Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Newest UNLV football commit Anthony Rosas is a people person

UNLV Football Head Coach Marcus Arroyo

Steve Marcus

New UNLV football head coach Marcus Arroyo smiles during an introductory news conference at the Fertitta Football Complex at UNLV Friday, Dec. 13, 2019.

UNLV opened its brand new, $34 million Fertitta Football Complex in the spring, and the team will play its first game at the $1.8 billion Allegiant Stadium in less than two months. Those two brick-and-mortar jewels have become the foundation of the program’s rebuilding and rebranding effort.

For new commit Anthony Rosas, however, the most impressive thing about UNLV was the people who make up the football program.

Rosas, a 3-star offensive lineman from California, committed to the Rebels on Friday, and he did it despite not being able to tour the campus due to the NCAA’s restrictions on in-person visits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rosas said it was head coach Marcus Arroyo and his staff that made the difference in his decision to choose UNLV over power-conference schools like Auburn, Penn State, Miami, Arizona State and Colorado.

“Honestly, everybody has them,” Rosas said of the new facilities. “I don’t really care about materialistic things. I care about who I’m with and who I want to be with for the next three or four years. The staff is what sold me. The facilities are nice; it’s a really good add-on. But I care more about the people.”

And the UNLV staff certainly cares about Rosas, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound blocker who is listed as the No. 46 guard in the country, according to 247Sports composite rankings. That makes him the highest-rated offensive lineman to ever commit to the Rebels.

Rosas said UNLV began showing serious interest in March, near the beginning of the pandemic. He participated in a Zoom conference call with the coaching staff that included Arroyo, and since then, the staff has stayed in constant communication with Rosas, making it clear how highly they prioritized him as part of the 2021 recruiting class.

“After that first Zoom call, they were like, ‘We’ve got to get this guy to commit ASAP,’” Rosas said. “The whole staff recruited me. Even now, they’re calling me, just saying, ‘Hey man, how are you doing? What do you have planned today?’ Their staff is so intertwined with the athlete’s life.”

Rosas projects as a powerful run blocker, and he cited pancake blocks as his favorite aspect of the game. He will play his senior year at Sierra Vista (Baldwin Park, Calif.) this season, and then he expects to compete for a starting job right away at UNLV.

“I would describe myself as a 10 out of 10 player just because I’m so aggressive,” he said. “I know how to get into the D-lineman’s head to the point where I’m bullying him every freaking play of the game. At the college level I understand that’s going to be hard, but I don’t care who’s in front of me, I don’t care what big name is in front of me, I’m going to give it my all so I can beat him.”

Due to his status and the early timing of his commitment, the UNLV staff will have to sweat out Rosas’ recruitment until the early signing period in December. Until then, his verbal pledge is nonbinding, and other schools can continue to pitch him.

Rosas said he doesn’t see any other schools changing his mind, as long as the people behind the UNLV program continue doing what they’re doing.

“I’m committed,” Rosas said. “There’s a really, really, really slim chance that a college could flip me. And if they do, it’s because they pushed harder than UNLV, which would be really, really hard. I don’t think anybody could compete with the way UNLV recruits.”

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

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy