Practices from Aug. 9-13 are open to the public and media.
However, beginning Aug. 15, practices are closed after the first six periods (each period is five minutes long, so approximately 30 minutes).
Schedule
All times & dates subject to change
Aug. 8 -- 12:30 p.m. Rookies report (no practice); 1:45 p.m. Veterans report (no practice)
Aug. 9 -- 10-11:35 a.m. Newcomers only (helmets); 6-8 p.m. Veterans only (helmets)
Aug. 10 -- 8:45-10:45 a.m. Red Team (helmets); 6-8 p.m. Silver Team (helmets)
Aug. 11 -- 8:45-10:45 a.m. Red Team (shells); 6-8 p.m. Silver Team (shells)
Aug. 12 -- 8:45-11:05 a.m. (shells)
Aug. 13 -- 8:45-11:05 a.m. (full pads); 1-3 p.m. Mall Day
Aug. 14 -- OFF
Aug. 15 -- 8:45-10:55 a.m. (full pads); 6-8 p.m. (helmets & shoulder pads)
Aug. 16 -- 8:45-11:05 a.m.
Aug. 17 -- 8:45-10:55 a.m.; 6-8:00 p.m.
Aug. 18 -- 8:45-11:05 a.m.
Aug. 19 -- 8:45-11:05 a.m.
Aug. 20 -- 8:45-10:55 a.m.; 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 21 -- OFF
Aug. 22 -- 6:30-8:00 a.m.; 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 23 -- 8:45-11:05 a.m.
Aug. 24 -- 8:45-10:55 a.m.; 6-8 p.m.
Aug. 25 -- 6-8:20 p.m. closed scrimmage
Aug. 26 -- 5:50-7:30 p.m.
Aug. 27 -- 10 a.m. closed scrimmage
Aug. 28 -- Afternoon practice
Aug. 29 -- School begins; no practice
Aug. 30 -- Regular practice schedule begins
Sept. 4 -- Travel To Albuquerque
Sept. 5 -- UNLV at New Mexico, 10 a.m. (ESPN2)
Mike Sanford begins his 28th fall training camp as a football coach on Monday afternoon when UNLV players report to the Lied Athletic Complex for physicals and a team meeting.
But this camp figures to be much different from the previous 27 for Sanford, a 50-year-old native of Los Altos, Calif.
That's because for the first time in his career Sanford also has the word "head" preceding the word "coach" in his title.
Sanford replaced one of his mentors, John Robinson, on Dec. 6 to become the ninth head coach in UNLV football history. And he inherits a squad that returns a meager 10 starters after finishing a disappointing 2-9 in 2004. The Rebels were also recently picked to finish last again this year in the Mountain West Conference's preseason media poll.
So you might expect Sanford to be a tad nervous or, at the very least, a little anxious as he gets ready to start his first season as "The Man."
Not so, he says.
"Actually, I'm really excited about it," Sanford said. "I feel like we've been preparing for this so long. We've been putting together all of our (practice) schedules and what we're going to do. I've been visualizing this so much and I'm excited to get going."
Sanford, one of the architects of Utah's high-scoring spread option offense the past two years, has had eight months now to adjust to his new role.
"You have to think about a lot more things as a head coach," he said during a brief break at a coaching retreat at a local hotel this week. "Instead of worrying just about how your position or your side of the ball is doing you have to think about everybody. And you're involved with what's going on with your players off the field as well. I always think and worry about that because I talk to our guys all the time about doing things right off the field."
The only hiccup so far during the Sanford Era was the recent suspension of reserve quarterback/wide receiver Terry Furlow after he was arrested at a Las Vegas nightclub for allegedly trying to use counterfeit $20 bills.
"There haven't been any major setbacks but there have been a lot of things that occupy my thoughts," Sanford said with a smile.
He admits to having picked the brain of both Robinson and his former Utah boss, Urban Meyer, about some of the details that he should focus on as a head coach.
"Over the years I've talked to J.R. (Robinson) about that type of stuff," Sanford. "It was interesting talking to Urban (now the head coach at Florida) about it because he has not been a head coach that long and he can still remember what it was like when he wasn't a head coach. We've talked quite a bit. There's a lot of stuff I took from him just being with him for two years that we're incorporating into our program."
That includes forming a leadership committee of players that has a say in everything from disciplining players to giving suggestions on the team's new uniforms, which will be revealed on Aug. 13. And putting a strong emphasis on players to attend "voluntary" team conditioning drills over the summer.
As for the low expectations for his team in most preseason polls and publications, Sanford seems eager to prove them wrong.
"First of all, that whole thing about being picked last makes me mad and it better make our players mad, too," Sanford said. "Our deal is we have to prove who we are and what we are by how we play and not talk about it."
When asked what were some of the key issues his team needs to resolve before its Sept. 5 opener at New Mexico, Sanford quickly came up with a handful. They include:
"At what percentage of their full capacity they're at still remains to be seen," Sanford said. "But they're going to be ready to go. We need to settle on our top guys on the offensive line and get them (practicing) together on offense. I think that's the No. 1 deal."
"In the first week we need to make a decision on who our quarterback is going to be," Sanford said.
If Rocky Hinds transfers in from USC as has been strongly rumored since May, he still must sit out the 2005 season per NCAA rules.
"I think the receiver position is unsettled in a lot of ways because of people coming back from injuries," Sanford said. "Greg Estandia, even though he went through spring practice, he got a little beat up. We need to see him healthy. And then you have Marques Johnson, Alvin, Tremayne ... that's four guys who legitimately could be a big part of what we're doing. That's a major concern."
Sanford is also anxious to see how three freshman recruits --- Justin Marvel, Corey Anderson and Renan Saint Preux --- fit into the mix.
Brian Pacheco, a second team junior college All-American at Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, is being expected to take over that spot after averaging 46.0 yards per punt as a sophomore.
"Pacheco has to be ready to go," Sanford said. "In general we need to work on special teams."
The three players listed as starters after spring practice --- sophomore Beau Bell and juniors Dan Catalano and Matt Pattison --- have combined for a grand total of 26 tackles in their Division I careers. And all of those were by Bell last season.
"We've got some things to determine there," Sanford admitted.
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