UNLV Beat Writer Answers Five Questions About Cal's Next Opponent
Cal hosts UNLV in a matchup of 1-0 teams on Saturday, so we enlisted the aid of Alex Wright, the UNLV beat writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to give us some information on the Rebels.
UNLV defeated FCS team Idaho State 52-21 in its opener on Aug. 27, and quarterback Doug Brumfield (21-for-25, four TD passes) and wide receiver and Michigan State transfer Ricky White (eight catches, 182 yards, two TDs) were the offensive stars of that game. The Rebels' roster is loaded with junior college transfers and four-year college transfers.
We posed five questions to Alex, noting a nugget from each response, then providing his complete video response.
1. Quarterback Doug Brumfield had to beat out Cameron Friel, the Mountain West freshman of the year, and Tennessee transfer Harrison Bailey to win the starting job, and was named Mountain West player of the week with his performance in the opener against Idaho State. How surprising was it that he was named the starting quarterback, and is he as good as his performance on Aug. 27 suggests?
Brumfield played in a few games last season before getting hurt, but it became evident in preseason that he would become the starter.
“Brumfield’s ability as a runner to get out of the pocket, scramble, rattle off a big gain with his legs gives him an advantage that Bailey and Cameron Friel really don’t have,” Wright said.
“Idaho State was kind of toward the ceiling of what we could expect from Brumfield,” Wright said.
Wright played little more than one half against Idaho State, and Wright is anxious to see how Brumfield performs in the third an fourth quarters, when the pressure is different. Even when he played last season, Brumfield often did not play the entire game, sometimes because of injury.
Wright’s entire video response to this question appears atop this story.
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2. UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo, a former Cal assistant coach, has a 3-16 record in two-plus seasons, and with a new athletic director (Erick Harper), is his job in jeopardy if he does not have a .500 season?
Wright figures five wins in 2022 would be enough for Arroyo to save his job, and four wins makes it an iffy situation.
“Anything less than four, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a change at the end of the season,” he said.
3. UNLV’s defense was its weakness last season. Has it improved this year, and who are the standouts on defense along with Nohl Williams?
UNLV has a lot of transfers who are making an impact, with 25 four-year college transfers and 21 junior-college transfers on the roster (and some are both JC and college transfers).
The Rebels lost their best defensive player from last season, Jacoby Windmon, who transferred to Michigan State and had four sacks in the Spartans’ 2022 opener.
Wright believes the UNLV defense, which yielded 32.8 points per game last year, is improved, but . . . . .
“We’re really going to find out a lot about this UNLV defense in this game [against Cal],” Wright said.
4. UNLV seemed to play better late in the 2021 season. What accounted for that improvement, and can it continue that trend?
UNLV went 2-10 last year, but won two of its final four games and pushed Mountain West division champion San Diego State to the limit in a third.
Wright pointed out that UNLV lost six one-score games.
“UNLV needed to learn how to win those close games by losing those close games,” Wright said.
5. How dangerous are wide receivers Kyle Williams and Ricky White, and what other UNLV players should we keep an eye on against Cal?
White had eight catches for 182 yards and two touchdowns against Idaho State, and Williams was the Mountain West freshman offensive player of the year in 2021.
Wright pointed out that White had an even bigger game as a Michigan State freshman in 2020, with 196 receiving yards on eight catches against Michigan.
“I feel like Ricky White can have a big game against any opponent,” Wright said.
He added that White and Williams both have speed and game-breaking ability.
“Those two are definitely threats every week to have a big game,” he said.
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Cover photo of Ricky White while playing for Michigan State is by Jon Durr, USA TODAY Sports
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