No one, not those making odds at sportsbooks, not those predicting the order of finish for conference races, not those discussing college football around the dinner table, have higher expectations for UNLV than coach Dan Mullen.
Ever.
This didn’t change for the Rebels as they began training camp on Wednesday. Mullen is still about his team competing to win the Mountain West and challenge for a berth in the College Football Playoff.
Most have forecast this: That the Rebels and New Mexico will battle for league supremacy this season and that UNLV might sit behind only Boise State as the side with the best chance of representing non-Power 4 teams in the College Football Playoff.
“The guys we recruit to come here to play and those that came back also expect to compete for and win championships,” Mullen said. “Inside the building, that part hasn’t changed. That’s just what it is. That’s why guys come here.”
Said senior safety Jake Pope: “We have huge expectations this year. We’re coming back to win the (league) championship and have a shot at the (CFP). We expect nothing less. As long as we make strides each and every day and every rep, we’ll be a great squad.”
It will take a lot of work.
Mullen is big on development, and that theory leads the way in Year 2 of his UNLV tenure much as it did in Year 1.
His message: It’s the thing that gets lost in an instant gratification world, that you don’t become a great football player overnight.
“You don’t go from high school to college and become a superstar from Day 1,” Mullen said. “There’s development that goes on. One of the great things about our guys is that we preach all the time to worry about their reps and getting better. Everyone says, ‘Who’s starting?’ No one is competing for a starting spot here. Everyone is competing for reps.
“The more guys who can get reps and the deeper we are, the better a team we’ll have. That’s the message. Just get guys to develop and get better every single day.”
Here are some other thoughts from Mullen following the camp’s first practice.
Quarterback play
Mullen said there were times the Rebels threw the ball well and others they didn’t and that he’s a perfectionist: He expects to complete every pass.
But the key here is both returner Alex Orji, who missed most of last season with injury, and Auburn transfer Jackson Arnold becoming comfortable with the scheme and what is largely an unproven receiver group.
Mullen said the quartebacks need to react instead of thinking.
That they are still processing and learning.
“I think there’s a lot more comfort in what we’re doing, that hopefully we continue to build through this week so we can get through the end of the install and our quarterbacks are confident in everything they’re doing,” Mullen said. “So for the last couple weeks of training camp, they’re really taking a gradual step.”
Knowing the system
Mullen has talked often about retention and what the Rebels were going to bring to the field from spring practice and a few OTA and walk-through sessions.
A good thing: There weren’t any looks of confusion on the field Wednesday. Guys knew what they were doing and where they should be.
“There is more familiarity with what’s going on,” Mullen said. “More familiarity of the routine and with how we’re running the program. We’re always tweaking things that maybe fit this year’s guys better, but it’s just about that comfort level that’s important.”
Heating up
Yeah. It’s no different at UNLV.
It’s hot.
The Rebels are scheduled to be off the field no later than 10:40 in camp for all outdoor practices. They ended earlier on Wednesday.
“Right now, we just have to take care of our bodies,” Mullen said. “Try to make sure we get off the field before the heat of the day gets going. But when we come out tomorrow, we really need to take care of our bodies with hydration, with recovery, physically take care and use the extra time to mentally retain everything that went into (practice) because we’ll have a whole new install.”
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
