QB transferring to UNLV as new coach’s offseason checklist looms

The 52-year-old was hired to replace coach Barry Odom in four days for a reason: There’s plenty of work to be done.

The fruits of his labor started to show Saturday, when Virginia sophomore quarterback Anthony Colandrea confirmed that he will transfer to UNLV.

Although Mullen said at his introduction that he planned to take a back seat in the lead-up to UNLV’s appearance in the LA Bowl against Cal, he appears to have been involved in everything but coaching from the sidelines.

Before the 24-13 win, interim coach Del Alexander said that Mullen had been helping the team with its game plan in offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s absence. Since Odom’s exit came a day before the transfer portal opened, Mullen said he started making calls to recruit players on the same day he was hired.

“I’ve always felt, for a long time, that UNLV is a sleeping giant,” Mullen said. “I think Coach Odom started to wake that giant, and (our goal) is to continue that.”

Here are three things Mullen will need to do before next season to accomplish that goal:

1. Find a quarterback

Mullen might have already accomplished this task with Colandrea.

The 6-foot, 183-pounder from St. Petersburg, Florida, threw for 4,083 yards with 26 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in two seasons with the Cavaliers. He also rushed for 502 yards and two scores.

Colandrea entered the transfer portal after being benched for the season finale against Virginia Tech. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Before spending his 13-year SEC head coaching career at Mississippi State and Florida, Mullen was an accomplished quarterbacks coach with the Gators and Utah.

He helped produce the likes of Heisman-winning signal-caller Tim Tebow (Florida), College Football Hall of Famer Alex Smith (Utah) and Dak Prescott (Mississippi State), who became the highest-paid player in NFL history this year.

“We created this spread offense that everybody runs at every level now,” Mullen said of the scheme he developed more than 20 years ago with Urban Meyer. “Our philosophy is to create advantageous matchups for our players and put them in a position to win.”

Mullen’s offense will look to get targets in open space, but it will be on his quarterback to successfully connect with them.

Rebels starting quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams is out of eligibility and has declared for the NFL draft. Senior backup Cameron Friel could possibly return for a fifth season. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are true freshman Gael Ochoa and walk-on Lucas Lenhoff, neither of whom played a snap this season.

2. Finalize his staff

Mullen’s success at UNLV won’t happen without strong coordinators and support staff.

He mentioned the desire to keep some of Odom’s staff in place at UNLV, but the new Purdue coach limited that option by poaching four major staffers to join him in West Lafayette, Indiana.

“We’re definitely working to put together a staff,” Mullen said at his introduction. “There’s opportunities for everybody. … But we’re gonna have a great list of candidates and people coming in, to be honest.”

Since then, UNLV hasn’t announced any of Mullen’s hires, but his efforts have been heavily documented.

He’s already hired Zach Arnett as defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. The former Mississippi State head coach worked as an analyst at Ole Miss this season.

Other reports say Mullen is targeting former Ohio State quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis for an offensive role. He’s Meyer’s son-in-law, and was Tulsa’s quarterbacks coach this season.

3. Retain and build

Just like the staff, Mullen previously said that he hoped to retain some of Odom’s players and early signees.

He’s had some success, like keeping top running back Kamran Williams committed to UNLV despite the coaching change. Williams, who was tabbed as the top recruit in the Rebels’ early signing class, announced Wednesday that he would be an early enrollee at UNLV in January.

The transfer portal hasn’t necessarily been kind, however, with the tally of UNLV players looking for other opportunities rising to at least 18 after the LA Bowl.

For some players, entering the transfer portal doesn’t have to mean the end of the road with the Rebels.

Freshman running back Greg Burrell is an example. He was UNLV’s No. 3 running back and the only Rebel to score in the 21-7 loss to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game.

“He’s not closing the door on UNLV or anything,” Burrell’s NIL representative Kyle Schaufel told the Review-Journal. “He’s got a lot of love there, his home’s there, everything is there. He just wants to see what he can do and what he can find out in the open market.”

Mullen will need to manage situations like Burrell’s and Williams’ while also attracting new talent. So far, his only confirmed signees are junior running back Jaylon Glover from Utah and junior tight end Nick Elksnis from South Carolina.

“It’s a very different world of college football with the transfer portal,” Mullen said. “We’re going to actively go out and recruit some of the best players in the country to come here.”

He’ll need a lot of talent for his offensive plans.

“Our playbook is big enough that we can fit the players,” Mullen said. “We can play ball control. We can play really up-tempo. We can throw it 60 times a game with our system, or we can lead the league in rushing. A lot is going to be based on our personnel.”

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