LAS VEGAS — Two games into the season, the two-quarterback plan Dan Mullen spent August discussing has barely materialized. Jackson Arnold has handled almost the entire position, including much of the rushing work that once looked like the most obvious way for Alex Orji to get on the field.
Arnold has attempted all 55 of UNLV’s passes and has been credited with 37 rushing attempts through the first two games. Orji has two recorded carries for four yards, one against Memphis and another at Hawai‘i. The 37 official rushing attempts need some context because seven came on sacks and others began as pass plays, but Mullen has also repeatedly called Arnold’s number on designed runs.
Orji’s most obvious way onto the field during camp was as a runner. At 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, he gave UNLV a more physical option after being used extensively on the ground at Michigan. Arnold was already a capable runner himself, rushing for 311 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns at Auburn last season, but Orji’s size gave Mullen another way to use the position, particularly in short yardage.
Mullen never promised the two quarterbacks would divide the offense evenly. He did spend most of fall camp leaving room for both to play, and his comments made clear that winning the starting job did not necessarily mean the other quarterback would disappear.
“Maybe they’ll both start,” Mullen said during fall camp. “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.”
Mullen followed with the standard he planned to use once the season began.
“If they both can help us win, they’ll both play,” he said.
By Memphis week, Mullen said both quarterbacks would play. Arnold had emerged as the starter, but UNLV still expected Orji to have a role. Mullen would not say how much, and he never promised a 50-50 split or defined which situations would belong to either player.
“They’re both gonna play,” Mullen said. “Unless one gets hurt this week.”
Arnold gave him little reason to make the change once the opener began.
He completed 25 of 37 passes for 291 yards and two touchdowns against Memphis. Before halftime, Arnold was 17 of 21 for 203 yards as UNLV built a 14-7 lead and consistently moved the ball with him running the offense.
Orji got his opportunity late in the second quarter. UNLV faced fourth-and-1 from the Memphis 6, and Mullen sent in the 240-pound quarterback. Orji kept the ball and gained two yards for the first down before Arnold returned.
Mullen said afterward that Arnold’s performance had changed the original plan.
“That was the playing plan, but Jackson Arnold was playing really well,” Mullen said. “I thought he was getting the ball out of his hands, making some quick reads, was accurate, making good decisions out there on the field.”
Arnold was already part of the run game, too. UNLV called 12 designed runs after halftime against Memphis, and three went to Arnold. He also broke a 54-yard scramble on the Rebels’ first possession of the third quarter, taking the ball from the UNLV 15 into Memphis territory before the drive eventually ended with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Kayden McGee.
The 54-yard run was a scramble rather than a designed keeper, but it showed why UNLV did not need a substitution to add a quarterback rushing threat. Arnold could turn a covered pass play into one of the longest runs of the game, then stay on the field and attack the defense through the air on the same possession.
UNLV’s offense eventually stalled in the second half. Memphis recorded all six of its sacks after halftime, starting center Austin Boyd went down and the Rebels managed only 25 yards in the fourth quarter of a 27-21 loss. Orji’s limited role was not why UNLV lost, but the opener showed that Mullen was already comfortable giving Arnold work in the run game.
Hawai‘i made that much easier to see.
UNLV ran 43 times for 248 yards in Honolulu. Jai’Den Thomas carried 20 times for 143 yards and a touchdown, while Arnold added 89 yards and two scores on 16 official attempts. Together, Thomas and Arnold accounted for 232 of the Rebels’ 248 rushing yards.
The first touchdown drive showed how directly Arnold had been built into the run game.
UNLV moved from its own 20 to the Hawai‘i 19 behind Thomas, Arnold and a 25-yard completion to tight end Keyan Burnett. From there, Arnold rode the handoff to Thomas, pulled the ball and ran 12 yards to the 7. Hawai‘i had to respect Thomas long enough for Arnold to get through the first wave of the defense and turn upfield.
Mullen went right back to him on the next snap. Arnold kept the ball, ran straight ahead and lowered his shoulder near the goal line for a seven-yard touchdown. The final 19 yards of UNLV’s 80-yard scoring drive came on consecutive designed runs by its starting quarterback.
