5 players to watch in Saturday’s UNLV-Hawaii game

Five players to watch when UNLV’s football team plays Hawaii at 9 p.m. (PT) Saturday (KVVU-5) at Aloha Stadium:

1. Dru Brown, QB, Hawaii: The sophomore transfer from College of San Mateo took over as starting quarterback in the Mountain West opener against UNR and has led the Rainbow Warriors (3-3, 2-0) to two consecutive wins, 38-17 over the Wolf Pack on Oct. 1 and 34-17 at San Jose State on Saturday. He’s completed 39 of 51 passes (76.5 percent) for 509 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first two career starts and ran for a 62-yard touchdown against the Spartans. The Monte Sereno, California, native played the entire second half in road games at Michigan and Arizona and is 55-for-81 (67.9) for 714 yards, four TDs and one interception overall.

2. Diocemy Saint Juste, RB, Hawaii: The junior exploded for 205 yards rushing on 19 carries, including a 59-yard run, in the win over UNR and leads the Rainbow Warriors in rushing with 502 yards, tied for 41st in the country. Hawaii is ranked No. 49 in the nation in rushing offense with 193.3 yards per game.

3. Dalton Sneed, QB, UNLV: The redshirt freshman went from one extreme to the other in his first two collegiate starts, completing only 2 of 12 passes for 9 yards and an interception in Saturday’s 26-7 loss at San Diego State after producing a 91-yard touchdown run and 61-yard touchdown pass, with no turnovers, in the Rebels’ 45-20 win over Fresno State. UNLV is No. 122 of 128 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in passing offense with a paltry 136.7 ypg and seven touchdowns.

4. Lexington Thomas, RB, UNLV: The sophomore was 12th in the nation in rushing after four games this season but has slipped to 43rd with 499 yards and seven scores after being limited to a combined 46 yards on 24 carries (1.9 yards per carry) against Fresno State and San Diego State.

5. Tau Lotulelei, LB, UNLV: The Kihei, Hawaii native and Maui High School graduate returns to his home state with a team-leading 54 tackles, which puts him on pace to eclipse his career-high of 100 in 2014. The senior, who had 11 tackles, including three for a loss, at San Diego State, also leads UNLV in tackles for loss (6½) and sacks (1½).

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow on Twitter: @tdewey33