What to look for as UNLV scrimmage as Bailey takes over offense

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Saturday, April 23, 2022 | 2 a.m.

If UNLV football is going to take a big step forward in 2022, we could see the beginnings of that arc on Saturday, when the Scarlet and Gray hold their spring showcase at Allegiant Stadium.

The event is the only spring practice that will be open to fans, and admission is free.

Spectators who make the trek to Allegiant will get their first glimpse of a team that has made a lot of changes since the end of last season, starting with the sport’s most important position.

Transfer quarterback Harrison Bailey, formerly of Tennessee, has impressed through three weeks of spring practice and is the presumed starter at this point. UNLV also has a new pair of coordinators on both sides of the ball.

A look ahead to the showcase:

Format

It doesn’t sound like Saturday’s event is going to be a straight-up scrimmage, but more like a high-intensity practice with scrimmaging elements mixed in. Some of that is due to scheduling; while traditionally the program has held an intrasquad scrimmage on the final day of spring, head coach Marcus Arroyo has emphasized that this year UNLV still has three more practices remaining after the open showcase.

“It’s going to be a practice style,” Arroyo said. “We’ll be full speed. We’ll have our pads on and guys will have competitive periods of 1’s vs. 2’s, 2’s vs. 1’s. There will be practice periods. There will be a 7 on 7 period, there will be some individual [drills]. It will be very similar to a practice format in some phases, btu there will also be some points where we’ll move the football and utilize the clock and really get a lot out of it.”

The “controlled scrimmage” period is set to commence at 5 p.m. and run for 90 minutes.

Hello Harrison

The program hasn’t had this much excitement around the quarterback position since the lead-up to Armani Rogers’ freshman season in 2017, and Saturday will be Bailey’s first opportunity to show his stuff in front of the UNLV faithful.

In terms of raw tools, the Bailey hype is justified. He’s 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, and coming out of high school he had tons of offers from top programs such as Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State. When he got on the field at Tennessee, he produced in limited action (68.0%, 594 yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions).

In addition to the pedigree and the tools, the coaching staff has taken every opportunity to speak very highly of Bailey’s spring performance so far. There has been no attempt to apply the brakes, so to speak, so Arroyo appears to be just as excited about Bailey as those outside the program. That’s a good sign.

Saturday won’t make or break anything in regard to the depth chart, but it would be nice to see Bailey command the offense and make some plays in the passing game. That, more than anything else, would make this a successful spring for UNLV.

Offensive playmakers

Bailey is the big draw, and the former 4-star recruit figures to see a lot of reps when the team goes live on Saturday. If he’s as good as advertised it will go a long way toward making UNLV a more competitive team in the Mountain West, as quarterback play has been a hindrance in Arroyo’s first two years at the helm.

There are other areas of interest on offense, however. Transfer receivers Ricky White and Jeff Weimer are both expected to play big roles this season, so it will be interesting to see if (and how often) they can get open during live action on Saturday.

The running back position is less stocked. Without Charles Williams to carry the ball 200-plus times, UNLV is now counting on players who were mostly used as spare parts last season.

Senior Courtney Reese has speed, senior Chad Magyar has size, junior Jayvaun Wilson has recruiting stars and sophomore Spencer Briggs has a chance to play for the first time. Are any of them capable of handling the majority of the load?

Arroyo said the team is still trying to determine that.

“We know the departure of Chuck is a big deal,” Arroyo said. “Those guys have really been challenged to pick up that torch and go. All those guys are getting a ton of reps. We’ve been really demanding at that position. We’ve been successful in this offense with those guys for a really long time and so we’ve encouraged those guys like Jayvaun and Courtney and Magyar and Briggs that they’ve got to be able to pick the thing up and go.”

Far from finished product

Spring is an exciting time for college football, but it’s important to remember that in this day and age, the roster could look quite different when the Scarlet and Gray suit up for the season opener against Idaho State on Sep. 3.

UNLV has already added a handful of transfers during the spring window, and that roster-building is likely to continue on through the summer.

Players who want to transfer and be eligible immediately for the 2022 season have until May 1 to enter the transfer portal, so starting next week coaches around the country will have a pretty concrete knowledge of who’s available. For a team like UNLV, which has needs at positions of high visibility (running back, for instance), the portal could still produce 2022 starters.

In that context, the spring showcase is a milestone, but certainly far from a finished product.

“There are still spots at almost every position where we feel we can add value,” Arroyo said. “I think that’s the biggest thing right now in working through the portal and this free agency is being thorough and finding out about guys as much as we can. The process continues. It’s ongoing.”

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