunningham, and the family attends the church where the former UNLV and NFL great serves as pastor.

“I thought about going away, and I thought I’m leaving all this behind,” Scoggins said. “I’m leaving my family, and I’m leaving my pastor and my church – my foundation. So I have to stay.”

UNLV probably always will struggle to even get the attention of valley high school players recruited by Southern California, Oklahoma and other powers.

Getting beat by schools closer to UNLV’s level is different, but the reasons some players choose to look elsewhere are varied.

Many simply want to live in a different city, a reason given by Las Vegas High quarterback Hasaan Henderson in January. He said he liked UNLV’s direction but chose chief rival UNR because he preferred the Wolf Pack’s football and academic programs.

Palo Verde linebacker Jerrol Garcia- Williams said he picked Hawaii earlier this year because UNLV had asked him to grayshirt.

“At the University of Hawaii, I had a better opportunity,” Garcia-Williams said. “They never talked about grayshirting or redshirting.”

Another Palo player, running back Brandon Wright, signed with Mountain West Conference rival San Diego State last year. He said he didn’t consider UNLV because the Rebels won’t turn around “unless they get new coaches.”

“I didn’t want to go to UNLV at all,” Wright said. “I didn’t like where the program was. … There’s no tradition, no wins.

“Mainly everybody I talked to thought UNLV wouldn’t do much or not compete in their division.”

Hauck has a tough battle, trying to sell a program to locals at a place where victories come as often as a Las Vegas driver using directional blinkers.

Local recruiting “is a priority for us,” Hauck said. “But this is America; it’s a free country. Guys get to choose what they want to do, and we want these guys to choose UNLV because we think it’s an awesome place. I think it’s a special thing to play in your home state.”

And, he said, it’s a good place for others to eventually call home.

“Everybody here’s a Rebel,” Hauck said, “regardless of where they come from.”

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.