Prep coaches: UNLV football falling short in recruiting at Las Vegas high schools

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022 | 2 a.m.

UNLV football has not been bolstered by local talent during Marcus Arroyo’s tenure, with five scholarship players on the roster that are products of Las Vegas-area high schools. And according to area prep coaches and players, it stems from a lack of interest on the part of the UNLV coaching staff.

Twenty-eight local football coaches and 11 players completed an anonymous survey at the Sun’s High School Football Media Day, and the consensus among them is the program simply hasn’t done enough to prioritize recruiting the Las Vegas area.

The coaches’ programs have combined to produce 97 Division I recruits over the past three years — the length of Arroyo’s tenure at UNLV — and the common theme in their responses is that Arroyo and his staff are not recruiting the city hard enough.

According to the local coaches, Arroyo does not reach out regularly or maintain communication, and he and his staff rarely visit high schools to observe practices or games. That approach, unsurprisingly, does not foster much goodwill when it comes time to recruit talented players.

One coach whose program has produced four Division I players since Arroyo took over said a UNLV assistant had only visited one practice/game/workout during that time. Another coach whose program has produced five Division I players since 2019 said no UNLV coaches had been to his school during that time, and he said he had yet to speak directly with Arroyo. “Nobody from UNLV has even tried to make contact, outside of promoting a camp,” he said.

Asked how he would characterize UNLV’s local recruiting efforts under Arroyo, another coach said he had never seen less interest from the hometown school. “The worst in my life in Vegas,” the coach said, noting that UNLV has only visited his school once in three years. “We’ve had more ex-UNLV coaches come by (during that time) than current ones.” He added that his players had little to no interest in UNLV “since they never come around.”

A coach with five Division I prospects over the last three years said the last UNLV coach to come out to his school was Arroyo’s predecessor Tony Sanchez; he said he has not yet heard from Arroyo. Another coach overseeing Division I talent said a UNLV assistant showed up to practice while his varsity team was in a film session and left before they took the field. That coach reported his only contact with Arroyo had been one brief exchange via text message.

Another coach whose program has produced multiple Division I prospects said the lack of recruiting effort had severely dampened his players’ enthusiasm for UNLV. “They feel like it’s not an option,” he said.

That doesn’t necessarily mean Las Vegas talent is completely turned off to UNLV. One coach who has produced more than 10 Division I recruits over the last three years said his charges would consider the hometown team if the interest were mutual.

“Had they stayed involved with the kids, most of my kids would be open to going (to UNLV),” the coach said. “They have to really try to get our players. Some with Power 5 offers would have stayed home.”

That coach reported that under Arroyo, UNLV coaches have only been to his school “once or twice.”

While local prospects may not be a priority for the UNLV staff, it hasn’t hindered Arroyo’s recruiting hauls. He has directed resources toward talent-rich areas like Texas and California and the results have been promising; according to 247Sports, UNLV’s 2021 class ranked third in the Mountain West.

Though they are few in number, some local players have thrived under Arroyo. Senior linebacker Kyle Beaudry was originally recruited by Sanchez, but the former Liberty star became a starter last year under Arroyo and is serving as a team captain for 2022. And senior defensive lineman Adam Plant is a Bishop Gorman grad who committed to Arroyo via the transfer portal two years ago after leaving TCU.

A coach with four Division I players did report an uptick in UNLV’s activity on the local scene. “Not as great as it could be, but better than his first two years.”

One head coach with a dozen Division I players said several UNLV coaches had attended his practices but said Arroyo and his staff were not proactive enough when recruiting locally. “I feel they could be better by trying to offer kids first, not waiting until other schools offer.”

The rest of the coaches’ responses characterized UNLV’s recruiting efforts as anywhere from bad to nonexistent: “Terrible.” “Minimal.” “Terrible” (again).

The Sun also surveyed 11 players in the Class of 2023 who hold offers from Division I universities. Eight of the 11 players reported a UNLV coach attending one of their games/practices (though two of them stipulated that it was just a single practice). Those eight players also said they had been on UNLV’s campus and toured the new football practice facility.

Asked if they would consider UNLV as a potential destination, seven players said yes (with one of those seven responding “kinda”). One of the recruits who said he would not look at UNLV gave an eye-opening reason for his indifference: “They are not interested in local kids.”

Four of the 2023 recruits who would be open to UNLV cited some combination of “the Raiders stadium” or “the facilities” as the most attractive aspect of UNLV’s program, while six dinged the Rebel coaches and their recruiting efforts as the least attractive aspect.

One recruit who is not currently interested in UNLV did cede that he would be more likely to consider his hometown school as a potential destination if it was to join a power conference, a position that proved consistent among the players. Nine said they would be more intrigued if the Scarlet and Gray joined the Pac-12, Big 12 or other power conference.

The recruiting process in general has not been entirely normal since Arroyo took over in December of 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic hit just months later, shutting down any face-to-face contact for months and disrupting recruiting cycles, and it wasn’t until this past spring that Arroyo and his coaches were able to hit the road and travel freely to meet with recruits.

At Mountain West Media Day, Arroyo touched on the geography of his recruiting strategy now that travel restrictions have been lifted.

“It was really good to finally get our coaches on the road for the first time,” Arroyo said. “Really good to get in the local community and see some local people that we haven’t had the chance to see. Get on the road and get out to see guys we’ve recruited. I think our philosophy on recruiting has been global. We’ve tried to be really aggressive. We’ve tried to make sure we’ve got our outlines and our profiles and stayed strict to those. A lot of West Coast, a lot of local, a lot of West Coast and then we’ve started heading the other way. We’ve had a lot of people toward the east, Texas, and I think done a really good job.”

UNLV has also hosted recruiting days for certain Las Vegas area programs, where a few dozen players take an unofficial visit together on a weekend afternoon. When Bishop Gorman — a top-10 prep team nationally — came through, the UNLV coordinated for all of its coaches and staff to greet the players at the entrance of the training facility. Those few hours concluded with a handful of scholarship offers extended.

As for local recruiting, Arroyo said his door was always open — literally — for players and coaches who want to consider UNLV.

“We haven’t shied away from getting involved in what’s local and who’s where and what guys we’ve got,” Arroyo said. “We’ve had opportunities for guys to come see us too. We’ve had coaching clinics and things like that, that have really opened the doors to whoever can come.”

It remains to be seen whether that pitch will be good enough to start attracting local stars.

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