Clayton to return to practice on Wednesday

UNLV got some good news on Tuesday regarding the injury status of starting quarterback Omar Clayton.

Turns out Clayton, who was complaining of a sore right (throwing) shoulder after UNLV’s 30-27 loss at Wyoming on Saturday, didn’t need to undergo an MRI after all. Instead, a second set of X-rays revealed no damage to the shoulder and Clayton is expected to resume practice on Wednesday.

“I thought it was an MRI but it was a different kind of X-ray,” UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said after practice Tuesday night. “It was completely negative.”

Sanford said he is “even more optimistic today than I was (Monday)” that Clayton will be able to play in Saturday afternoon’s Fremont Cannon game at Nevada. Clayton, who has thrown a touchdown pass in 13 consecutive games, dressed but did not practice on Tuesday as backup Mike Clausen took the snaps with the first team.

“There was a chance that something was broken in there,” Sanford said of Clayton’s shoulder. “He did not practice today because he was sore. He’ll practice tomorrow and he’ll practice Thursday. I would say it will be a game time decision on (whether he starts or not).”

Meanwhile, the big worry for the Rebels was off the field. Two defensive players from American Samoa — starting tackle Isaako Aaitui and end Daniel Mareko — have not been able to reach family members after a tsunami hit the island on Tuesday killing at least 39 people.

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