Dan Mullen has quietly assembled the Nation's most interesting roster at UNLV

UNLV Introduces Dan Mullen
UNLV Introduces Dan Mullen | Ethan Miller/GettyImages

Heading into the 2025 season, the UNLV Rebels will have a chance to ruin Boise State's quest for back-to-back Mountain West Championships. After an exciting 2024 season, the Rebels undergo a ton of changes as Barry Odom took the Head Coaching gig at Purdue which led UNLV to hire former SEC Head Coach Dan Mullen.

It has been several years since Dan Mullen was last roaming a sideline but, the former Florida Head Coach will look to rebound out West. The UNLV roster took some massive hits as well with players transferring or departing for the NFL. Despite all of the turnover on the coaching staff and with the roster, UNLV will have a chance to win the Mountain West this season for one reason.

This offseason, as UNLV looks to fill all of its holes on the roster, Dan Mullen took an interesting approach to building this roster pushing for a ton of high upside players who haven't lived up to their recruiting rankings. Given the name power on this roster, the Rebels will be one of the most interesting teams to watch in 2025.

The quarterback battle will take place between two experienced starters from the Power 4 in Alex Orji and Anthony Colandrea. Alex Orji is most known for being an explosive runner who has shown promise at times but, has also been incredibly inconsistent and needs to improve as a passer. Anthony Colandrea is very similar to Orji in the sense that he's shown a ton of promise but, has struggled finding consistency throwing far too many interceptions.

At Wide Receiver, UNLV will have a pair of well known transfers in JoJo Earle and Troy Omeire. As a True Freshman, JoJo Earle served a role in Alabama's receiving room and was expected to breakout as a Sophomore but, was sidelined with an early season injury. Troy Omeiere was a former highly sought after recruit who started his career at Texas before making an impact at Arizona State. The weapons at the receiver position will make it easy on whoever wins the starting quarterback job as the talent is off the charts.

Joining the high upside wide receiver duo is a high upside tight end in Var'keyes Gumms who transfers in from Arkansas. When Gumms started his career at North Texas, he instantly looked like an up and coming star becoming a Second Team Freshman All American but, only caught 4 passes at Arkansas. If Gumms can get his career back on track in Dan Mullen's offense which has worked wonders for tight ends, it could result in a massive season.

On the defensive line, the Rebels will have a former 5-star recruit in edge rusher Tunmise Adeleye. The former 5-star recruit started his career at Texas A&M but, in his first two seasons, he didn't make much of an impact. His third season was spent at Michigan State where he posted 9 tackles and a sack. Texas State was the next step for the former 5-star where he posted 2 sacks, while he's been disappointing, the talent has shown it's there and he could be an interesting piece this season.

Manning the middle of UNLV's defense will be former Oregon and Arizona linebacker Justin Flowe. Coming out of High School, Justin Flowe was one of the best players in the class as a consensus 5-star recruit and a top 10 player in the class. The 2023 season was Justin Flowe's best year but, after failing to record a stat in 4 games last season he decided to transfer. If Flowe can return to his 2023 form, the team could have the best linebacker in the Mountain West.

The Rebels may have one of the most talented cornerbacks in the Country transferring in as Denver Harris transfers in from UTSA. The issue with Harris has never been his talent as a former 5-star recruit who signed with Texas A&M out of High School. Harris made stops at Texas A&M and LSU before his move to UTSA but, off the field issues kept him from making a full impact. After playing a full season for UTSA, Harris can look to prove he's one of the most talented player in the Country this season.

Opposite of Denver Harris will be his former LSU teammate cornerback Leterrance Welch. Last season, Leterrance Welch spent the year at Arizona State where he had a pivotal pick 6 in the game against UCF. Welch was impressive for the Sun Devils and likely a player they truly wanted back this season but, he was dismissed from the program before the season ended making UNLV the benefactor.

At Safety, UNLV will have former highly sought after recruit for Alabama and Georgia Bulldogs transfer Jake Pope. During his first two seasons of College Football, Jake Pope was a reserve for Alabama serving mostly special teams duty. When Travaris Robinson took the defensive backs coaching job at Georgia, Jake Pope followed him spending this past season with Georgia but, he only played in mop up duty. Jake Pope will finally have the chance this season to show everyone what he's capable of and possibly fill the shoes of Jalen Catalon.

Overall, this UNLV team may not be as good as it was last season but, it's far more interesting of a group. The Rebels undergo a ton of turnover and rather than banking on some pieces on the roster to develop another level, Dan Mullen is clearly betting on talent and upside. If some of these pieces pan out for the Rebels it would be a massive win but, these players are also leaving the big name programs for a fresh start for a reason.

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