Rebels count on young QB for spark
Orlando Sentinel college insider Matt Murschel ranked all 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the country entering the 2017 season. The Sentinel staff takes a closer look at a new team daily, counting backward from No. 130 to our projected No. 1 team.
UNLV Tony Sanchez (7-17, entering third season; 7-17 overall)
4-8, 3-5 in Mountain West, tied for third in West Division
UNLV took an unconventional approach to rebuilding the program and pushing to become consistently competitive in the Mountain West Conference, hiring successful high school Tony Sanchez to take over the Rebels. Sanchez, who thrived at football power Bishop Gorman High, made modest improvements in his second season at UNLV. The Rebels went from 3-7 in 2015 to 4-8 in 2016 despite a wave of injuries forcing underclassmen into the starting lineup ahead of schedule. The highlight of the year was a 69-66 triple overtime win against Wyoming, during which the Rebels showed considerable toughness.
9 4
7 RB David Greene, LB Tau Lotulelei, DB Torry McTyer, DB Troy Hawthorne, DB Kenny Keys
RB Charles Williams, WR Mekhi Stevenson, WR Kendal Keys
The Rebels return nine starters on offense and some of the injury issues last season gave young players valuable experience they should be able to use to improve this offseason. QB Kurt Palandech was a game manager and remains an emergency option, but the offense will be in the hands of QB Armani Rogers. The highly touted recruit shined during the spring game and is expected to help bolster the offense. He’ll have a variety of options around him, including RB Charles Williams, WR Mekhi Stevenson and WR Kendal Keys.
UNLV returns just four starters on defense. Although the group didn’t stack up well against the rest of the Mountain West last season, it’s still challenging to lose experienced players. The team ranked No. 112 out of 128 teams in scoring defense, allowing 36.8 points per game. Even though the offense should have a more explosive passing threat to pair with a traditionally strong run game, the defense still has to cut down on points surrendered.
While UNLV faces an uphill battle, Sanchez is upbeat about the lineup he has entering his third season leading the Rebels. After the spring game, he told reporters, “I thought we saw some really good things on both sides of the ball, definite improvement. We are deeper in a lot of areas, especially in the quarterback spot.”