Hauck must go unconventional route at UNLV

I liked the fake punt down 21-6 late in the second quarter from the 47-yard line of Texas Christian. I like trickery on Halloween Eve.

Sure, it would have helped if the intended receiver appeared to know a fake had been called and if the throw hadn’t landed 7 yards short of anyone wearing a helmet and if UNLV would have had former quarterback-turned-upback Mike Clausen make the pass instead of a punter who probably last threw something when he picked up that little Nerf ball in his crib, but why shouldn’t the Rebels have gone a little unconventional?

They should have gone completely loopy and had Bobby Hauck insert himself at quarterback for a few plays, because as the weeks pass, I’m fairly certain UNLV’s first-year head coach is on the field now as much as former coach Mike Sanford was, and Sanford lived on it.

The only thing better would have been Hauck playing quarterback and Phillip Payne tweeting his evaluation.

What would have UNLV risked, another loss?

Been there, done that.

A lot.

You have to do a few crazy things when finding a second victory this season is getting tougher than choosing between the thousands of empty parking spaces for home games at Sam Boyd Stadium, where No. 4 TCU rolled over UNLV 48-6 Saturday night.

The announced crowd was 16,745, but when you factor in the parents who came just to watch all of those adorable children perform at halftime, it was probably more in the 13,000 range.

By the time the fourth quarter arrived, it had officially become a Locomotives gathering, and with this mess being shown on television, well, who could blame others for staying away?

Hauck in recent weeks has talked recruiting more and more, searching for a silver lining in the season that seemingly might never end and knowing long ago the gap between his team and the league’s best is longer than the distance some UNLV defensive backs were affording TCU receivers.

The Rebels offer weekly updates on all the new faces that have played this season. That’s one of the things a 1-7 teams points out a lot. Youth and injuries.

Nineteen players made their UNLV debut in the season opener against Wisconsin, and the Rebels rank fifth among Football Bowl Subdivision teams with having played 14 true freshmen this year. They are really young and, by the look of all those on the sideline not able to play, really hurt.

But whether enough of the first-year players will ever prove good enough to make a positive difference isn’t known, which is why Hauck’s recruiting efforts should be heavily pointed in the direction of junior college players.

Today. Tomorrow. Always.

Nothing has changed about where UNLV sits in the big picture of college football (invisible) or where its best chance of success resides. It was the same when Sanford strung together five straight nonwinning seasons, and it will be the same for Hauck if he doesn’t adopt an irregular way of building a program.

You can talk forever about the best way being to annually sign a majority of high school players, but it’s not the best way here. It never will be.

UNLV won’t win in football without going heavy on risk. It won’t ever be in the same zip code as TCU and Boise State if it doesn’t pursue bigger, stronger, faster, more mature players who, while perhaps arriving with some baggage, can play immediately and not be overmatched physically doing so.

Look. TCU is faster and more athletic than most teams it plays, but the difference between it and UNLV in those areas is borderline ridiculous at most spots. This is the premier conference program, and UNLV isn’t close in terms of speed, skill and size.

They need guys who aren’t overwhelmed at this level and who can keep up. Sanford always said that recruiting with an eye toward juco players would never stabilize a program.

At this point, if it means a winning season, isn’t that better than the alternative of more and more losing?

Hauck should have begun his efforts immediately following the game by secretly approaching TCU sophomore running back Matthew Tucker, who fumbled twice in the first half.

You figure kids who do things like that at such a program might not only never carry the ball again, but possibly have their scholarship revoked before the team plane hits the ground in Fort Worth. Transfers. Jucos. Whatever.

Just more players who look like they belong.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday and 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday on “Monsters of the Midday,” FOX Sports Radio 920 AM.