dark hours.
Marcus Arroyo defines them as those times when not everyone – including coaches – is working according to plan.
When you can discover the edge over the competition.
If you arrive (really) early and stay (really) late.
The football players at UNLV are very committed to the concept, with Arroyo’s third season as a coach set to improve significantly.
This is probably a way to convert several narrow defeats of the past season into victories.
“It’s just people here all the time,” Arroyo said. “The training room is busy throughout the day in terms of recovery. They understand the investment we’ve tried to convince them to make.
“Everyone goes to work, but a lot of people don’t show up. That’s the difference when it comes to finding an edge.”
paper thin edge
Think about it: UNLV lost two to East Washington in double overtime last season. It lost to Fresno State by eight. and Texas-San Antonio at seven. and four to Utah State. and seven to San Jose State. and eight to San Diego State.
Six losses with one or fewer points.
The border paper is thin. One plays here, another there, a rumble here, a mistake there.
But good teams often find a way out. UNLV has yet to prove itself as such.
The rebels wanted to grow up. the inspection. even stronger. the inspection. More quickly. the inspection. Nothing beats the introduction and promotion of competitors like new faces and competent transfers throughout the roster – from the many Power Five schools.
“(The transfers) brought their energy,” said youth center Leif Fautanu. “It complements what we’re already doing.”
Arroyo preaches the mantra every day – that with things like dark hours and heightened physicality and an insatiable appetite for improvisation, those missed pieces that weren’t there then can be made up for.
That just a few snapshots can affect the entire outcome.
“It doesn’t always come at the end of games,” Arroyo said. “It could be one or two in the second or third trimester. It could be a turnover before halftime, or a jump ball, or a Hail Mary on the third and overlong fall. It can happen anywhere. Hopefully we laid the groundwork to finish those games.”
His example: When you play with a team like San Diego State, who’ve been there, accomplished a lot, have an experienced staff and have the confidence to go for the win, all those dark hours have to be paid for
To do this, UNLV needs to improve in certain areas.
The Rebels will need to be far better at the passing game to emerge as the starter of a three competing for any quarterback’s quarterback job.
You need to manage the clock better. He needs to find a productive replacement or two to recover from the loss at running back (Charles Williams), who conceded 1,261 yards and 15 touchdowns in 254 rushes last season.
You have to stop people and much more.
public bets
It’s all manageable. It’s all possible. He has a schedule that is not so heavy that the competitive season cannot be exceeded.
And when they examine the intangibles of tight games being won and not lost, the overall winning number of 4½ seems to be in favor of sports betting. So people are trending. Betting is a sure optimism of the public.
“I think we can definitely flip the script now knowing how close we were last year and how close those games were,” Fautanu said. “We don’t want to leave any doubts (this season) about what we’re doing this time.”
The margin paper is thin, but the difference between a win and a loss isn’t always there.
UNLV’s goal: close the gap and more.
Everything begins in the dark.
Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for writing sports columns and can be found at [email protected] be reached. They can be heard Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on The Press Box, ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 11 a.m. obey @edgraney on twitter.
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