Robertson critical of his own play

RENO - Nevada guard Kyle Robertson played judge and jury Tuesday afternoon. He convicted himself of sub-par play last week against Northwestern.

Robertson started in place of senior Barrett Reznick, who suffered a sprained knee in practice last week. Reznick is expected to miss two more weeks.

So, providing Robertson can win this week's competition against junior Fred White, he'll start again Saturday night when Nevada visits arch-rival UNLV at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"I graded out like I thought I should," Robertson said after practice. "I thought I had a poor performance. The rest of the line backed me up. There were times when they were on their heels and we should have knocked them down, but we didn't."

Robertson admitted he only had one missed assignment, so it's safe to say that he didn't play poorly, but maybe just not up to his own expectations. And, when you consider that Robert Hubbard rushed for 156 yards, you know that Robertson had a hand in that.

"He did all right," Nevada line coach Chris Klenakis said prior to Tuesday's practice. "It's the first full game he's played. I expect him to get better and better each week. I expect that of all our linemen.

"All positions are completely open. We'll keep them competing against each other all week."

Robertson said he had an inkling last Thursday or Friday that he would get his first-ever start. He admitted that he had some butterflies until that first snap, and then it was business as usual.

"Adam Bishop and I both came in as tight ends, and I remember coach (Cameron) Norcross telling us to relax so much," Robertson said.

Robertson said the open competition doesn't bother him.

"It will show that the best person is going to start whether it's Fred or I," he said. "Fred is as good as any of us.

"It's not a sure thing. Even if it was, I just don't think I'd relax."

White, who played center last year before suffering a foot injury against San Jose State, had just been shifted back to offense three weeks ago. He was moved to defensive line at the end of last season.

"We just got him (White) back," Klenakis said. "He's still playing catch-up."

Still, it means another switch for a line that has only played together in their current spots four times.

"Kyle has played (enough)," Klenakis said. "He played nearly the whole second half against Arizona State, and the last quarter against Colorado State."

"Everyone on the offensive line, we're all best friends," Robertson said. "We can all play together. We know each other real well."

Robertson said his preparation hasn't changed this week, and he is not working any harder than he normally does.

"There is always a lot of mental preparation," Robertson said. "When you are No. 2 (on depth chart), you're doing more mental preparation because you don't get as many reps. You always have to be ready to step in and be the hero."

• Jeff Rowe missed the entire practice because he had a late class and also was getting treatment for his shoulder and neck, according to head coach Chris Ault.

"I didn't think he would miss the whole practice," Ault said. "Jeff has been around long enough. He's been doing film study and he will be in meetings tonight."

Wide receiver Caleb Spencer, running back Robert Hubbard and defensive back Joe Garcia missed the early part of practice because of late classes.

• The current series stands at 16-15 in favor of Nevada, though UNLV has won five of the last six games.

Ault is 8-7 in games he has coached against UNLV.

•Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281