Mullen did not need to substitute to add another runner at quarterback. Arnold could carry the ball on one snap and still have the entire passing offense available on the next.
Arnold later finished UNLV’s second touchdown drive with another keeper, giving him two first-half rushing scores. He finished the night with only eight completions for 116 yards, far below the 291 passing yards he produced against Memphis. Arnold went from 37 pass attempts in the opener to 18 at Hawai‘i, but his workload did not disappear. More of it moved to the ground.
His physical running style was hard to miss. Arnold lowered his shoulder on the first touchdown and repeatedly tried to finish forward instead of immediately giving himself up. North Texas coach Neal Brown would later point specifically to the way Arnold fought through contact in Honolulu when describing what stood out on film.
Mullen continued trusting him with the ball late in the game.
After Quandarius Keyes intercepted Micah Alejado in the fourth quarter, UNLV took possession with a 21-6 lead and a chance to run out the remaining time. Thomas handled most of the final possession, but Arnold remained part of the rushing plan. Facing third-and-3, he kept the ball and gained 17 yards while staying in bounds. UNLV converted another third down later in the possession and never gave Hawai‘i the ball back.
Arnold finished with 89 rushing yards and two scores. Orji finished with another two-yard carry.
Through two games, Orji has two official rushing attempts for four yards. Arnold has 37 official rushing attempts to go with every UNLV pass attempt.
The gap does not mean Orji has been removed from the plan. Mullen has never said Arnold’s running is the reason Orji has played so little. His explanation after Memphis was broader: Arnold was playing well, getting the ball out quickly, making accurate throws and making good decisions.
Orji also continues to prepare alongside Arnold. Arnold said Monday that the two quarterbacks sit together during meetings with Mullen and offensive coordinator Corey Dennis. Arnold said those meetings help both quarterbacks understand how Mullen and Dennis build each week’s plan.
The first two games have changed what UNLV needs Orji to provide. His size still gives Mullen a more physical short-yardage runner, and the fourth-and-1 conversion against Memphis showed one way he can be used. A different matchup could create more opportunities, and Mullen has not said the options he discussed during August are gone.
Arnold’s own running has made it harder to define a separate package around that skill alone.
North Texas has already noticed Arnold’s expanded rushing role.
Brown brought up Arnold’s 37 official rushing attempts Tuesday while discussing UNLV’s offense. He had watched Arnold throw for 291 yards against Memphis and then finish as one of UNLV’s leading rushers at Hawai‘i.
“Jackson Arnold, who’s right here in Denton, he’s carried the ball, I think, 37 times for them through two weeks,” Brown said.
Brown also noticed the physical way Arnold ran in Honolulu.
“I think he plays with a lot of grit,” Brown said. “He had a couple runs versus Hawai‘i where he just refused to be denied, a couple third down, fourth downs.”
Brown did not describe Arnold as merely a passer who can scramble. When he broke down what Mullen and Dennis have built around their quarterback, he included Arnold’s running with everything else North Texas has to defend.
“He’s really effective in the RPOs,” Brown said. “He gets the quick game out of his hands fast. He throws the deep ball well and he’s highly effective in the run game.”
Brown said Mullen and Dennis are building the offense around what Arnold does well. North Texas has to defend all of it with Arnold still on the field: Thomas, the RPO game, quick throws, shots downfield and the quarterback run.
Orji’s fourth-and-1 appearance against Memphis showed the short-yardage role he can still give UNLV. Arnold can supply the quarterback-run threat without requiring Mullen to make a substitution, then stay on the field with the rest of the offense still available.
Saturday in Denton will provide the next indication of how much the quarterback plan has changed. Orji remains available, and there are still situations where his size could give UNLV something different. Mullen spent August looking for ways to use both quarterbacks, and he has not said those options are gone.
Through two games, though, UNLV has not needed to put Orji on the field simply to make the quarterback a threat in the running game.
Arnold already is one.