This is the second article of an eight part "Recruiting Trip" that will describe each UNLV football recruit. Each seperate article will start off with the same introduction.
UNLV has a wide variety of recruits this year, as this coming year will be Bobby Hauck's first year as UNLV head coach. This class ranges from Defensive Ends to Running Backs and shows promise in almost every recruit. He impressed many people, including myself, in the job he did in such a short period.
Hauck was put in the top 25 recruiters by ESPN, given the late start he had, and that deserves some recognition in itself. His highest recruit that he signed was given a 75 by Scouts, Inc. and was a 3 star recruit, but when your coming from a team that went 5-7 its past 2 years and has literally no prestige under its belt, thats not a bad job of recruiting.
List of 2010 Recruits, their upsides, their downsides and statistics:
Name: Nate Holloway
School: UNLV
Position: Defensive Tackle / Offensive Tackle
Height/Weight: 6"3" 320 lbs.
High School: Spring Valley High School in Las Vegas Nevada
Other Offers: None
Recruiting Profiles: Rivals, Scouts, ESPN, Max Preps (Rivals and Scouts don't have this player in their database)
Holloway, in his current condition, seems to me like he would fit more at the Defensive Tackle position than Offensive Tackle. His speed is mediocre I'm sure and so would his shuttle, at least weighing in a 320 lbs. Defensive Ends would blow right by him if he was an offensive tackle. Where at the defensive tackle position, he'd be a great run blocker at nose tackle. But if he truly wanted to be an offensive tackle, I think through hard work and dedication, he could. He would definitely have to get much faster and quicker. The upside? He's huge, strong and can move anyone out of his way. His downside? He doesn't have a good football IQ and isn't very fast...
Name: Desmond Tautofi
School: UNLV
Position: Defensive End
Height/Weight: 6'3" 270 lbs.
High School: Calvary Chapel Christian School in Las Vegas Nevada
Other Offers: Wyoming, Hawaii, Utah, San Diego State
Recruiting Profiles: Rivals, Scouts, ESPN, Max Preps
Note: I know this person personally
Desmond showcases size, speed and explosiveness off the edge. He has almost no trouble getting around the Offensive Tackle when it comes to getting to the Quarterback. Some have speculated that at one point he might become a Defensive Tackle for the Rebels because of his size, but I can't imagine moving someone with Tautofi's speed and explosiveness to the interior of the line. He does know how to anticipate most snap counts and that does give him a clear advantage over opponents. His upside? Great athleticism, strength, size, speed, explosiveness, he has it all. His downside? Has an OK football IQ and sometimes will not work on skills in the off-season.
Name: Dionza Bradford
School: UNLV
Position: Running Back
Height/Weight: 6'0" 190 lbs.
High School: Serrano High School in Phelan California
Other Offers: San Diego State, New Mexico State
Recruiting Profiles: Rivals, Scouts, ESPN, Max Preps
Bradford may be small, but he certainly is tough. Dionza is only6 feet tall, but this little guy will break your nose, he's as hard hitting as Maurice Jones-Drew from the Jacksonville Jaguars is. He has great speed but can't ever seem to turn it on in order to break away from defenders to go all the way. I'd expect a lot of big gains but not long touchdowns from him. He has great vision and can make any normal defender miss (Ray Lewis is not normal) and showcases great elusiveness. He's shown some life in running in-between the tackles, but hasn't become dominant in that area. This is the first time I can remember in a while UNLV got a running back that looked this good on tape. The Upside? He has great athleticism, vision and overall football IQ. The Downside? He tends to tighten up and lose most of his stamina in the off season and really doesn't recover until around the third or fourth game of the season.
Next week I will be going over recruits 7-9 of the 2010 UNLV Football Recruiting Class