They’re in a competition, but you would never know it.
Maybe it’s because each has to still learn a new offense. Maybe that’s the sole focus right now. Maybe it should be.
Alex Orji and Anthony Colandrea are transfer quarterbacks at UNLV, each having arrived from a Power Four conference with the idea of next leading the Rebels under first-year coach Dan Mullen.
But as more and more plays are introduced during spring practice, as the package grows, as the scheme develops, both seem far more concerned with understanding how Mullen wants things done more than beating out the other guy. Someone has to eventually win the job, though. Someone has to take the first snap when a season opens at Sam Houston on Aug. 30.
Senior quarterback Cam Friel has also returned for another season.
“The thing that makes it easy for me is the quarterback rooms I’ve been in and the great teammates I’ve had,” said Orji, a senior transfer from Michigan. “That culture has shown me what it’s like to be a selfless teammate and have a selfless pursuit of excellence.
“You never really know what you’re getting yourself into, but we as (quarterbacks) have had an instant connection here. We’re the black jersey crew, but when we take them off and are in the locker room with each other, we’re best friends.”
Colandrea is a junior transfer from Virginia who first met Mullen when the latter was calling games for ESPN. It was during Colandrea’s freshman year in a matchup against Louisville.
‘Mullen is the man’
Soon after Mullen was hired by UNLV in December, an area code from Gainesville, Florida, popped up on Colandrea’s phone. It was soon to be his next coach.
“Coach Mullen is the man,” Colandrea said. “Spring ball has been a huge learning curve and getting adjusted to all my teammates. I’d say my main goal is just learning the offense at a high level.
“I’ve played a lot of football. Just bringing leadership and confidence is important. Never hanging your head when a bad play happens. Always having a clear mind.”
They each had high praise for offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis, for those players he has tutored in the past, for the strong communication that has transpired since spring drills began. They each had praise for those players around them. For the skill Mullen has recruited to UNLV. From those up front in charge of keeping quarterbacks clean to those running routes and catching passes.
“You all have time?” Orji said when asked about those teammates. “Anybody wearing a red jersey. I don’t know if I’m going to war if I want a gun or a tank, but the main weapons are going to be the big guys. They’re really working, trying to move people.
“As far as the receivers, this isn’t normal. The guys we have here in Vegas right now — we have a bunch of dudes who have played big-time ball and in big-time games making huge plays.”
The Rebels had another major installation of new plays Tuesday, just the next step of Mullen introducing all that will encompass his offense. It starts with the quarterbacks.
Mind and body
“The mind will be trying to catch up,” Mullen said. “The key is the body just has to learn to go. The body has to go as fast as you can and as hard as you can every play. You’ll figure out that the execution will come as you continue to learn. It’s not new for some guys. It’s new for everybody. It’s all a new scheme. We’ll learn it.
“The coaches will get it coached up. When I get on our guys, it’s about, ‘How hard are we playing?’”
There is a competition at the most important position, transfers who are doing their darndest to learn the offense and become leaders and at some point separate themselves from the next guy. It will take time. Nothing about this is going to occur overnight.
“Not everyone follows the same way,” Orji said. “It’s just building bonds with people. No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. Build relationships with someone before you can call them out or love them up. The way people follow is more important than the way I lead.”
Contact Ed Graney at [email protected]. Follow @edgraney on X.
