Talent-laden UNLV football team ready for bowl game

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023 | 2 a.m.

Coming out of high school, Jacob De Jesus was no one’s idea of a future All-American.

Listed at the time at 5-foot-7 and 155 pounds, the California native drew little attention as a Division-I football prospect. Zero recruiting stars, zero offers. Two productive years at junior college did little to raise his profile.

Now De Jesus is a star at UNLV, emerging as a top-tier slot receiver this season and an All-American kick returner. With his game-changing plays consistently moving the chains and flipping field position, the Scarlet and Gray enjoyed their best campaign in 40 years, advanced to the Mountain West title game and are now preparing for their first bowl game in a decade, as they’ll face Kansas today in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl (6 p.m., ESPN).

Instead of rubbing that success in the face of all the schools that passed on him, however, De Jesus is empathetic.

Scouting is hard. Identifying blue-chippers is hard. De Jesus knows that first-hand.

After all, he spent the entire offseason and training camp working with a slew of All-American and All-Mountain West players and didn’t even realize it — until his UNLV teammates made it impossible to overlook their talent.

De Jesus remembers lining up for early practices and being unable to gauge just how good he and his teammates were.

“It took a little while,” De Jesus said. “This is my first time at this level, and I hadn’t seen other teams, so during the offseason workouts I didn’t know how good of a team we were. I didn’t know how good our players were.”

There’s no question now. The Scarlet and Gray have hauled in some serious accolades this season, as junior receiver Ricky White and senior kicker Jose Pizano earned All-American honors from multiple organizations, while junior linebacker Jackson Woodard and junior offensive lineman Tiger Shanks garnered All-Mountain West selections. Quarterback Jayden Maiava was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year.

De Jesus was among the most electrifying return men in the nation in 2023, ranking first with 1,019 total return yards. He was the All-Mountain West first team punt returner and kick returner and was chosen as a USA Today second-team All-American.

It’s an embarrassment of riches for a UNLV program that has historically struggled to recruit high-end talent (no UNLV player has been selected in the NFL Draft since 2010), and it’s the main reason why Barry Odom’s squad won nine games in the regular season and made its first-ever appearance in the Mountain West championship game.

De Jesus didn’t really understand where he fit in until UNLV faced Michigan in Week 2. Though the Scarlet and Gray were blown out, 35-7, De Jesus caught five passes for 46 yards and recorded a 22-yard punt return. He figured if he could do that against the No. 2 team in the nation, he’d do pretty well against the rest of the opponents on the schedule.

Then as UNLV raced out to a 6-1 record, clinching a bowl berth before Halloween, De Jesus came to realize he wasn’t alone — he was on a loaded team.

“I’d say midway through the season, I could see we’ve got some really talented players who can really play ball. I was amazed. I didn’t even know. It was like, Ricky White, he’s going to be All-American. Or Jose—when I met Jose, we were on the same visit, and when I saw him I did not know he was going to be All-American. But everyone put in the work.”

In addition to his explosive exploits in the return game, De Jesus has thrived as a slot receiver, catching 52 passes for 511 yards and two touchdowns. White posted a staggering 81 catches for 1,386 yards and seven touchdowns, pairing with De Jesus to give UNLV one of the most dynamic receiving duos in the country.

While De Jesus may not have seen it coming, Woodard was an early believer in the UNLV roster. After spending his first two years at Arkansas before transferring, Woodard had experience playing with and against SEC talent, and he recognized that Odom and his staff had put together a gifted roster.

When the postseason recognition rolled in, Woodard wasn’t surprised.

“You could tell,” Woodard said, showing off his scout’s eye. “A guy like Ricky White, every morning I’m in here, he’s in here. Every off day, he’s in here. He works like an All-American and obviously he plays like an All-American.

“Jose, I don’t think I’ve seen him miss a field goal in practice. His work proves that. And then all the all-conference guys, there’s so many guys that work so hard and are very deserving of the awards.”

UNLV welcomed its incoming recruiting class on Wednesday, when approximately two-dozen prospects joined the program on Signing Day. The class is currently ranked first or second in the Mountain West, depending on the recruiting site, so the talent pipeline figures to continue flowing into Las Vegas on Odom’s watch.

De Jesus may not be able to predict which of the newcomers possess star potential, but he does know what it will take for them to become program cornerstones and earn postseason honors.

“It feels good for everybody to get the recognition we’ve been working for,” De Jesus said. “Going into the offseason we put in the work, and then during the season Ricky White, Jose, everybody has been making plays. It’s all well deserved.”

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