Graney: To be special, Rebels also have to Go-Go on defense

It is the other side of a Go-Go offense, those taught how to deny points instead of producing them.

UNLV’s football team has the opportunity to create another special season in 2024. The defense needs to hold up its end.

That wasn’t the case in a three-game losing streak to end last season, when the Rebels allowed an average of 43.3 points per game. On the season, the averages against were 29 points and 415 yards.

“Every day is a new day, and every day we’re out there fixing something to get better at,” defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Mike Scherer said. “Overall, talentwise, I think we’ve improved in a lot of areas. I’m excited about that.

“You look at last year and we lose the last three games, so we weren’t very tough. I mean, it looked like it. But the truth is, we were tough enough to get through two-thirds of a season. In my mind, that’s not very tough.”

They needed to improve across the secondary, and apparently have within the transfer portal. Bigger. Longer. Faster. UNLV has added needed bodies in an area of struggle.

Scherer’s point: You don’t have to be the fastest player in the world, but you do have to care and find ways to outrun your deficiencies. You do have to study enough film to know your assignment on each snap. You have to trust your eyes and technique.

The Rebels tied for fourth nationally last season with 17 interceptions and ranked 17th in the country with a turnover margin of plus-8. But all too often a ball was in the air and the other guys came down with it.

Scherer talks a lot about discipline and attitude, how both need to improve from a season that saw the Rebels win their most games (nine) since 1984.

‘Have to be disciplined’

Attitude, he says, is a multitude of things. Toughness is attitude. So is caring about the people around you. So is your desire to learn football and what you’re supposed to do each play. Your desire to get better. Competitiveness is attitude.

“You can’t play good defense if you’re not disciplined, and you can’t play defense if you don’t trust the guys around you,” Scherer said. “You have to be disciplined. That’s where we fell short last year. We have coached them really really hard this camp to fix some of those mistakes.”

Mani Powell is a transfer linebacker from Arkansas who was asked recently how the team’s defense should be defined.

Fierce. Relentless. Playing with an edge.

They are all fine traits, but often difficult to discover. You would think UNLV — with an influx of new talent — should be better defensively. Proving it is another matter.

Things could be tested from the jump this season, when the Rebels open at Big 12 opponent Houston on Aug. 31.

Defending the Go-Go

“Make sure one mistake doesn’t carry to the next play,” Powell said. “Make sure we eliminate things — explosive plays, mental errors, the wrong alignments and assignments — that can hurt us. Every guy doing his job will make us a good defense this season.”

That which helps: Having to defend UNLV’s offense each day in practice. Having to combat the multiple ways the Rebels can attack you with speed and skill. Having to keep up.

“What do they call it, the ‘Go-Go?’” Scherer said. “Well, they’re Go-Going for sure. We see something new every day and have to adjust and learn to do new things.

“There is something to defend everywhere on the field. You can’t just focus on one thing. Helps us out a lot. If we see something like it in the season, we’re going to know what we’re looking at.”

It’s the other side of the Go-Go, that which strives to deny points than producing them. UNLV has a chance to be special again this season.

Its defense will have a lot to say about that.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.