The following prospects are expected to sign a national letter of intent with UNLV on Wednesday:
QB Jayden Maiava, Liberty High School
Passed for 2,027 yards with 24 touchdowns and three interceptions.
OL Noah McKinney, Coronado High School
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound tackle moved from Texas to Henderson for his senior year.
WR Randy Masters of Houston
Masters had six total touchdowns in one game — four receiving, one interception return and one punt return. Picked UNLV over Baylor, Arkansas and Arizona State.
LB Tanner Salisbury of Danville, Calif.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Salisbury had more than 10 scholarship offers. He played both ways for San Ramon Valley High, recording 28 catches for 510 yards and 12 touchdowns at tight end.
ATH Anthony Costanzo of Monument, Colo.
Costanzo had 39 tackles and four interceptions on defense, and 36 catches for 582 yards and 12 touchdowns.
LB Fred Thompkins of City of San Fransisco College
Picked UNLV over Washington State, East Carolina and Florida Atlantic. Had 61 tackles in nine games to help San Fransisco College finish with a 13-0 record. Will be expected to play immediately at UNLV.
WR Jeffrey Weimer of City of San Fransisco College
Led California Community College Athletic Association with 17 touchdowns and was second in yards per game at 97.5.
DE Isaiah Sayles of San Diego Mesa College
Had 36 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for a loss in 2020 for Missouri State
DL Darius Johnson of Garden City Community College
The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Johnson had offers from Houston, Liberty and Western Kentucky.
The UNLV football program has had the last two Mountain West freshmen of the year.
Anthony Costanzo, a safety from Monument, Colo., intends to continue the trend started in 2020 by wide receiver Kyle Williams and this past season with quarterback Cameron Friel. He’s one of nine prospects expected to sign with UNLV today during the early-signing window.
“My mentality when I am out there playing defense is that nobody can stop me,” said Costanzo, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound three-star recruit.
Costanzo, listed as an athlete, is noted for his versatility. He did a little of everything for Palmer Ridge High School this fall, catching 36 passes for 582 yards and 12 scores, and defensively recording 39 tackles and four interceptions.
He’ll enroll at UNLV in January with the hopes of earning a spot on the depth chart.
“The expectation is for me to come in right away and play, but first I have to prove it,” he said.
Costanzo had scholarship offers from Colorado, Colorado State and Boston College. But there was something special about UNLV, he said. He committed to the program after an unofficial visit in June.
“Almost everything there is damn brand new,” he said of Allegiant Stadium and on-campus Fertitta Football Complex.
More important, he said, is the mentality of the players and coaches. UNLV has won only two games in coach Marcus Arroyo’s two-year tenure but played better at the end of the season.
The expectation is to have a winning season in 2022 to reach a bowl game, he said. During his career, Costanzo envisions the program enjoying unprecedented success.
“You can see the rise that the program is about to be on,” he said. “Talking to the (current) players, they believe they will go to a bowl game next year. They are hungry and you can tell that.”
UNLV will sign nine recruits in the early window that begins today and continues through Friday. The program is expected to add a significant number of other players through the NCAA Transfer Portal to fill positions of need — most notably at quarterback and running back — in a must-win third season for Arroyo.
The class includes three junior college transfers, all of whom have the potential to make an immediate impact.
Wide receiver Jeffrey Weimer of City of San Fransisco College, for instance, led the California Community College Athletic Association with 17 receiving touchdowns. His junior college teammate Fred Thompkins, who had 61 tackles in nine games, could fill the void left by top defender Jacoby Windmon transferring to Michigan State.
Costanzo joined many of the prospects last weekend for an official visit. Looking around the room at the talent only added to his opinion that the program is destined for great things, he said.
“A bunch of the guys going (to UNLV) turned down Power 5 (conference) offers and I can see why,” he said. “The coaching staff makes it so real. You can see everything about UNLV is on the come up.”