Dan Mullen Says Jackson Arnold, Alex Orji Will Both Play Against Memphis

LAS VEGAS — Dan Mullen spent fall camp refusing to turn UNLV’s quarterback competition into a countdown toward naming one starter. Jackson Arnold could take the first snap against Memphis. Alex Orji could take it. Both could have roles. Mullen said early in camp that he expected to have an idea before kickoff, but he never promised that answer would leave one quarterback on the sideline.

Game week settled one part of it. Arnold and Orji will both play Saturday.

Mullen confirmed the plan Monday while continuing to avoid naming a starter, providing a snap count or explaining whether the quarterbacks will alternate series, split the game or enter for specific situations. UNLV has not even finalized who will be on the field for the first play because Mullen said the opening script may not be completed until Thursday.

“I don’t know who’ll start,” Mullen said. “We don’t honestly script that sometimes until Thursday. We’ll script, then I’ll know what the first play of the game will be and then I’ll know who will be on the field for it.”

That fit what Mullen had said throughout August. He never treated naming a starter and deciding how UNLV could use both quarterbacks as the same question.

Arnold and Orji opened camp taking meaningful repetitions in an offense still being installed around a rebuilt group. Arnold entered with 18 career starts between Oklahoma and Auburn but was learning another offense after transferring for the second consecutive offseason. Orji was going through a full camp after the injury that ended his first UNLV season in 2025.

The differences between them were visible during practices open to the media. Arnold generally looked at his best when his first read was available and he could get the ball out on time. Orji brought another level of size and physical running ability, extending plays with his legs and giving the offense a different option when the initial read disappeared.

Neither consistently separated enough for Mullen to end the competition publicly.

Mullen also resisted reducing the competition to Arnold being the passer and Orji being the runner. Arnold rushed for 311 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns during his final season at Auburn, while Orji showed enough as a passer during camp that his role did not have to be limited to designed runs or short-yardage situations.

Mullen instead talked about building around what each quarterback does well.

“You have to be yourself,” Mullen said during camp. “Ultimately, we as coaches have to enhance those guys and play to their strengths more than anything.”

By Aug. 10, Mullen was openly discussing the possibility of using both.

“Maybe they’ll both start,” Mullen said. “Maybe we’ll play two of them against Memphis. I don’t know. We’ll see. I can’t give away all our own little secret packages.”

His standard was simpler than choosing one quarterback.

“If they both can help us win, they’ll both play,” Mullen said.

Six days later, while discussing Memphis’ decision not to announce whether Air Noland or Marcus Stokes would start, Mullen went a step further.

“They might not have a starter, but both ours are going to go,” Mullen said.

Monday removed whatever uncertainty remained about that part of the plan.

“They’re both gonna play,” Mullen said. “Unless one gets hurt this week.”

What Mullen still will not say is what “both” means.

He does not place much value on the starter label without knowing the formation and play attached to the first snap. Mullen made that point Monday by using Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas as an example. If UNLV opens the game with five receivers, its returning 1,000-yard rusher would not technically start even though he remains one of the most important players in the offense.

“If I start in a five-wide receiver set, Jet Thomas doesn’t start,” Mullen said. “Is that going to blow everybody’s mind?”

The same logic applies to Arnold and Orji. One may take the first snap because of the personnel group or play Mullen wants to run, but that would not guarantee the same quarterback leads the next series or receives most of the snaps.

Mullen was asked Monday whether the work would be divided 50-50 or determined by the flow of the game. He did not commit to either approach.

The competition has also changed since UNLV moved out of its normal fall-camp installation and began preparing specifically for Memphis. Arnold and Orji spent most of camp seeing familiar fronts and coverages from defensive coordinator Paul Guenther’s defense. Game preparation now requires them to apply the offense to different protections, routes, reads and checks.

Mullen had pointed to that transition before game week, saying the quarterbacks were becoming more comfortable but still needed to take what they had learned into an opponent-specific plan.

“That’s a big difference in the quarterback play,” Mullen said during camp. “We gotta make sure we start making that transition.”

He returned to it Monday when asked what he still needed from the position.

“There’s a lot,” Mullen said. “This is game week. There are so many little adjustments that the quarterbacks have to make this week that they haven’t. They’ve been going against the same looks for a long time.”

Memphis adds another layer because the Tigers replaced their coaching staff and added more than 70 newcomers. UNLV can prepare for what Memphis’ coaches have done elsewhere, but Arnold and Orji will still have to identify adjustments once the game begins.

Center Austin Boyd has worked with both quarterbacks through that process. He said Arnold and Orji use slightly different cadences and rhythms at the line of scrimmage, leading both to spend additional time with him before and after practice.

“They’ve both done a really good job,” Boyd said. “They’ve done a good job getting with me before and after practice, getting those reps in. They both bring a lot to the table.”

The work matters beyond getting the snap cleanly. The offensive line still has to hear the protection, receivers still have to operate on the correct timing and the rest of the offense cannot need a reset every time Mullen changes quarterbacks.

Mullen also has precedent for using two quarterbacks without treating the plan as an even rotation.

Anthony Colandrea became UNLV’s primary quarterback last season, but Orji remained part of the offense before suffering a season-ending injury. Both were on the field for the first snap of the 2025 opener against Idaho State, and Mullen continued finding situations for Orji without every appearance representing a change at the top of the depth chart.

Arnold and Orji do not have to receive the same number of snaps for both to matter Saturday.

Orji’s size and physical running ability give Mullen another way to stress a defense, but limiting him to an obvious running package would also tell Memphis what to expect when he enters. Arnold can run as well, giving UNLV the ability to keep portions of the same offense available regardless of which quarterback is on the field.

Mullen has not publicly revealed whether the two will share the field, rotate by series or enter according to situation. He has not said the first quarterback will keep the job if the offense starts well or lose snaps after a mistake.

The Tigers know both quarterbacks are coming. They do not know when.

For Arnold and Orji, game week is no longer about winning an announcement. Both are playing. The question now is when Mullen calls for each one.

The first series may reveal who technically starts. It still will not tell Memphis how UNLV plans to use both quarterbacks for the rest of the night.

UNLV and Memphis will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Allegiant Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on Fox.