The Rebel Room
Rebels for real?
UNLV basketball is riding a hot streak, and former walk-on point guard Marvin Coleman is the toast of the town. But is it for real?
Marcus Arroyo’s approach to his first signing period as UNLV head coach had Rebels fans nervously tugging at their collective collar. While previously committed players heard nothing from Arroyo or his staff and other schools held big signing day events, UNLV stood pat.
UNLV didn’t announce a single commitment during the early signing period, spurring real concern that Arroyo was more focused on coaching Oregon in the Rose Bowl than he was on recruiting players to UNLV.
All those worries have been put to bed in recent days, however, and Arroyo’s strategy now looks like a work of sheer genius. After hosting more than a dozen recruits on a big official visit over the weekend, UNLV has reeled in nine commitments this week.
The recruiting class isn’t just substantial in size — it is rich in quality, as well, as Arroyo has landed eight 3-star recruits (nine if you include quarterback Doug Brumfield, who originally committed to Tony Sanchez and then decided to stick with UNLV after meeting with Arroyo on Monday).
According to 247Sports, the class is ranked No. 4 in the Mountain West behind Boise State, Air Force and Colorado State. That’s quite an accomplishment for Arroyo, considering he put together the class largely on the fly. And there are still offers out to other quality players, which could improve the overall ranking even further.
The headliner is 3-star linebacker Brennon Scott, who pledged to the Rebels on Sunday. The 6-foot-1 playmaker from Dallas is UNLV’s highest rated recruit since 2006 and the Rebels’ top high-school recruit this century. Scott also held offers from USC, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor and Georgia; he had previously committed to Kansas before reversing course and ultimately choosing UNLV.
Scott will be joined on defense by 3-star defensive end LeShaun Bell, a 6-foot-2, 235-pound pass rusher from Calabasas, Calif. Bell chose the Rebels over offers from schools such as Arizona State, Colorado State, UNR, Fresno State, Hawaii and Wyoming.
Brumfield is one of the headliners on offense. He completed 60 percent of his passes as a senior this season at Junipero Serra (Gardena, Calif.) while tossing 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. There were some questions about Brumfield’s fit when Arroyo took the job — Sanchez’s offensive system differs from Arroyo’s and therefore quarterbacks may be required to possess different skill sets — but it appears as though the new coach wants Brumfield to command the Rebels’ offense in the long term.
Joining Brumfield in the backfield is running back Dylan Downing, a 5-foot-11 bruiser from Carmel, Indiana. Downing is a 3-star prospect who rushed for 1,125 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior while helping his high school squad win a state championship.
Tight end Jake Ray was another solid addition to Arroyo’s first recruiting class. A 3-star from St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), the 6-foot-3 Ray was rated the No. 95 tight end in the country by 247Sports and had offers from schools such as Boston College, Missouri, Bowling Green and Kansas.
Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.
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