The UNLV Rebels have begun to hit the transfer portal hard.
Despite suffering heavy losses in the portal after former head coach Barry Odom left UNLV to join Purdue, the Rebels have rebounded with a nice week picking up new players for 2025.
Key players who have transferred to UNLV include former Arkansas Razorbacks tight end Var’Keyes Gumms, former Arizona State Sun Devils cornerback Laterrance Welch, and Mississippi State Bulldogs linebacker John Lewis.
Now, new head coach Dan Mullen has picked up a quarterback from one of the most well-known programs in the country.
On Saturday, it was announced that Michigan Wolverines quarterback Alex Orji would be going west from Ann Arbor to Las Vegas.
BREAKING: Michigan transfer QB Alex Orji has Committed to UNLV, he tells @on3sports
The 6’3 235 QB appeared in 20 games for the Wolverines (3 starts)
Will have 2 years of eligibility remaining https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/BWsXablxXb
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 11, 2025
Orji appeared in 20 games for the Wolverines, including three starts in 2024. Most of his work came as an extra runner out of the backfield, rushing for 392 yards and four touchdowns in his collegiate career.
With Michigan earning the commitment of the number one high school prospect in the country in quarterback Bryce Underwood, Orji became the odd man out in Michigan’s quarterback room.
Now, he hopes to reignite his career under Mullen, who has done wonders with the likes of Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott and Kyle Trask in the past.
Orji will compete with former Virginia Cavaliers quarterback and fellow UNLV transfer Anthony Colandrea for the starting job this summer, as both make the case to replace Hajj-Malik Williams.
Colandrea’s two years of starting experience with Virginia likely give him the early edge, but Orji’s athletic upside will make it difficult to keep him off the field, if only in special offensive packages.
Picking up a player of Orji’s name value will only put more eyes on UNLV as they look to get over the hump. They are still one of the favorites for the Group of Five spot in next year’s College Football Playoff, and Orji will hope to get the chance to make that a reality.
