UNLV freshman Cameron Friel finding his way behind center

UNLV freshman backmost Cameron Friel wasn’t expected to play this soon.

Or make this quickly.

“You privation to fto it benignant of marinate arsenic it goes,” Rebels manager Marcus Arroyo said of Friel’s trajectory. “Sometimes things are cooked champion erstwhile you conscionable spell up and say, ‘Hey, here’s the fire. Let’s roll.’ That presumption tin beryllium one. Seen it hap before. Seeing it hap now.”

Friel played the astir implicit crippled of his existent freshman play Thursday successful a 27-20 nonaccomplishment to San Jose State, flashing the benignant of maturation and progression that Arroyo didn’t expect erstwhile the play began. A nagging backmost wounded to redshirt freshman backmost Doug Brumfield has paved the mode for Friel to play, and successful his 4th commencement helium completed 20 of 28 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown and astir drove the magnitude of the tract to necktie the crippled successful the 4th quarter.

“His poise is increasing,” Arroyo said. “You tin spot his pouch presence, his poise nether pressure. His poise successful progressions. Multiple coverages.

“His poise successful situations. He’s tough. Mentally. Physically. Emotionally. That’s what you person to beryllium successful this position.”

In his archetypal commencement past period against Iowa State, Friel was timid and gun-shy — totaling 67 passing yards and an interception connected 13 attempts. But he’s developed a overmuch amended consciousness for his violative enactment and receivers, and his backmost standing Thursday of 155.2 was his champion to date.

He’s nary longer bailing from the pouch if his archetypal work is covered and is overmuch much deft astatine parsing done his progressions. He showed akin flashes successful losses to Fresno State and Texas-San Antonio, accounting for 138 passing yards against Fresno State (ranked No. 22 successful the federation astatine the time) and 307 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions against UTSA.

But helium was tasked against San Jose State with making hard third- and fourth-down throws against seven- and eight-man coverages and delivered strong, close throws that extended drives.

“For him to measurement successful and play astatine this level and marque large plays, I’m arrogant of him,” elder moving backmost Charles Williams said. “He’s shown a batch of toughness. Out of this young group, he’s the toughest. He’s got knocked down astir apt 100 times. But he’ll get up 101 times. I emotion him for that.”

Brumfield is inactive time to day, Arroyo said, and Friel seems to person a stranglehold connected the starting backmost position. At slightest for the clip being.

“The squad is feeding disconnected his leadership,” Arroyo. “It’s poise. It’s presence. It’s humility. It’s toughness. And he’s doing it successful (clutch) situations against beauteous bully opponents.”

Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.