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UNLV’s Top Five Players by Ranking
Tim Cornett, a senior, has yet to lose a fumble to the opposition in his UNLV career
1. Tim Cornett, RB, Sr., 6-0, 210, Galena Park, Texas — He needs 621 yards to surpass UNLV career rushing leader Mike Thomas, who finished with 3,149 yards in 1973-74 when the program was a member of Division II (Thomas was an Oklahoma transfer who went on to a solid NFL career). Cornett had eight 100-yard games in 2012 and has 10 in his last 17 outings overall. He has fumbled just once in his three-year career (as a freshman at West Virginia on Oct. 9, 2010) and that ball was recovered by UNLV, which means the team has yet to lose a fumble in his school-record 525 career rushing attempts.
2. Nick Sherry, QB, Soph., 6-5, 235, Petaluma, Calif. — He originally committed to Colorado out of high school but decided to attend UNLV instead. Last week against Minnesota, he became just the second Rebel quarterback to start consecutive season openers in the past decade. Sherry went on to break the school record for most completions in a game as he hit 35 of 50 attempts (the attempts tied for ninth most by a Rebel) for 226 yards and a pair of scores.
3. Nolan Kohorst, PK, 6-0, 180, Henderson, Nev. — He was named Preseason First Team All-Mountain West by Athlon, Sporting News and Lindy’s and second team by Phil Steele’s. He has 30 career field-goals made, which ranks sixth in school history. He is the first scholarship place-kicker signed by UNLV since Sergio Aguayo in 2003.
4. Peni Vea, S, 6-1, 200, Soph., Kailua-Kona, Hawaii — He led the Rebels with nine tackles last week at Minnesota, which is indicative of his performance against better competition. Last year against Washington State, he led UNLV with a career-high 10 tackles.
5. Jerry Rice Jr., WR, 5-11, 185, Sr., Atherton, Calif. — The son of the former NFL great, Rice transferred from UCLA where he played with Taylor Embree, who is in his first season as a graduate assistant coach at UNLV. After catching just nine passes in three years as a Bruin, Rice Jr. grabbed six for 35 yards in his Rebel debut at Minnesota.
Arizona’s Top Five Players by Ranking
Daniel Jenkins is a threat as receiver as well as a runner out of the backfield
1. Ka’Deem Carey, RB, 5-10, 207, Jr., Tucson — The nation’s leading returning running back did not play last week against NAU because he was suspended, but he is still the UA’s featured player. It will be interesting to see how Rodriguez uses Carey and senior Daniel Jenkins. Will Jenkins get comparable carries? He certainly deserves reps after last week’s performance against the Lumberjacks.
2. Marquis Flowers, OLB, 6-2, 230, Sr., Phoenix — Rated a potential fifth-round selection in the NFL draft, Flowers had a productive game against NAU with six tackles, four of them unassisted.
3. Jake Fischer, 6-0, 221, Sr., Oro Valley, Ariz. — The senior middle linebacker had a team-high five unassisted tackles against NAU and finished with seven overall. He has been selected as one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
4. Tra’Mayne Bondurant, CB, 5-10, 198, Jr., Vallejo, Calif. — The junior, who earned Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors last week, registered a game-high seven tackles against NAU. One of the tackles was for lost yardage. He picked off a pair of passes against NAU. His tackle for loss against NAU was one of 11 stops for the Wildcats behind the line of scrimmage. He is tied with Fischer with a team-leading seven tackles.
5. Daniel Jenkins, 5-9, 194, Sr., Moreno Valley, Calif. — The obvious offensive standout against NAU, Jenkins led the Wildcats with 152 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jenkins ran 12 times or 139 yard games, including his 91-yard explosion in the second quarter that put Arizona up 14-0. Jenkins showed his versatility leading the team with three receptions for 13 yards, punctuated by an 11-yard touchdown reception to mark the Wildcats first score of the season.
WILDABOUTAZCATS.net publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes blogs for Lindy’s College Sports, TucsonCitizen.com and Sports Illustrated-sponsored site ZonaZealots.com.
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