Rebels report: De Jesus grateful for team’s support in difficult time

Jacob De Jesus heard all the praise he received after UNLV’s 41-20 win over San Diego State on Saturday.

The senior was the Rebels’ best player at Allegiant Stadium, catching seven passes for 75 yards, running twice for 42 yards and returning five punts for 35 yards.

His performance led to an emotional news conference where coach Barry Odom, star linebacker Jackson Woodard and quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams lauded De Jesus for playing through multiple types of pain.

It was De Jesus’ first game back since suffering a knee injury during UNLV’s loss to Boise State on Oct. 25. Odom said De Jesus learned soon after the defeat that his father, Richard De Jesus, had died.

Williams said De Jesus is a “superhero” for the way he continued to push the team despite his own struggles, while Woodard called him an inspiration for the way he balances his own young family with everything else.

“It just means a lot to me to hear that from both of them. I love both of those guys and, you know, they’ve been super helpful,” De Jesus said. “I got 107 brothers around me that are all here for me. And it makes it easier to go through this.”

De Jesus said even with all that support, suiting up for Saturday’s game was hard.

“I know my dad would have been at the game. And he would have been super excited. He always texted me before every game, you know, to have a great game,” he said. “And so I was feeling down. But once we got in the stadium and started warming up, I started feeling (better) and just thinking about how I want to do this for him. And I just thank God for allowing me to have a great game. I give Him all the glory. And I know my dad was with me, and I know he’ll be with me through all the games up ahead.”

No reaction to ranking

UNLV (8-2, 4-1 Mountain West) returned to the national rankings Sunday, but the team didn’t discuss the recognition.

The Rebels are 23rd in the latest USA Today coaches poll and The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Odom presented the team with a warning when the program made its first-ever appearance in the national rankings in September, but defensive end Antonio Doyle Jr. said the coach didn’t bring up the honor this time around.

“We didn’t speak on it. We feel as a team we should have been ranked. We’re really just focused on the games that we lost, and how can we overcome them? How can we not lose any more? Can we be 10-2? We can really care less about all the other stuff that comes with winning,” Doyle said. “We just want to win.”

Odom briefly touched on the development in his news conference Monday.

“Excited that we’re getting some national notoriety. That sets up more meaningful games in November,” he said. “That’s the expectation of the standard of what this program is and what we’re going to be.”

Chittenden earns award

Freshman kicker Caden Chittenden was named Mountain West’s special teams player of the week Monday.

The Faith Lutheran alum earned the honor for the third time this season.

Chittenden made all five of his extra-point attempts Saturday as well as both of his field-goal tries. He is the highest-scoring kicker in college football with 109 points and is tied for the most made field goals in the nation with 22.

“He’s become one of the elite kickers in all of college football, not just our conference,” Odom said. “Obviously, he’s got a number of years ahead of him that he’ll continue to make a name for himself in our program.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.