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Anthony Colandrea Battling for UNLV Starting Quarterback Job

Originally posted on Dice City Sports | By Robert LaMar | Last updated Aug 10, 2025 6:17 PM ET

Anthony Colandrea, the former Virginia Cavaliers quarterback, is making his case to lead the UNLV Rebels offense in 2025. After transferring to UNLV in the offseason, Colandrea entered fall camp in a head-to-head battle with former Michigan quarterback Alex Orji for the starting job.

Colandrea, who started 17 games over two seasons at Virginia, brings a strong arm and Power Five experience to a Rebels roster undergoing major offensive changes under new head coach Dan Mullen. While Orji offers a more dual-threat style, Colandrea has impressed teammates with his poise in the pocket and ability to stretch the field.

The competition remains open, with Mullen expected to name a starter closer to Week 1. Whoever wins the job will inherit a rebuilt offense that lost star wide receiver Ricky White III to the NFL and is expected to lean heavily on running back Jet Thomas early in the season.

After 6 fall camp practices, Dan Mullen updates the media on UNLV's QB competition between Michigan transfer Alex Orji and Virginia transfer Anthony Colandrea:

"They're coming along nicely….We gotta accelerate these guys, they got one year to get it right." pic.twitter.com/Q00xusiH9L

— Paloma Villicana (@PalomaFOX5News) July 29, 2025

Advantage Colandrea?

Experience can be the key as Colandrea has 17 games started under his belt while he was at the University of Virginia. Actual college experience does matter which could propel him to being able to hold off his competition during summer camp. But in this case experience might not be good enough as we have year one coach Dan Mullen trying to find the best guy to be able to operate his system. Based off of Dan Mullen’s experience with previous quarterbacks Alex Orji seems to fit the bill a little bit more than Colandrea does. As we are two weeks away from the start of the season this next week should be very important in who’s going to actually be able to win the starting job heading into opening week against Idaho State.

This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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