QB Clayton strives to top his ’08 effort

ELY — Omar Clayton had plenty to prove last year when he entered his sophomore season as UNLV’s starting quarterback.

His strong play — before a knee injury ended his season after nine games — quickly ended doubts.

Clayton completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,894 yards, with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions. But he isn’t satisfied.

“It never gets too comfortable (running the offense) because I can’t go out and do the same thing I did last year,” Clayton said. “I hold myself to a higher standard than that, to where I have to be better than last year. If not, then I failed.”

• MAKING PLAYS — Junior cornerback Mike Grant, one of the standouts of training camp, broke up two passes to sophomore wide receiver Phillip Payne in the end zone at Wednesday morning’s practice.

One of the breakups might have been interference, but Grant’s coverage was airtight against Payne, who often looks unstoppable on fade routes. Grant also intercepted a pass earlier in practice.

“You always want to get an interception every practice, at least one or two, a couple of breakups,” Grant said. “You don’t want to look for an interception, but you kind of want to make sure you’re doing the right thing so you’re in the right spot.”

• ODDS AND ENDS — Sophomore tailback C.J. Cox (hamstring) returned to participate in about half the drills. He is expected to participate in about 75 percent of Friday’s practice. … Junior kicker Ben Jaekle (back) handled kickoffs for the first time this preseason. … The Rebels return to Las Vegas today.