Johnny Stanton settling in at QB for Rebels’ stretch run

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Armani Rogers is the future of the UNLV football program, and with the Rebels just two wins away from gaining bowl eligibility, the freshman quarterback is healthy enough to play. But it won’t be the superstar-in-waiting who will start Friday’s pivotal game against BYU.

That responsibility will go to Johnny Stanton, and the battle-tested senior has definitely earned it.

UNLV’s season appeared to be dead before Stanton resurrected it by posting back-to-back wins at Fresno State and against Hawaii while Rogers was sidelined by a concussion, and during his mid-week press conference, head coach Tony Sanchez made it clear that this is now Stanton’s team and his job to lose.

Stanton practiced with the first team all week, and he said he’s getting more and more comfortable at the controls of UNLV’s high-powered offense.

“Between the first and second week, I definitely felt more comfortable,” Stanton said. “I was more accurate last week and I think I made some better decisions. After watching the film, there were some points I can definitely improve on, but I think I’ll be able to solve those problems.”

Stanton has added accuracy and consistency to the Rebels’ passing game, which is a remarkable development considering he was playing on defense and special teams as recently as three weeks ago. In his two starts, Stanton has completed 63.6 percent of his passes (35-of-55) for 399 yards, with two touchdowns passes and no interceptions. He’s also run for a pair of scores.

Though he entered the season at No. 3 on the depth chart, Stanton credits offseason work with the rest of the offense for keeping him sharp and developing his chemistry with the receivers.

“I would say that I’m in midseason form,” Stanton said. “I’ve still been able to practice with the team the whole year. I’ve taken all the individual reps. I’ve [thrown] all the routes. My chemistry with the receivers was already there, but you never stop building it. We’ve been building it even more the last two weeks. But we weren’t running 7-on-7s during the summer for nothing. We’ve all worked very hard to get good chemistry, all the quarterbacks and all the receivers, and all those workouts really built a lot of chemistry.”

Sanchez said Rogers will likely see the field at some point against BYU, and that there are certain game situations where the towering freshman can still make a difference. Sanchez praised Stanton’s leadership and credited the well-traveled California native for handling the delicate quarterback battle with class and keeping Rogers engaged.

“It’s been really good to see the way Johnny has handled the situation, the way he’s taken over,” Sanchez said. “And the way Armani has responded.”

Thanks to the two wins with Stanton at QB, UNLV is 4-5 on the season with three games to play, and bowl talk is beginning to swirl around the team again. A win over BYU would leave the Rebels just one victory away from the postseason, with road contests at New Mexico and UNR remaining on the schedule.

The BYU game will also double as Senior Day for Rebels, and Stanton’s long college career has been more winding than most. His goal is to lead UNLV to at least two more wins and extend his college career by one more game.

“[A bowl game] is a very real possibility,” Stanton said, “and it’s something that every single one of us want to do so badly because we know how much it’ll mean to this program, how much it’ll mean to us as a team and to our brothers. We’re definitely looking forward to that, but it all starts with the game ahead of you.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.