After an abysmal two game stretch for UNLV Rebels quarterback Caleb Herring where he had three interceptions all returned for touchdowns in a loss against Southern Utah and then against rival Nevada where Herring went 1-for-14 for eight yards and a pick.
The downward spiral seems a bit odd since UNLV upset Hawaii 40-20 a week prior to the Southern Utah loss and in that game Herring was not great but good enough to help in the win; Herring had 178 yards and two touchdowns, but in that game it was still more of the defense who forced four turnovers than Herring's performance.
Now, UNLV is moving on to Sean Reilly to take over for Herring when UNLV travels to Wyoming this weekend. Head coach Bobby Hauck made the announcement at Monday's press conference:
"Basically, Caleb's working hard, trying as hard as he can, and right now it's not going well enough," Hauck said at his Monday press conference. "Sean's also been working hard, and now he's getting a chance. That's kind of all I need to say."
"We've evaluated both guys a lot in practice," Hauck said. "Sean doesn't have a start under his belt, and at quarterback, it's different in games. He's practiced well, he's worked hard, he knows the offense and hopefully he'll respond well on Saturday.
"He's been here since January, and he's got a good grasp of (the offense). He's a smart guy."
One would have thought if a change would have been made it would have made it would have happened for the Nevada game since UNLV had a bye week before that game, but my assumption is that UNLV wanted to give Herring one more chance.
Rilley is a junior college transfer who did participate in spring practice, but he was outperformed by Herring in spring and fall camp to be the backup. He is a similar type of quarterback to Herring in that he is a pro-style quarterback and was ranked as a two-star prospect.
With another losing season seemingly likely UNLV might as well try to spark the team with Reilly and see what he has to offer and perhaps get a win or two down the stretch. The Wyoming game is one of three possibilities for UNLV net wins on the year. The other games are when UNLV hosts Colorado State and then travel to New Mexico.
Follow Mountain West Connection for more news around the clock via twitter, facebook and now google plus.