What to make of UNLV’s QB situation a week before the Tigers head to Las Vegas
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Memphis has spent most of the offseason evaluating quarterbacks Marcus Stokes and Air Noland for the starting quarterback position, and it appears UNLV could be doing the same with a pair of its quarterbacks.
Dan Mullen brought in Auburn transfer Jackson Arnold from the transfer portal this offseason, and most people expected him to be the day one starter, but Mullen has yet to name a starting quarterback ahead of next Saturday’s game against the Tigers. Arnold has spent the preseason battling with senior Alex Orji, who spent 2025 with the Rebels after transferring from Michigan.
Orji suffered a leg injury in UNLV’s week two game last year against UCLA and missed the rest of the season. The Rebels turned to junior Anthony Colandrea, who threw for 3,459 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2025.
He entered the transfer portal after the season and signed with Nebraska. On Saturday, the Cornhuskers named Colandrea the starting quarterback for the upcoming season.
Arnold signed with Mullen’s team after spending three seasons in the SEC. He signed with Oklahoma as a five-star and the No. 10 player in the class of 2023.
As a freshman, he threw for 563 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. He returned as a sophomore and threw for 1,421 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions before entering the transfer portal and heading to Auburn.
With the Tigers, he threw for 1,309 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions, but he entered the transfer portal again after the season and will spend his senior year in Las Vegas.
Like Charles Huff, Mullen hasn’t given away much information about who the starter will be in the Week Zero game, and he told the media a few weeks ago that he still doesn’t know who the guy will be.
“I have no idea,” Mullen said. “We’ll see. Maybe they’ll both start. Maybe we’ll play both of them against Memphis.”
On Friday, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s sports columnist Ed Graney joined Sports56 Mornings with Greg Gaston and Eli Savoie on Sports 56 to talk about the upcoming game, and he believes that Mullen will play both quarterbacks next Saturday.
“I think that’s everybody’s expectation, but I think [Arnold] and Alex Orji will both play against Memphis,” Graney said.
There’s a chance that UNLV plays both quarterbacks, but it’s also possible he just wants to keep the Tigers guessing. Huff is doing the same thing with his quarterback decision.
Huff said that the best advantage his team has is the unknown of who will run out there, and he wants to keep that advantage until game day.
With a week until the first game of the season, neither team has announced a starting quarterback, and it will be interesting who starts and how many quarterbacks play on August 29 in Las Vegas.
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