UNLV football looking for fresh start after going 0-6 last season

One spring football practice down. Fourteen to go.

UNLV completed its first spring workout on Tuesday under Marcus Arroyo, who said “everybody looks totally different” compared to last year when he began his tenure with the team.

The Rebels did not conduct spring practice in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Arroyo said his primary goal this spring is to create a new on-field culture following an 0-6 campaign last fall.

“I want someone who played on last year’s team to come out and go ‘That looks nothing like what we did before.’” Arroyo said. “The discipline, the toughness, the fundamentals and the consistency.”

And the quarterback.

UNLV will have a new signal caller in the fall, and the spring practices are crucial in evaluating junior Justin Rogers, sophomore Doug Brumfeld and freshman Cameron Friel. Rogers attempted 22 passes last season and Brumfeld threw 21 times.

Last year’s starter, Max Gilliam, bypassed an opportunity to return to the program to pursue a career in business.

Friel is an early enrollee, having graduated from high school early to join the Rebels in time for spring practice.

“I think all those guys are chomping at the bit. … These guys are fired up. The pressure’s on,” Arroyo said, explaining that the quarterbacks could have about 1,600 repetitions, 1,000 in practice and 600 in walk-throughs, during the course of spring football. ”When you look at how many reps you can get in a spring season. … you can learn a lot about a quarterback in a spring.”

Sophomore wide receiver Kyle Williams led the Rebels with 426 receiving yards in the fall and said the group of quarterbacks all seem more “dominant” as they start spring practice.

“Since last year, I’ve definitely seen a lot more confidence in their game. A lot more swagger when they walk up. I see a lot more communication,” he said. “I feel those are those are the three biggest things that we needed to improve. As a group, their demeanor has just changed.”

UNLV will resume spring practice Thursday and conclude the week on Saturday before reconvening again next Tuesday.

“Everything has kind of been back to normal, honestly,” said senior offensive lineman Julio Garcia. “Everyone is hanging in the locker room. It honestly feels like we just didn’t have COVID right now. It’s great just because we don’t have to worry about distractions outside of football. We can just learn the playbook and practice and work on things we need to work on.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.