UNLV quarterback Omar Clayton, who threw for a career-high 340 yards in Saturday night’s 34-33 victory over previously unbeaten Hawaii, was named the Mountain West Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week today.

It’s the second time in his career that Clayton has received the honor. He shared the award almost one year to the day (Sept. 22, 2008) after helping lead the Rebels to an overtime win over Iowa State. He is the first UNLV offensive player to win the award outright since Jason Thomas won it on Nov. 4, 2002. There had been four co-winners since.

Clayton, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior from Normal, Ill., passed for three touchdowns, including a 15-yard game-winner to sophomore wide receiver Phillip Payne with 36 seconds remaining, and also rushed 11-yards for another TD. He set career highs for yards passing (340) and completions (28).

Clayton has now thrown a touchdown pass in 12 consecutive games, the third longest streak in Mountain West Conference history. The league record is 15 straight games set by BYU’s John Beck in 2001-02.

Air Force linebacker Andre Morris (7 tackles, 2 sacks at New Mexico) was named MWC Defensive Player of the Week while Colorado State punter Pete Kontodiakos (47.2 average vs. Nevada) won the special teams honor.

Anybody who listen to City College of San Francisco safety Jarrell Harrison’s interview on “Talkin’ Sports with RT” had to leave feeling good about UNLV’s chances of landing the coveted junior college safety. Very good.

When asked if he was ready to make his official college announcement, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Harrison replied: “I’m not ready. I’ve got more thinking to do.”

Harrison said he will decide between UNLV and Missouri after eliminating Arizona and North Carolina State (too far from home). But he did admit he’s leaning toward the Rebels.

“I’m leaning toward coming home,” Harrison said. “It’s my hometown. I love it here. My family could come see me play. I’ll probably have a big cheering section at all the games. … I think I can be a positive influence here.”

Harrison also reportedly is not a fan of cold weather, something he’d encounter often in Columbia, Mo. To that end, today’s snow fall at his prep alma mater, Palo Verde High School, wasn’t a plus for UNLV.

Harrison seemed to also mention a lot more negatives about Mizzou (Chase Daniel and possibly stud WR Jeremy Macklin gone, tough competition in Big 12 South, etc.). He made it clear he wants to go to a school that he know that he can start at.

“I only have two years (of eligibilty) left),” he said.

Harrison said he could make a decision as soon as tonight … although it sounded like he had already made one.

The letter of intent signing period for junior college players begins on Wednesday.

Rumors of the transfer of 7-foot center Beas Hamga have been hot and heavy recently on both rebelnation.net and Rebel-Net on Rivals.com. So it was not a major surprise on Friday morning when UNLV granted the 7-foot freshman center his release from the program.

What was a major surprise is that Hamga was just the third best big man on UNLV’s depth chart and had played a grand total of 26 minutes in just five game appearances for the Rebels.

Hamga was rated the nation’s No. 26 overall prospect in the Class of 2007 by Rivals.com and the fifth best center in the country ahead of folks like current Kansas star Cole Aldrich. He was ranked just three spots behind a forward from Oklahoma named Blake Griffin, considered the potential first pick of the 2009 NBA Draft. In the interest of full disclosure, Scout.com, which runs the rebelnation.net site run by Rebel Nation, did not rank Hamga in its Top 100 but had him No. 22 among center prospects.

After watching him play and practice, even that might be too high.

Hamga is a good shot-blocker with a 9-foot-5 wingspan and pretty good timing. But it was painful to watch him a); Try and catch a ball in the post, and b). try and do something with it if/when he caught it. He also lacked strength to defend players in the post.

In a word, he’s a project, even after sitting out a year at UNLV. It’s funny but I can remember when Hamga signed with UNLV that there were people afraid he’d actually bolt for the NBA after a year.

Maybe Hamga will wind up in the NBA one day … the old saying is you can’t coach height … but he better be prepared to work awfully hard in the weight room and perfecting his offensive game if he wants to have a chance. In that regard, he won’t find a better strength coach than UNLV’s Jason Kabo or a better coaching staff that develops big man talent (ask Lou Amundson and Joel Anthony).

He also better get a whole lot tougher. The one memory that immediately comes to mind when I think of Beas is a play I saw in practice prior to UNLV’s summer trip to Australia last June.

UNLV’s 40-year-old assistant coach Steve Henson, filling in because the Rebels were shorthanded that day, set a routine screen by the free throw line that Hamga, a foot taller and probably 30 pounds heavier, ran into. Hamga fell to the ground like he had been shot and laid there for a few moments before finally getting up.

I looked at a colleague of mine and we both smiled. “I don’t think we need to worry about Beas heading to the NBA soon,” I said with a chuckle.

One other word came to both of our lips. Lets just say it starts with a “w” and rhymes with “chimp.”

“We wish Beas the best,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said today. “His attitude and work ethic have been outstanding and because of that, we think that he will develop into a very good player.”

Maybe. Personally, I think the Rebels are better off getting that scholarship back.

Right now Beas goes to the top of the list as perhaps the most overrated player in recent UNLV basketball history.

One of the six players scheduled to visit UNLV this weekend is a very familiar one to local prep football fans. Jarrell Harrison (6-2, 210), one of the nation’s top junior college safety prospects from juco powerhouse City College of San Francisco, was the star quarterback for Palo Verde High School in 2004 and was the Southern Nevada Offensive Player of the Year.

UNLV head coach Mike Sanford successfully recruited Harrison to play quarterback for the Rebels in his first recruiting class but Harrison failed to qualify academically after failing to meet minimum NCAA entrance eligibility requirements. He eventually attended junior college and has two years of eligibility remaining. Better yet, he’s a mid-year transfer who could take part in spring practice.

UNLV will be Harrison’s fourth and likely final visit. He has already taken trips to Missouri, Arizona and North Carolina State and also is being recruited by Arizona State. He is expected to chose between the Rebels and N.C. State.

Harrison would be help fill one of UNLV’s biggest holes at safety. The Rebels ranked 111th nationally in pass efficiency defense with problems at safety playing a big part of that.

Meanwhile, UNLV piccked up its 12th commitment today when Cheyenne HS RB/WR Marcus Sullivan (5-9, 165), the Sunset Division Offensive Player of the Year, pledged the Rebels. Sullivan is similar to current Rebel wingback/returner Michael Johnson but a step quicker. He was timed at 21.1 in the 200 meters as a junior and 10.6 in the 100 meters. He rushed for 1,400 yards as a senior after an injury-plagued junior campaign and averaged over 33 yards per reception. He’s considered to be a potential game-breaker for Sanford’s Shotgun Spread offense.