Rebels wideout Keys nursing leg sprain

Junior sidelined last year with knee injury

UNLV junior wide receiver Kendal Keys showed up to practice Monday wearing red athletic shorts and a UNLV football T-shirt.

It was an alarming sight considering the same player missed all of last season because of an injured right knee.

But coach Tony Sanchez said the right leg injury, suffered in Saturday’s scrimmage at Sam Boyd Stadium, wasn’t nearly as serious this time and hoped Keys would return in a few days.

“He’s got a little bit of a sprain, so we don’t need him being injured going into Week 1,” Sanchez said, referring to the Sept. 2 season opener against Howard at Sam Boyd.

“Right now, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Hopefully, it’s not, so just precautionary.”

Keys received a medical redshirt from the NCAA after getting hurt last season.

Two years ago, he caught 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns.

■ The NCAA took away two-adays, but gave teams an extra five practice days. It’s forced coaches to be diligent in how they manage their time with the players.

“We’re three weeks from kickoff,” Sanchez said. “We’ve never had this long of a time before we play somebody, so I would assume in a week the hardest thing is we’re going to have a lot of guys testy, a lot of chippiness out there. They’re going to be sick and tired of going against one another.

“After these next three, you’ll start to see some shortened practices. We want to get the guys’ legs back.”

■ Sanchez singled out senior quarterback Kurt Palandech for his play. Palandech has been competing with senior Johnny Stanton for the backup job.

“Those two guys are battling hard,” Sanchez said. “Every year, (Palandech) has gotten better and better and better, so we love where he’s at right now. He’s a great decision-maker, and he does so much with his feet. He really creates that dual threat.”

■ Scouts from the Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers attended practice and left after watching the offense. They most likely were there to see senior wide receiver Devonte Boyd.

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

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Patrick Connolly Las Vegas Review-journal UNLV wide receiver Kendal Keys, running a route on the first day of preseason camp on Aug. 2, sat Monday because of a slight sprain to his right leg.