Marcus Arroyo, UNLV head football coach, talks with reporters during the Mountain West Media Day at Mandalay Bay Wednesday, July 20, 2022.
Saturday, July 23, 2022 | 2 a.m.
There was a time during the UNLV football team’s spring practice in March when coach Marcus Arroyo noticed significant progress in his young team.
It was a little step — but even the simplest forms of headway felt like gigantic upgrades.
“Everyone knows what plays we are running and where to lineup,” Arroyo said this week during the Mountain West conference’s media day.
Arroyo’s initial two seasons at the helm of the program were spent navigating the pandemic, which meant canceling the 15 session spring practices and playing only six games in 2020. The Rebels didn’t return to their normal schedule until last summer, some 18 months into Arroyo’s tenure.
Finally, he could run the program on the timeline he envisioned, and not how the pandemic dictated.
“I’m excited about our second training camp (next week),” the coach said. “I was really excited about the first spring ball, the full calendar, you know, the full progression of guys and player development.”
Many (including me) often say Arroyo has more resources than any other coach in program history with the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium and the $34 million Fertitta Football Complex on campus.
This, unfortunately, is rarely mentioned: No coach in program history has had a bigger challenge in maneuvering around the obstacles of missed practice and recruiting time.
If anyone deserves patience in building toward his vision, it’s Arroyo.
It’s important to not look at the two wins in two seasons, or the lopsided defeats against UNR, and instead look at the small signs of improvement.
UNLV won two of its final four games to close last season. Additionally, the Rebels limited league champion San Diego State to 98 rushing yards in a narrow 28-20 defeat in the finale. It was 100 yards less than San Diego State’s season average.
The Rebels lost six games by less than one score in 2021, several of which weren’t decided until the fourth quarter. So, yes, UNLV isn’t as far off as its 2-10 record would indicate.
“The way our guys played ... there’s a ton of good stuff to build off that. I think our guys took that and they did a great job in spring of using that to springboard themselves,” Arroyo said.
Despite UNLV being eliminated from bowl contention and with seemingly nothing to play for in the final weeks of the season, Arroyo was amazed at how his players continued to pursue getting better.
Even after tough-to-stomach defeats, the players had a certain enthusiasm for practice that he said was a powerful indicator of the program moving in the right direction because many were still engaged.
The reward of a few victories certainly helped cement the feeling that the tide was turning.
“Every day as a coach, candidly, and you’re like, ‘Man, I hope they just hang in there and believe that what we’re telling them is the truth,’” Arroyo said. “That’s all you can do. We were really honest. We were really forthcoming and we were in it together. We didn’t separate.”
Arroyo’s third year isn’t bringing different expectations from outside the program: UNLV was pegged 10th out of 12 league teams in the preseason media poll. The Rebels also didn’t have anyone selected for the preseason league team.
The roster has just 36 players who were with the team last fall, and the offense will have a different feel after Charles Williams, the program’s all-time leader rushing, finally ran out of eligibility. He was half of the offense last season.
But they brought in former four-star recruit Harrison Bailey from Tennessee at quarterback, linebacker Jordan Eubanks from Florida State and wide receiver Ricky White III from Michigan State. They could immediately be stars in the Mountain West, which helps explain why oddsmakers set UNLV’s win total at four games. And at DraftKings (not licensed in Nevada), the Rebels’ win total of 4.5 games opened at plus-110 on the over, and has been bet to minus-130.
“I’ve never done anything with preseason polls,” Arroyo said. “That’s a match, and I’m looking for a torch. That’ll be a fuse for a minute, but I’m trying to motivate the guys internally, not externally.”
The start of preseason camp is a time for positive vibes in any program, and no coach will project a losing season. Every coach feels this is the year.
But for Arroyo that claim is spot on — this is his year to run his program the way he envisioned. Patience in the process will eventually turn into urgency, and then hopefully wins.
