Spring practice could signal start of Armani Rogers quarterback era with Rebel football

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 | 2 a.m.

As each UNLV quarterback suffered an injury or was ineffective last season, the Rebels’ coaching staff believed they had one player on the roster who could finally bring stability to the position.

But that player, redshirt freshman Armani Rogers, was never an option.

Rogers, a four-star prospect from the 2016 signing class who is one of the program’s all-time best gets on the recruiting trail, has long been labeled the quarterback of the future. Playing last season, when the injury-bug was so bad it forced a quarterback into the wide receiver rotation, may have hindered Rogers’ progression.

“I can’t imagine having pushed him into the fray last year with our receivers being down and a young offensive line,” coach Tony Sanchez said. “That could have ruined him.”

Instead, coaches stuck to their plan in his development. The next phase begins Wednesday at Rebel Park when the program opens its 15-session spring practice.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound dual threat quarterback will take the initial snap of the spring with the first-team offense and be given every opportunity to run the team ahead of incoming seniors Kurt Palandech and Johnny Stanton. If Rogers progresses as expected during the spring, he could be named the starter moving forward following the Spring Showcase on April 1.

“He is going to have some good days and some bad days. That is just the nature of being a young guy,” Sanchez said. “We want to get a lot of those out of his system, the bad days at least, as we go through spring and fall camp. If, in fact, he wins the job is because he is the guy to lead the football team.”

Rogers has a big arm and is a capable runner — the type of quarterback who is built to control the Rebels’ offense. They rushed for 2,898 yards last season to rank 15th nationally, and quarterbacks accounted for 1,066 of those yards.

Rogers was Los Angeles Times’ Offensive MVP in 2015 at Hamilton High in Southern California, passing for 1,433 yards and 18 touchdowns with just one interception and rushing for 431 yards and six touchdowns. As a junior, he passed for 28 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Before landing at UNLV, he was originally committed to Cal of the Pac-12 Conference.

“There was a lot of hype on him coming in,” Sanchez said.

The redshirt season was spent getting stronger and learning the Rebels playbook — going from high school schemes to those in college is a challenge for any quarterback. He signaled in plays on game day to get a more intimate understanding of the flow of the offense.

“He really has to play within himself,” Sanchez said. “It is our job to make sure we put him in successful situations — that we coach him, but don’t overcoach him. That we do a real good job of praising as much as we criticize. Our job is make sure we create a climate for him to able to grow in and be successful.”

While all the attention will be on Rogers, and rightfully so, that doesn’t mean the other quarterbacks won’t be in the competition. Sanchez is rarely short on praise for Palandech, who passed for five touchdowns and 647 yards in limited action last season.

“Kurt has never had a great situation,” Sanchez said. “He comes in his sophomore year, and every time he comes in its a mayday situation because the quarterback is down. Then, last year he has a tear in his biceps, so you lose the opportunity to be the starter.

“By the time he does come in, there are no receivers left and he is throwing the ball to Dalton Sneed (another quarterback),” Sanchez continued. “Imagine how the season changes last year if he comes in and is throwing, to (Kendal) Keys, (Brandon) Presley, (Darren) Woods and (Devonte) Boyd? He is a different player. We have confidence in him that he can win games for us.”

Even with starting three different players at quarterback and struggling to keep its receivers healthy, UNLV averaged 31 points per game in 2016 — its highest scoring output in more than 30 seasons. With nine starters returning on offense, creating stability at quarterback could be the start of a dynamic offense.

So, yes, there’s plenty of importance continuing to develop the quarterback of the future this spring.

“I think we have a chance to be pretty darn good on offense,” Sanchez said.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21