Football scouting report: UNLV
UNLV’s defense finished dead last in the FBS last year with just nine sacks. But the Rebels’ secondary returns three seniors from last year’s squad. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Matt Joye
Sept. 8, 2016 3:45 p.m.
On Saturday, UCLA football (0-1) will play its second game of the season – and its first home game – against unranked UNLV (1-0). The Bruins defeated the Rebels 37-3 last year in Las Vegas, after being listed as a 31-point favorite heading into the game.
This time around, UCLA is listed only as a 26-point favorite against an upstart UNLV team that seems to be gaining some momentum under second-year coach Tony Sanchez . This past weekend, the Rebels won their first season opener since 2009, defeating FCS opponent Jackson State 63-13.
Here’s a scouting report for the Rebels, who have some playmakers on offense and some question marks on defense.
UNLV’s offense
Base formations: Singleback, pistol, spread
Run/pass ratio: 77 percent run, 23 percent pass
Strength: Running to the outside
Weakness: Running between the tackles and offensive line strength
X-factor: QB Johnny Stanton IV
UNLV’s offense, at least on a superficial level, is similar to UCLA’s offense this year. The Rebels run a mixture of under-center and shotgun snaps, just like the Bruins, and they’ve made a concerted effort to run between the tackles and become more physical.
Although the Rebels prefer running the football – they ran the ball 58 percent of the time last year – they aren’t one-dimensional by any means. Junior quarterback Johnny Stanton is a former four-star recruit in the class of 2013, and he committed to Nebraska out of high school. After struggling to earn playing time at Nebraska, Stanton transferred to Saddleback College for the 2015 season. Now, he’s the starter for the Rebels.
Stanton has a very strong arm, and he’s very fast and nimble for his size – 6-foot-2, 245 pounds. The Bruins will need to wrap up when they come in contact with Stanton, or else they could get bulldozed.
As for the ground game, UNLV has a three-headed rushing attack, just like UCLA does. The lead two backs in the offense – sophomores Lexington Thomas and Xzaviar Campbell – combine to form the “Lex-and-X” attack. At 5-feet-9 and 175 pounds, Thomas is a quick, elusive and speedy runner out of the backfield; he forced six missed tackles in his 11 carries last week against Jackson State. Meanwhile, at 220 pounds, Campbell is more of a downhill runner. Aside from those two, freshman Charles Williams will come in and get some carries as well.
It’s now been three paragraphs and we have yet to mention UNLV’s most lethal offensive weapon – junior wide receiver Devonte Boyd. Boyd is a unanimous First-Team All-Mountain West selection this year, and he has caught at least one pass in all 26 of his career games at UNLV.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Boyd is that he steps up against the Rebels’ best opponents. Against Arizona in 2014, he hauled in six catches for 102 yards. Against Michigan in 2015, he caught three passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. And against UCLA last year, Boyd had three catches for 55 yards, even though his starting quarterback got injured early in the first quarter. Some UCLA fans may remember Boyd from last year’s game, as his 37-yard reception in the first quarter was the longest of the game for either team.
As good as Boyd is, it will be hard for him to get much going against a UCLA secondary that finished first in the Pac-12 in pass defense a year ago. The Bruins will be able to key in on Boyd, as UNLV doesn’t have any other big-play wide receivers who demand attention.
With UNLV only having one big-time receiving threat, it’s likely that they will try their hand against UCLA’s run defense, which has proven to be problematic over the past year. Expect for the Rebels to go with a run-first attack that features a healthy dosage of read-option plays. The Bruins will need to watch out for Stanton’s ability to both run the football and throw on the run.
UNLV’s defense
Base defense: 3-3-5 and 4-2-5
Blitz tendency: High
Strength: Linebackers and secondary
Weakness: Pass rush and run defense
X-factor: CB Torry McTyer
This UNLV defense is doing whatever it possibly can to generate more of a pass rush. Last year, the Rebels finished dead last in the FBS with just nine sacks. That just doesn’t cut it, no matter how good the defensive secondary is.
In the Jackson State game last week, UNLV appeared to be trying more blitz packages to try to create more pressure in the backfield. There were some 3-3-5 looks, some 4-2-5 looks and even some 4-3 looks, with blitzes coming from the secondary and the linebacker corps. In the 3-3-5, the Rebels will usually try to send their middle linebacker on the blitz, instead of an outside rusher.
The effectiveness of UNLV’s blitz packages still remains to be seen. Even against Jackson State – a lower-tier FCS team – UNLV still only managed to get one sack. If the Rebels only tallied one sack on 43 pass plays against Jackson State, it’s hard to believe they will get any sacks against a far superior offensive line at UCLA.
UNLV’s top two linebackers – seniors Ryan McAleenan and Tau Lotulelei – are the most experienced and most disciplined players on this defense. McAleenan was named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-Mountain West Third Team, while Lotulelei was named to the First Team. Neither of these players were high-profile recruits – in fact, Lotulelei began as a walk-on – but they are both sound tacklers.
As for UNLV’s secondary, it’s a group that’s filled with experience. Three of the four starters in the defensive backfield are seniors, with Torry McTyer being the most veteran member. The UNLV coaches appear to trust McTyer quite a bit in coverage, as he is usually singled up in man coverage against the top receiver on the opposing team. Expect McTyer to be matched up with UCLA redshirt senior receiver Kenny Walker on Saturday.
