Spencer honors commitment, may play as UNLV freshman

Coach Bobby Hauck was nervous on Feb. 3 as he waited for the letters of intent of his first UNLV recruiting class to come over the fax machine.

He was especially concerned Taylor Spencer's letter never would appear, that a big-name Bowl Championship Series school would swoop in and nab the talented Bishop Gorman High safety.

That didn't happen, and Spencer's letter arrived at UNLV's offices to a much-relieved Hauck.

"In recruiting, it's hard for us to beat people like Texas or Oklahoma," Hauck said following Sunday morning's preseason practice at Rebel Park. "He's a good-looking kid. He's a gifted athlete. So you always worry when you've got one who's a special-type athlete."

Spencer (6-feet-1 inch, 190 pounds) was an outstanding two-way football player for Gorman, playing on two state-championship teams in three years. He caught 19 passes for 424 yards and five touchdowns last season, and intercepted seven passes with one returned for a 54-yard TD in the state-title game.

Now Spencer has the chance to play right away at UNLV, and has shown his new teammates and secondary coach J.D. Williams his willingness to learn.

"Even in the locker room, he's always asking questions," senior safety Alex De Giacomo said. "Coach Williams really likes everyone to understand everything thoroughly, and (Spencer's) on the right path."

It's not a straight path, though.

Spencer knew he wasn't at Gorman anymore when he cracked open UNLV's playbook, telling Williams it was the biggest one he had seen.

"He's athletic, and he's slowly picking things up," Williams said. "He's going to be a good player. Hopefully in the next 29 practices, he puts himself in a position to play because he's a great athlete."

De Giacomo and fellow senior Mike Grant are the projected starters at the safety positions, but there is opportunity at the back-up spots. Senior Travis Dixon is back, and redshirt freshmen Courtney Bridget and John Therrell also figure in the competition.

Spencer has the athleticism to be right in the middle of those position battles, but the danger, Hauck said, is rushing the player if he's not ready.

"Those are hard decisions because you don't want to bring them out and play them and all of the sudden they're not getting it done, and burn a year for six, seven plays a game," Hauck said. "A lot of people, including us over the years, have made that mistake with guys. You hate making bad decisions.

"But if a guy can help us win, we're going to play him."

Spencer was one of a UNLV-record eight locals to sign with the hometown school this year, part of an effort by Hauck to keep a large chunk of the best talent in the valley.

Utah, Idaho and Northern Arizona also offered scholarships to Spencer, who was rated by Rivals.com and Scout.com a two-star recruit. Scouts, Inc., however, listed Spencer as a three-star prospect.

Hauck said he heard during the recruiting process a big-name school might move on Spencer, but it failed to materialize.

Spencer made the commitment to the Rebels and stuck with it, but said Hauck didn't pressure him.

"He made sure I felt comfortable, made sure I was good with what I was doing," Spencer said.

And in the end, Hauck had his fax -- and his guy.

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