UNLV’s Hughes no longer wears redshirt

But he wasn’t.

So Hughes did his best in practice to help the football team, even if it meant not actually getting into games. But that changed last week when Hughes was told he wouldn’t redshirt this season, but play right away as a freshman.

He did just that, making his debut in Saturday’s 34-17 loss at San Diego State.

“It was great,” Hughes said of getting to play. “I was nervous, though. I had shaky feet before I went out. I’m glad we had a warmup.”

Hughes (6 feet 2 inches, 300 pounds) made two tackles in a reserve role, and now that he has had the redshirt removed, coach Bobby Hauck said expectations are as high for him as they are any player called upon to contribute.

Now Hughes, who went to Palo Verde High School, is listed behind senior Brandon Willis at defensive tackle heading into Saturday’s 5 p.m. game at San Jose State.

“We weren’t getting the production that we thought we needed at that position in our two-deep,” Hauck said. “Mike looked really good in training camp, but wasn’t ahead of some older guys. So we were anticipating maybe redshirting him. But he was playing really well on the scout team, really well, and we said, ‘If he’s the best guy, he’s got to play.’ I thought he held up pretty well for a freshman.”

Willis, who transferred from UCLA, said he can see a lot of upside in Hughes.

“He’s physical,” Willis said. “He wants to learn. He has a good work ethic. I try my best to be a leader, try to help him out and slow the game down for him a little bit.

“I think in the future, he’s going to be one of the bright cornerstones of this program.”

THREE-STEP DROP

■ UNLV has 11 interceptions and has scored touchdowns on only half of its trips to the red zone. The Rebels had 10 interceptions all of last season and scored TDs on 67 percent of their opportunities in the red zone. This season’s team is 1-4; last year’s went 7-6.

Hauck said the issues are being addressed.

“Generally speaking, if you aren’t getting something, you emphasize it more in practice,” Hauck said. “You emphasize it more in film study. … There’s no sure-fire way to make sure that gets done or we’d be doing it, but we need to keep working at it. If we keep working at it, that part of it will improve.”

■ San Jose State held its past two opponents to less than 100 yards passing for the first time since 2004. The Spartans allow just 83 yards passing per game, second nationally to Stanford’s 74-yard average.

“They’re really good in the secondary,” Hauck said. “They’ve got five or six guys that they have to feel pretty good about because we watch them on film, and I think they’re awfully talented.”

■ Rebels sophomore linebacker Ryan McAleenan began his college career at San Jose State. He redshirted in 2012 before leaving for College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Calif., for one season.

FOR THE RECORD

■ Jay Mitchell, a UNLV walk-on redshirt freshman from Liberty High School, returned a punt 48 yards at San Diego State. It was the Rebels’ longest punt return since Tremayne Kirkland’s 75-yarder in 2003 at New Mexico.

■ UNLV is one of nine teams in the country that has not lost a fumble.

■ Rebels senior wide receiver Devante Davis’ stretch of 30 starts ended at San Diego State when he didn’t play because of a hand injury.

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