UNLV Football had a great 2024 season, with the Rebels having a record of 11-3. The first 3 games of the season started great, with transfer Quarterback Matthew Sluka out of Holy Cross leading the Rebels. There was then controversy regarding Quarterback, Matthew Sluka, posted on X referring to him sitting out for the rest of the season. This is apparently about UNLV failing to pay Sluka $100,000 from an NIL deal. UNLV had no choice but to start Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, his first game being against Fresno State, and UNLV beat them 59-14. Williams guided UNLV to an 11-3 record where they barely missed the playoffs after falling to Boise State. After Barry Odom, former UNLV football coach left for Purdue, UNLV signed Coach Dan Mullen, a coach with many years of great experience.
Fast forward and it’s the offseason, with many of the key players leaving. Most of the standout players for the Rebels are seniors. This includes Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, Wide Receiver Ricky White, and Safety Jalen Catalon, just to name a few. Another star Wide Receiver Jacob De Jesus is transferring to California.
The offseason is a great opportunity for UNLV to get transfers and recruit good players out of High School. A great start to this was getting transfer Quarterback, Anthony Colandrea, out of Virginia. Another great pickup was transfer Quarterback, Alex Orji, from Michigan. These 2 Quarterbacks are gonna have to fight for the starting job, both having contributions and flaws. Both the Quarterbacks have great running ability, Colandrea is also accurate and seems more like a field general Quarterback. Most of what we saw about Orji with Michigan last year was just running the ball, Michigan would only use him for running plays. Whenever Orji throws though, he has a beautiful spiral and can hit a man with good accuracy. It will be tough to determine who the starter will be for the 2025 season, don’t be surprised if the QBs switch throughout the season.
On the topic of recruits, UNLV managed to get several 4-star recruits to transfer to UNLV, this will help UNLV be a much better team in the upcoming season. Standout Defensive back, Denver Harris, is transferring from UTSA, Harris is a very good DB with great speed and coverage skills.
Star Halfback last year Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas, will have a breakout season. Towards the end of last season, Thomas started putting up big numbers with his electric speed and ball-carrying ability. Thomas also proved himself as a good kick returner, bringing one 99 yards to the house against Fresno State. Thomas ended the season with a good year, totaling 918 yards with 7 touchdowns. Another key player who could do well this upcoming year is Casey Cain. Cain showed flashes throughout the season but wasn’t targeted much. One of the best plays Cain had this season was a fade jump ball in the back right corner of the endzone. Casey Cain jumped up and caught it right over the DB. This being said, there is a lot of talent surrounding UNLV for next season and if utilized well, UNLV will become a dangerous team fast.
