LAS VEGAS — UNLV has a 1,000-yard rusher coming back. The quarterback who will hand him the ball is unsettled, eight offensive linemen are gone and most of last season’s receiving production left with them. That is how a 10-win team arrives in March with so much work still to do.
The Rebels produced 6,249 yards of offense in 2025 and finished with 14 interceptions and 30 sacks on defense. Now the starting quarterback, leading tackler and several of the players responsible for those disruptive defensive plays are gone.
I would begin this evaluation with the players who can help the newcomers settle: the returning running backs, an experienced linebacker and safety, and a kicker who already knows the job. They give UNLV places to lean while the staff sorts out the combinations around them. The biggest question is whether the rebuilt offensive line will let that returning backfield carry some of the transition.
Quarterback Starts Everything
Anthony Colandrea was the center of UNLV’s offense in 2025. He threw for 3,459 yards, rushed for another 649 and accounted for 33 total touchdowns in 14 games, giving the Rebels production as both a passer and runner that shaped nearly everything they did offensively.
Cameron Friel, Gael Ochoa and Alex Orji also appeared at quarterback, but Colandrea supplied 4,108 yards of total offense. His replacement will be learning the job behind a rebuilt line and alongside a receiving rotation with few established UNLV connections.
UNLV responded by bringing in Jackson Arnold, who began his college career at Oklahoma before transferring to Auburn. Arnold immediately became the biggest addition to UNLV’s quarterback room. Orji returns after rushing for 42 yards and a touchdown in limited action last season, while Sebastian Circo comes back as a redshirt freshman with another year of development. True freshman Derek Garcia also joins the room.
Running Back Gives UNLV Some Stability
Jai’Den Thomas returns after rushing for 1,036 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games. He also added 237 receiving yards and finished with 1,273 all-purpose yards, giving UNLV a proven lead back while several other position groups are being rebuilt.
Jaylon Glover also returns after contributing 384 rushing yards and 312 kick-return yards. Thomas and Glover have already handled meaningful work in this offense, giving the new quarterback two familiar routes to moving the ball.
UNLV did lose Keyvone Lee, who graduated after rushing for 438 yards and six touchdowns, while Rogerick Ray also departed. Darrien Jones, Kamran Williams, Mohammad Maali and incoming freshman Skylar Lendsey-Vann round out the room behind Thomas and Glover.
The Receiver Room Lost Most of Its Production
Jaden Bradley left after catching 58 passes for 931 yards. Troy Omeire produced 514 yards and five touchdowns, while DaeDae Reynolds added 471 yards and five scores. JoJo Earle contributed 258 receiving yards and another 102 on the ground, while Koy Moore finished with 12 catches for 120 yards. Traivon Dyson and Rashawn Jackson also departed after contributing during the season.
Those five receivers accounted for 2,294 receiving yards. Replacing that volume will require more than one newcomer to earn the quarterback’s trust.
DeAngelo Irvin Jr. and Taeshaun Lyons become the most important returning pieces. Irvin caught 18 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown last season, while Lyons finished with 16 catches for 241 yards and three scores. Kayden McGee, Danny Boden, Cassidee Miles, David Titone-Perez and Tavian McNair also return.
The staff supplemented the room with Troy Stellato, Amorion Walker, Taz Reddicks, Tatum Bell Jr., Vincent Carner and Peyton Zachary as newcomers. Irvin and Lyons combined for 429 receiving yards in 2025.
Tight End Has a New Headliner
UNLV also lost its two most productive tight ends from last season.
Var’Keyes Gumms caught 11 passes for 168 yards and three touchdowns, doing much of his damage near the goal line. Nick Elksnis added 12 receptions for 145 yards and two scores, giving the Rebels another reliable option at the position.
Keyan Burnett arrives as the most prominent replacement. The 6-foot-6 transfer comes to UNLV from Arizona after an earlier stop at Kansas and should have an immediate opportunity to establish himself as a receiving option, particularly in the red zone where Gumms had been effective.
Jae Beasley II, Matt Byrnes and Velltray Jefferson return to provide experience and depth, while freshman Andreas Diaz-Nicolaidis joins the room. The position does not carry the same attention as quarterback or offensive line, but UNLV still needs to replace five receiving touchdowns and some of the size it used around the goal line last season.
The Offensive Line May Decide How Quickly Everything Works
Malik McGowan, Nick Scalise, Reid Williams, James Faminu, Toby Moore, Maysan Neubauer, Dyllan Drummond and Alani Makihele all departed. Those were not simply depth pieces. They were part of the group that helped UNLV average 195.5 rushing yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry in 2025.
