The UNLV football program’s quarterback depth chart for next fall just got stronger.
The Rebels today received a verbal commitment from junior college quarterback Max Gilliam of Saddleback, landing an established passer with a Pac-12 Conference pedigree to compliment incumbent starter Armani Rogers.
Gilliam, who red-shirted in 2016 at Cal, will enroll at UNLV in January and have three years of eligibility remaining, he announced on Twitter.
It’s not the first time Tony Sanchez’s UNLV program has grabbed a quarterback from Saddleback. Johnny Stanton, who won two games as the starter last season, also came from the Southern California junior college.
When you consider the Rebels haven’t had a quarterback start every game in a season in more than a decade and Rogers — the Mountain West’s freshman of the year — is prone to contact because of his running ability, the Rebels’ needed to beef up their depth.
With Stanton and Kurt Palandech graduating, that left two unproven players at the position in redshirt freshman Marckell Grayson and true freshman Kenyon Oblad. Oblad, a three-star recruit from Liberty High, is a likely candidate to redshirt to add bulk to his lanky frame.
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The 6-foot-3, 205 pound Gilliam passed for 1,185 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2017 at Saddleback. He had six interceptions.
He was a four-star recruit in 2016 out of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and enrolled early at Cal — that gave him enough credits to become a midyear junior college transfer after one season at Saddleback.
At Thousand Oaks, he completed 72-percent of his passes for 6,333 yards and 69 touchdowns in his final two seasons. He also rushed for 1,291 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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