UNLV Rebels Camp Report, Aug. 16

Form of pistol remains part of UNLV's offense

ELY - You know that pistol offense UNLV ran last football season?

That formation has been missing ever since.

The Rebels didn't use the formation in the spring, and they haven't gone to it this training camp.

That doesn't mean, however, the offense itself still isn't part of the package.

"We've done shotgun stuff; we just haven't been doing much of it yet," coach Bobby Hauck said Wednesday. "We had a period of it yesterday afternoon and period today. As far as dotting the 'I' behind the quarterback, that's not a major part of it."

The quarterback lines up about 4 yards behind the center in the pistol formation. A running back stands behind the quarterback instead of to the side, as in a traditional shotgun.

UNR coach Chris Ault created that offense, and variations of it have emerged across the country.

Few teams, however, run it as well as the Wolf Pack.

"Whatever you believe in, you can run out of the pistol," Ault said last month at Mountain West Conference media days. "So what I'm seeing other people do, they put the formation in to run their plays. A few of them have copied the pistol offense - the read, some of the motions we do. But a majority of them, I think, have just copied the formation and adapted to what they want to do."

Hauck said his focus is more on the pistol offense rather than the formation. So the Rebels could run shotgun out of a traditional look, and in Hauck's mind they would be in the pistol.

"When you say pistol, to me it's not about having the back dotting the 'I,' it's what the offense is," Hauck said. "Certain plays are noted as that offense. It's not a formation."

NOTABLE

Sophomore wide receiver Taylor Spencer, who went to Bishop Gorman High School, showed his explosiveness in Wednesday's afternoon practice. He caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Caleb Herring and hauled in receptions of 22 and 33 yards from redshirt freshman Nick Sherry. ... Sophomore running back Dionza Bradford, who has a sprained right ankle, was out of the boot and doing some jogging. He still wore the blue injury jersey but could return to full practices today. ... Freshman walk-on linebacker Tau Lotulelei (6 feet, 200 pounds) was cleared academically and went through his first day of acclimation. The Maui High graduate is the younger brother of UNLV starting linebacker John Lotulelei. ... Sophomore defensive end Jordan Sparkman batted a pass that sophomore linebacker Perry Cooper dived to intercept just off the ground.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

OFFENSIVE LINE: All five starters return, giving UNLV one of the Mountain West's more experienced fronts.

DEPTH CHART

Player Ht. Wt. Yr.

LEFT TACKLE

Brett Boyko 6-7 310 So.

Andrew Oberg 6-7 280 Fr.

LEFT GUARD

Cameron Jefferson 6-6 300 So.

Brian Roth 6-5 300 So.

CENTER

Robert Waterman 6-2 290 So.