UNLV sophomore opens eyes playing at two defensive spots
White makes strong push at linebacker after move from safety
When UNLV’S football coaches reviewed practice video throughout training camp, Javin White repeatedly jumped out to them.
He kept making plays, and the coaches knew they needed to find a spot for him.
Nowmaybetheyhave. White, who was competing with fellow sophomore Evan Austrie at safety, lined up at first team at strongside linebacker on Tuesday morning.
That doesn’t mean that White has moved ahead of sophomore Gabe Mccoy, who has been running No. 1, but it does signal a competition is underway.
“We’re getting (White) as many reps as we can,” coach Tony Sanchez said. “We want to see him push Gabe a little bit. Gabe’s done well at times, and it’s not a criticism, but you want to see him show up and make more plays. Javin’s been doing that quite a bit.
“Now is that going to be a good fit? We’ve got a week tokindofplaywithitand get (White) going. He knows the defense inside and out. He’s a big, long and physical guy (6 feet 2 inches, 195 pounds), so we think it’s going to translate.”
UNLV marked the end of camp with a scrimmage Sunday at Rebel Park and two days later the beginning of preparation for the season opener. The Rebels play Howard on Sept. 2 at Sam Boyd Stadium.
The Rebels went into scout team work, and the roster is considerably clearer as the opener approaches.
Two local players look to make immediate impacts on defense — freshman linebacker Farrell Hester II and safety Greg Francis. Both are not even a year removed
from Bishop Gorman High School.
Sanchez has spent much of camp raving about Hester, who has received some work with the starting unit. Hester lined up with the second-teamers on Tues-