UNLV Rebels Football: Linebacker Spotlight: Marsel McDuffie, Chief Borders, Bryce Edmondson

The UNLV Rebels football team has gone through a lot of turnover this offseason. They have a lot of new faces on both the coaching staff and the roster. Their new head coach, Dan Mullen, was tasked with rebuilding the roster after losing many of their stars to both graduation and the transfer portal.

One of the positions they had to rebuild was at linebacker. The Rebels lost star linebacker and reigning Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Woodard to the NFL this offseason, and Charles Correa followed former head coach Barry Odom to Purdue. This left a huge void at linebacker with two of the three projected starters joining the team through the transfer portal. These are the 2025 Rebels starting linebackers. 

MLB Marsel McDuffie

McDuffie is a senior linebacker who is expected to fill the shoes of Woodard. This won't be an easy task, but he has proven to be a capable player. In 2023, he racked up 89 tackles. This season, the Texas native will be asked to take over the middle of the field. Many are already projecting him to end up being a First Team All-Mountain West player and perhaps even be in the conversation for the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. 

Edge Chief Borders

Borders will essentially serve as a stand-up defensive end in the UNLV defense. The transfer will be asked to both set the edge and rush the quarterback. He has spent time at both Pittsburgh and Florida before landing with the Rebels. There is potential for him to be a breakout star coming from Power 4 conference teams to the Mountain West. 

WLB Bryce Edmondson 

Edmondson is a transfer from Memphis and is expected to man the weakside linebacker position. He will be asked to step into a larger role than he played with the Tigers. While he's not a lock to win the starting job, he is the current favorite.   

More UNVL Rebels On SI News