2025 UNLV Football Quarterback Battle: Anthony Colandrea Vs. Alex Orji

The UNLV Rebels football team has seen a lot of roster turnover from last season. New head coach Dan Mullen had the tall task of replacing a ton of key players that helped lead the team to the Mountain West Conference Championship Game last season, where they fell to the Boise State Broncos for the second consecutive season. One of the biggest holes the new coaching staff has had to fill is at quarterback.

Last season, dual-threat quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams was a surprise breakout star. He has since moved on to trying to build a professional career after graduating in June. Mullen turned to the transfer portal for reinforcements, bringing in Alex Orji from the Michigan Wolverines and Anthony Colandrea from the Virginia Cavaliers. We have projected the dual-threat Orji to win the starting job, however, not everyone agrees. 

Athlon Sports recently predicted all of their starting quarterbacks in college football this season, and they believe that Colandrea will win the starting job.

This is not what we believe will happen, but you can make a strong case for Colandrea. He possesses more upside as a passer and has more experience. The former Cavaliers quarterback has flashed both a high upside and low downside during his time at Virginia. While Orji brings an incredible athletic ability that can be devastating for opposing defenses in the Mountain West Conference, Colandrea could allow Mullen to run a more traditional passing attack if he can limit his mistakes and play within himself at UNLV.