There hasn’t been a defensive player or coach during this UNLV football training camp who hasn’t mentioned the same word: Communication.
It lacked in the early parts of last season and the Rebels, despite winning games, needed to be exemplary on offense to pull things out most weeks.
That’s because they had a devil of a time stopping teams.
From the front end to the back, communication wasn’t consistent. It led to chunk plays from the opposition, to blown coverages, to allowing, over the course of a season, averages of 28 points and 419 yards.
So while many are predicting the current UNLV team has within itself an ability to challenge for a College Football Playoff berth, it won’t happen if the defense doesn’t do its part from the outset.
“(Communication) was probably the No. 1 thing we had to work on,” said second-year coordinator Paul Guenther. “Understanding where everyone needed to fit in coverage, run, whatever it might be. That’s been an emphasis this camp, and I think the guys are doing a really good job with it.”
‘Moneyball’ feeling
It was tough to establish much foundation in the beginning with Guenther being thrust into duty as defensive coordinator in the middle of spring practice last year.
He assumed the position after the resignation of Zach Arnett, meaning Guenther, an NFL lifer, moved from his associate head coach/safeties role with the Rebels to lead the defense.
“I kind of looked at it like the movie ‘Moneyball,’ where they fire the head scout and then say to a guy, ‘What’s your name? You’re the new head scout,’” Guenther said. “That was the coaching staff all the way down.
“I feel a lot more comfortable and to have seen it for a year, the complexities of one offense and something different the next week. So when that week comes, we can pull it off.”
It’s a different game, college to the NFL. Spacing is different. At this time last year, UNLV was still installing its base coverages.
But it’s different now.
“We’re way, way ahead of last year,” coach Dan Mullen said. “Paul is a lot more comfortable with the college game and how college players learn and process things. We have an idea of what guys can do and, obviously, a lot of these guys are coming back into the second year in the system. We’re way, way ahead.”
Fact: UNLV’s defense improved as the 2025 season went along, with its best effort being in a 17-10 loss to Ohio in the Frisco Bowl. But it’s a hungry unit that bemoans the fact it didn’t finish things as well as it had hoped on a weekly basis last season.
Players will tell you it’s about mastering the fine details of Guenther’s scheme, about not allowing one mistake to compound itself into another.
Those working opposite of them daily in training camp already see a difference.
“They’re going to play really tenacious this year,” center Austin Boyd said. “We have a great defensive line. Those guys are going to get after it this year. We also have a lot of guys returning in the secondary, linebackers coming back. I think they’ll do really well communicating and get after guys. They’re going to win us a lot of games.”
It’s a tall order but one Guenther’s side believes can make reality. To a player, there is that proverbial chip on one’s shoulder.
UNLV had an explosive offense last season that showed up until that Frisco Bowl defeat and should again put up numbers at or near the top of the Mountain West Conference.
Now, it’s about the other side of the ball doing its part. Talent shouldn’t be an issue. It’s more about execution.
“We weren’t always at our best last year and fell short sometimes,” defensive tackle Lucas Conti said. “The only thing we need to work on is getting everybody intellectually up to speed. I’m not really worried. We’ll be better than last season.
“We have to hold people accountable for mistakes. That’s everybody. It’s part of our culture. We also know how far we have come. We’ve realized our mistakes in the past. Especially with a target on our backs.
“I mean, (Guenther) was an NFL coach coming into college with a pro system. There was going to be a learning curve at first, but I think our team leaders are helping bring everyone along. We’re going to be a lot more adaptive this year.”
Play fast
It’s simple this way: You can’t have 10 guys doing one thing and an 11th doing another. You need everyone on the same page each snap. That became more of a norm as the season moved forward last year.
It has also been positive with the addition of Mike Scherer as linebackers coach. The former UNLV defensive coordinator is well respected and, Guenther said, has had great collaboration with the entire defensive staff.
They want to play fast. Want to be more detailed in their gap scheme. Want to make a large jump forward, beginning with a season-opener against Memphis on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium.
“Obviously, we started off slow in the beginning of last year,” Guenther said. “We have to understand now that we have to come out of the gate. We’re playing a good team our first game and we have to be ready to go from the jump.”
Ready, most of all, to communicate.
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
