Auburn transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold will start over Alex Orji in UNLV’s season opener againt Memphis on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium, coach Dan Mullen said Thursday.
“We got all the scripting done, which I said, Jackson Arnold will be in for the first play of the game,” Mullen said on the “Dan Mullen Radio Show.”
“Alex is going to play. I wouldn’t be shocked if Alex is in (the game) pretty quick.
“I think we have two starting quarterbacks, and I think that is a big, big plus for us as the season goes on.”
Mullen had previously declined to name a starter, including earlier this week, and had said throughout fall camp that both Arnold and Orji would play in UNLV’s first game of the season.
Arnold spent his first two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to Auburn for the 2025 season. Across 27 career appearances and 17 starts, Arnold, a former five-star prospect, has completed 63 percent of his passes for 3,263 yards.
A former Gatorade Player of the Year and Manning Award winner, Arnold was rated as the No. 4 quarterback in the country and the No. 8 overall recruit in the 2023 class coming out of high school.
