Mullen starts Year Two more comfortable
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LAS VEGAS — It’s Week 0 — that remains weird whenever I say it or write it — for the college football season and we’re going to find out fairly quick what Dan Mullen’s second season at UNLV is going to bring us.
There’s a lot of familiar faces — Jet Thomas, Jake Pope, Will Thomas and Lucas Conti leading the way. Of course, there are plenty of new faces, which is to be expected in these Wild West days of college athletics where the transfer portal and NIL are the main contributing factors. Anthony Collandrea is playing quarterback at Nebraska so Jackson Arnold, who played at Auburn and before that, was at Oklahoma, figures to start Saturday at Allegiant Stadium against Memphis. Alex Orji (remember him?) who was hurt last year and wound up not leaving, has reportedly looked good in fall practice. So he could factor into the equation.
Mike Scherer is back to help coach the defense after leaving with Barry Odom for Purdue. That’s a positive. He and Paul Hackett should be able to coach up that side of the ball.
Mullen did an excellent job returning to the sidelines after his TV studio analyst hiatus as he led the Rebels to a 10-4 record, the most wins of any first-year head coach in the program’s history. The goal is to build on that success, win the Mountain West title game and perhaps have enough of a resume to get a shot at earning a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, which will play its championship game at Allegiant Stadium Jan. 25.
And while the Mountain West may not be what it was with the departure of Boise State, San Diego State, Utah State, Fresno State and Colorado State to the revived Pacific 12, It’s not the cakewalk you think it may be. New Mexico is expected to be a factor in the conference championship. Perhaps Hawaii will as well. UNLV has to travel to Albuquerque on Nov. 14. And the Rebels will be at Honolulu Sept. 5 to start a three-game road trip that includes games at North Texas and Akron. So we’re going to find out early on just how good Mullen’s team is.
I’m a little leery in trying to predict the outcome of college athletics these days. Too many mitigating factors to decipher. Too many intangibles to sort through. Does UNLV have enough quality depth on its offensive line to weather any injuries? Is there enough talent on defense, particularly in the secondary to execute Hackett’s scheme? Is Arnold good enough to lead this team, make plays consistently and be in sync with both Mullen and offensive coordinator Corey Dennis, who also coaches the QBs?
Most of all, is there enough of a chemistry with all the new faces Mullen has brought on board to mesh and be on the same page, not only with the coaching staff, but with each other?
It’s a challenge every college coach in every sport has to deal with. If you think Mullen’s got a tall task, what until you see what Josh Pastner, the head coach of the Runnin’ Rebels faces with a virtually entire new roster. I don’t envy him at all.
“Where I’m most comfortable is with the routine of the coaches and the routine of the players,” Mullen said Monday at his weekly news conference at the Fertitta Football Complex. “I have a better understanding of the school’s operations, how the schedule works for classes.
“I’m a lot more comfortable with my own routine. For me, game week is game week. That doesn’t really change. But knowing how the campus works, who to talk to if I need an answer to something, yeah, I’m much more comfortable with all that.”
When Mullen was asked who his starting quarterback is come Saturday, he deftly sidestepped the question.
“I doin’t know who’s going to start,” he said. “I don’t know what the first play we’re going to call is. But both guys are going to play.”
And if you thought the players could provide more clarity, guess again.
‘They’ve both played great,” senior offensive lineman Austin Boyd said of Arnold and Orji. “For us, we want to be physical, be able to run the ball and start fast. That’s been an emphasis in camp.”
A fast start will definitely help from a momentum standpoint. The Rebels are 5.5-point betting favorites Saturday and are hoping for a decent sized crowd at Allegiant. They won’t be back until Oct. 3 when they host California so Mullen knows it’s important to begin the season on the right note.
“It’s important to establish some momentum,” Mullen said.
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