The UNLV Rebels' Offense 'Is A Question Mark' In Dan Mullen's First Season

The UNLV Rebels football team has had a ton of turnover this offseason. New head coach Dan Mullen had a lot of work to do to rebuild their roster. UNLV lost a ton of key players on the offensive side of the ball.

They lost their starting quarterback, Hajj-Malik Williams, who went from an afterthought who wasn't supposed to see the field last season to a surprise breakout star whose dual-threat ability earned him an invitation to the Las Vegas Raiders rookie minicamp. Mullen hit the transfer portal to replace him and added former Michigan Wolverines QB Alex Orji and former Virginia Cavaliers QB Anthony Colandrea. They are currently competing for the starting job at practice.

Star receivers Ricky White III and Jacob De Jesus, while both were standout stars, White III became one of their greatest players in program history. He went on to become the first Rebel drafted in the NFL Draft since 2010 when the Seattle Seahawks selected him in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They were also replaced by a group of transfers.

The Rebels will also be going into the season with a fully rebuilt offensive line, which may raise the most questions of all. Mountain West Connection recently spoke about the question marks in this offense.

Mountain West Connection's Take

"UNLV is a question mark under first-year head coach Dan Mullen. Many starters from last year transferred, including all five starters on the offensive line. The reason that UNLV can still have success offensively? Transfers. The Rebels bring in quarterback Anthony Colandrea, who started 17 games at Virginia, and also bring in four starters along the offensive line and receivers who have had playing time at the D1 level. At running back, big things are expected of junior Jai’den Thomas, who rushed for 918 yards last season and 5.6 yards per carry. Their biggest receiver this year could be Jaden Bradley, who had nine receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown in 2024."

Like everyone else, the one man they are leaning on for locked-in consistent production is running back Jet Thomas. The hype is huge for the talented back and we are expecting Mullen to lean heavily on him, especially early in the season to ground this offense. The offense may run only as well as he runs in 2025.