64°F
weather icon Mostly Cloudy

UNLV football loses suburban Phoenix player to Oregon

One of a UNLV school-record 10 three-star recruits in its 2016 class, running back Charles Williams made an instant impact this season, leading the Rebels in rushing with a school freshman-record 763 yards.

With the second season of the Tony Sanchez era completed at UNLV, the coaching staff has hit the road to try to land some gems in the 2017 class in advance of the Dec. 14 signing date for midyear junior college transfers and the Feb. 1 signing day for high school seniors.

Johnny Johnson III, a three-star wide receiver from Chandler, Arizona, had been verbally committed to UNLV but recently chose Oregon over the Rebels after the Ducks made him an offer. While it’s disappointing to lose a commitment, it shows that UNLV is doing a good job of spotting talent and potential as Johnson started his senior season with a two-star rating but has since been bumped up to three stars.

Sid Acosta, a sophomore offensive lineman for Riverside (California) City College, will make his official visit to UNLV this weekend. The 6-foot-1-inch, 295-pound Acosta went to Centennial High in Corona, California.

The Rebels have 21 scholarships to give and seven commits, including a pair of local products in Desert Pines two-star quarterback Marckell Grayson and Bishop Gorman two-star linebacker Farrell Hester, who will try to help the Gaels to their eighth straight state title and third consecutive mythical national title on Saturday against Liberty at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The other commits are two-star fullback/tight end Jamaal Neal (Los Angeles’ South Gate), two-star tackle Ashton Morgan (Pleasant Valley, Chico, California), running back Tariq Hollandsworth (Sacramento, California, High), cornerback Johnny Balderas (Liberty, Bakersfield, California) and junior college linebacker Jacob Rominger (Highland CC, Kansas).

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
UNLV quarterback retiring because of injuries

The UNLV football team was already looking for a new starting quarterback for next season after Jayden Maiava transferred to Southern California.