The staff responded by bringing in nine new offensive linemen. Griffin Scroggs, BJ Tolo, Colton Thomasson, Jackson Brown, Josh Haney, Eli Sanchez, Malik White, Jesus Garcia II and Mateo Bilaver joined a returning group that includes Alekai Afoa, Ace Robinson, Ed Haynes, Will Thomas, Amare Taase, Chrysanthos Fetokakis and Austin Boyd.
Will Thomas started 13 games last season, giving the new line one returning tackle with the full-season experience most of the incoming freshmen still lack.
Nine additions create choices. They also create work: sorting out who handles each protection, passing off a twisting rusher and reaching the right defender together on a run. One lineman misunderstanding the call can undo the work of the other four.
The Defensive Front Lost Its Most Disruptive Players
Tunmise Adeleye finished with six sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss before leaving. Chief Borders led the team in quarterback hurries and added 5.5 tackles for loss, while Cohen Fuller contributed 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Fuller’s eligibility remained unresolved: his federal case against the NCAA was still pending as of March 9. Ose Egbase, Waisale Muavesi, Jalen Lee and Cory Hall also departed.
Lucas Conti becomes one of the most important returning pieces after finishing with four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Landen Thomas, Elias Rudolph, Kenji Scanlan, Armand Ausbon, Andre Porter, Kal-El Togafau, Mo Abbasher, Eliah Logo, Maxwell Peterson and Jordan Covington also return.
UNLV added Herb Gray, Bryce Waters, Prin Fox, Bryce Robinson and Poe Purcell as newcomers in an effort to replace what left.
Linebacker May Be the Defense’s Biggest Question
Marsel McDuffie leaves one of the largest individual holes on the roster.
McDuffie led UNLV with 112 tackles while adding two interceptions, two sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
Isaiah Patterson also departed after recording 46 tackles, while Justin Flowe, Jordan Eubanks, Bryce Edmondson and Donovan Spellman left as well. That is a significant amount of experience disappearing from one position group in a single offseason.
Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu now becomes the anchor after finishing last season with 61 tackles and five tackles for loss. Kamuela Ka’aihue, Alexander Green and Jacob Beza return alongside him, while Dee Crayton, Cam Santee and Mark Iheanachor arrived through the portal. Freshman Cole Albrecht also joins the group.
Alualu-Tuiolemotu gives the staff an experienced player to build around. Settling who plays beside him, and how that pair handles the space behind a new front, will connect the first two levels of the defense.
The Secondary Lost Production but Still Has a Foundation
UNLV lost several important players from the secondary, beginning with Laterrance Welch and Aamaris Brown, who recorded five and four interceptions, respectively, last season. Brown also finished with 52 tackles and 3.5 sacks and returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown.
Jaheem Joseph was another significant loss after recording 73 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks from the safety position. Andrew Powdrell added 63 tackles before departing, while Nijrell Eason II, Kodi DeCambra, Devin Hartsuck, Anthony Costanzo, Yasir Muhammad and Kela Moore also left.
Jake Pope is back after recording 81 tackles and five pass breakups. Quandarius Keyes returns after intercepting two passes, including a pick-six, and adding 14 tackles. Denver Harris, Mumu Bin-Wahad, Tre Fulton, Joshua Tuchek, Jordan Buchanan, Jaylen Allen, Logan Christensen and Brock DeFries also return.
The additions include Landyn Cleveland, Kyron Chambers, Tony-Louis Nkuba, Avery Helm, Cameron Parodi, Darien Lewis and Tylen Mathews.
Welch and Brown supplied nine of UNLV’s 14 interceptions, so returning experience alone will not replace the secondary’s production. Pope and Keyes give the newcomers teammates who know the calls; the new group still has to turn that communication into coverage and takeaways.
Special Teams Keeps Its Most Important Piece
Ramon Villela returns for his junior season after making 15 of 20 field goals, converting all 58 extra-point attempts and connecting from as far as 50 yards. Keeping an established kicker gives UNLV one fewer position to worry about while the rest of the roster changes around him.
The Rebels still have to replace punter Cam Brown, who averaged 43.8 yards on 46 punts and had a long of 71. Carter Jula, Konner Melzer, Caden Costa and Andrew McIlquham also departed.
Noah Randazzo, Matt Choules, Ethan Schwartz and Tyson Jacobson arrived to address those openings, while Andrew O’Reilly returns as the long snapper.
What the Returning Players Can Carry
UNLV has won at least nine games in each of the last three seasons. Maintaining that standard requires the new line to protect a quarterback still earning the receivers’ trust, while the defense replaces nine interceptions from two departed defensive backs. I would judge the spring by those combinations before counting the names the portal brought in.
Correction: The 2025 statistics in this article have been updated to include the bowl game and reflect the complete season. Fuller’s unresolved eligibility status has also been clarified. The roster analysis reflects the article’s March 9 publication date.
