UNLV Rebels Head Coach Dan Mullen Says Quarterbacks Anthony Colandrea and Alex Orji 'Played Fantastic' In Opener

After a tough win for the UNLV Rebels football team in their season opener over the Idaho State Bengals, Dan Mullen has been generally optimistic about the victory despite some evident concerns. However, he does also acknowledge that the team has some things they need to work on. He recently spoke on a wide range of topics, including his quarterbacks, the team's need to grow, and his love for the energy his players bring to the field.

UNLV Head Coach Dan Mullen On The Quarterback Play

“I thought they played fantastic (against Idaho State),” Mullen said. “That’s better than I’ve seen them play in our scrimmages with things like managing the game and checking down and not getting frustrated or forcing the ball downfield. They both had good reads. I want to see that growth continue. They had played before but not for us. But they were ready for all game situations and the bright lights.

Maybe we’ll start both again. Our playbook goes deep, now. I don’t know. I’m not letting the cat out of the bag just yet. But I think both bring a dynamic that makes us a more dynamic offense. They feed off each other.”

Mullen On Their Up And Down Performance

“When we did things well, I thought we did them really well. When we did things poorly, we did them really poorly. There were a lot of extremes over the course of that game instead of good, consistent football. I’d like to see more of that top to bottom this week. It’s a tough challenge any time you go on the road. Hopefully, we see those steps and are much improved.”

Mullen On Being Affected By The Little Things And Needing To Grow As a Team

“We allowed little things to affect us. It’s about growing and a team coming together and for some experienced guys to just worry about being the best you can be on the next play.”

Mullen On Coming Together As A Team

“You look at all the new faces we had and all the new coaches and being in a tight scenario like that. I couldn’t be more pleased with how our guys stuck together as a team. That’s one thing I took away from the game. You’re immediately thrown into a difficult situation and it would be very easy to fracture and fall apart. But instead, everybody pulled together and I thought that was really positive.”

Mullen On His Players' Energy

“That part is exciting. I was really pleased with the energy the guys came out with (after Saturday). It’s almost like we have to be a little careful with how hard guys are going just to keep everyone healthy.”