Rogers has good experiences in Coliseum
QB seeking upset in season opener vs. Southern Cal
When Texas quarterback Vince Young dashed toward the front right corner of the end zone in the 2006 Rose Bowl to beat Southern California and win the national championship, Armani Rogers was one of the few in Los Angeles cheering him on.
Rogers attended Hamilton High School in Los Angeles, but he loved watching Young play and followed the Longhorns as a result.
Plus, Rogers was born in Buffalo, New York, where his dad, Sam, was a linebacker for the Bills. Rogers also lived in Atlanta in 2002 and 2003 when Sam played for the Falcons.
Then the family settled in Los Angeles.
“I was never really born into SC,” Rogers said.
Rogers will try to pull his own Vince Young and quarterback UNLV to what would be a shocking victory over USC on Sept. 1 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. As a junior, he led Hamilton to the division championship at the Coliseum.
“It’s a big experience for us,” Rogers said. “It’s good to be back home and go back to play SC, and I’ve had good things happen at the Coliseum. So I’m looking forward to seeing what happens again.”
Outsey gets his chance
Senior Jameer Outsey practiced at first-team defensive end from the beginning of training camp, so he very well could have won the position anyway. But he was expected to be essentially a co-starter with junior Nick Dehdashtian.
With an MRI on Monday showing that Dehdashtian’s broken left foot
would take him out of the season, Outsey knew for sure the starting position belonged to him.
“At D-line, you’re always going to need depth, it doesn’t matter what level you are,” Outsey said. “Someone’s going to have to come in at some point because there’s no D-lineman or O-lineman that’s getting 80, 90 snaps a game. It’s nextman-up mentality, and so the next guy has got to be ready at all times.”
Sophomore Jamal Holloway worked at second-team right end in Tuesday’s practice, and sophomore Rodney Jones is being given a look, too.
“I think we’ve recruited better, and we’ve got guys now that are twos that are capable of going,” coach Tony Sanchez said. “You’ve seen guys like Holloway out there, he looked good today. Rodney Jones has got to pick it up and get going a little bit, but we’ve got some guys there that can go in and add some needed depth.”
Networking in Silicon Valley
Former UNLV quarterback Kurt Palandech is taking part in the National Football Foundation Campbell Trophy Summit from Wednesday through Saturday in Stanford, California.
The more than 100 in attendance will meet with business leaders from Silicon Valley and throughout the nation.
Palandech earned the all-expenses paid trip because he was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, which honors academic achievement.
UNLV season-ticket event
Those who bought season tickets can attend an appreciation luncheon at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on the club level at Sam Boyd Stadium. Sanchez and athletic director Desiree Reed-francois will speak at the event.
Season-ticket holders and those interested in buying tickets need to RSVP by calling 702-739-3267 by noon Thursday.
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.