Offense: Baylor (Spread)
Defense: 4-3
The year of Nick sherry is behind UNLV, and SR QB Troy Hawthorne will now take over as the starter. Coach Gump will be going back to the 2 QB offense that gave him so much success in 2014 when he went 10-4. SR QB Jared Lebowitz is finally back into the mix. The "3 headed monster" that Coach Gump was so high on was slain last year, and no longer exists. The ground game will be led by JR HB Keith Watkins with support from SR HB Niko Kapeli. True FR (ATH) Greg Barrett was deemed to play WR which was a position UNLV was lacking on, he will get some time in the 4th reciever slot. The receiver core will still be led by JR WR Nick Armstrong. Slot receiver Devonte Boyd had a pretty good year last year and alot of people speculate he will move to the #2 slot sometime this season, moving SO WR Travis Burnette to slot, which wouldn't be all that bad, because he is the speediest of the group. The TE position will be started by 2 true freshman John Scott and Matt Poole, so only time will tell the production they get out of that position. The G and C position has declined since the last few years, with true freshman Adam Goss starting at RG. UNLV has recieved to solid LG FR transfers and they will find their way in the lineup after they sit out a year. Overall a pretty solid offense, look for UNLV to be one of the high performers this year in offense.
The Defense is better this year than they had last year. Players are growing up and looking strong. The defensive backs are better than last year with only 2 SR's so look for the CB's to be strong in the next few years. The DB's are led by JR Frank Williams, who is a hard hitting FS and the leader of the defense. With Frank Williams being the stud he is, Cory Warren who played behind him last year, moved over to SS this year to be the starter out of the SS position. The linebacker core is STRONG, but they are all seniors, but look for these guys to nail down the run this year. The three LB's are SR ROLB Tau Lotulelei, SR MLB Iggy Porchia, and SR LOLB David Moffitt. The 4 down lineman are led by 2 seniors, DT David Green and LE Dominic Baldwin, followed by JR Dominic Baldwin who the nation has high hopes for this year after a great first 2 years, and the 4th lineman in the lineup will be SO Steven Alford.
Expectations are high for UNLV this year as they have the strongest squad they have had in coach Gump's tenure at UNLV. Prediction: 11-3 with MWC championship, and BCS bowl win.
