Jim Mastro Quotations

The problem with Vegas was that there was an upper end and a lower end. They had five or so guys who went to Notre Dame, Florida State and all those schools and the others are I-AA kids. There was no in-between. Obviously we recruit Nevada first. Once we realized it was slim pickings this year, we moved elsewhere.

He's got so much heart and he is so tough, he just has to stay healthy. Someone like him has to do all the little things right and you can't do that when you're hurt. I'm the kid's biggest fan, and I want him to succeed and I'll do everything I can to help him succeed. But it's on him to stay healthy and do the job.

He's been frustrated with how things have gone in his career. This is a great opportunity for him right now. He's the guy right now. It's his job to lose.

It got to the point where (you ask) do you want to try and play with it or do you want to go fix it?

Those are the places where they will spend the bulk of their time when they are not in class. Facilities mean everything.

We knew we had a great shot when he went to Arizona and didn't commit. We had known about Chris for a long time and we just kept on him, kept recruiting him because you never know what might happen.

During the spring and summer, that is when you compile your list of who you are going to be looking at come fall. You talk to coaches and find out whatever you can and by the time I come back in late spring, I will have whittled a list of 50 down to maybe 30 names. By the time we get to fall, each coach probably knows about 80 percent of the guys they are recruiting that year.

These rules are there for schools like Nevada. We don't have the budget. We rent compact cars. We do everything as cost effective as possible. If a kid is making his decision based on whether I pull up in a Cadillac or a compact car, we don't want them here.

Sullivan is the best lineman that I personally have ever recruited.

I am not hung up on the big 6-foot-2 type of back. For me, it is physical strength. Can they physically hold up? I don't care how tall they are. A smaller, stronger back is better for us because hiding behind 6-foot-5 (quarterback) Jeff Rowe in the pistol sure helps.