Cam Newton comparison sets hype for UNLV QB Armani Rogers

Tony Sanchez, more than any head coach at UNLV, understands media. He gets it. Doesn’t always agree with what is said or written. Doesn’t always buy into the opinions of others.

But more than anyone leading teams for the Rebels — especially when it comes to the school’s major sports — the third-year football boss grasps how being more open than paranoid and more candid than secretive can better help market and sell his program.

His peers could learn a lesson or 20 from him.

With such promotion can also come, at times, an unhinged level of hype, even for a program that hasn’t won in forever.

Like, well, having your redshirt freshman quarterback compared to Cam Newton.

The Rebels, picked third in the West Division of the Mountain West at the league’s annual media summit Tuesday at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, expect big things from Armani Rogers. Really big things.

He’s listed at 6-feet, 5 -inches and 225 pounds, having de-committed from Cal to instead put his faith in a seemingly always rebuilding non-Power 5 program and a coach in Sanchez whose passion and intensity to flip the narrative at UNLV is unrivaled.

Some background: In its season preview, Athlon Sports wrote Rogers was the closest thing to Newton in college football, that it was tough not to get overexcited about Rogers and that he could be both the nation’s biggest wild card while people shouldn’t be shocked if he carried the Rebels to a Mountain West title game.

Which, given UNLV is a combined 24-71 in league play the last 12 years, would probably shock a few folks.

That’s 24 — and, yes — 71.

“When you first hear the (Newton comparison), you giggle and then you cringe and then you kind of laugh about it,” Sanchez said. “People recognize Armani has a lot of potential, but that’s all it is right now. He knows when he walks into our meeting room, nobody cares who he’s compared to. We coach them the same, treat them the same, and he’s going to have to do the same things as everyone else.

“I don’t avoid these things. If there is an elephant in the room, bring it up. I say, ‘Hey, I hear you got compared to Cam Newton — well aren’t those guys crazy.’ You have to laugh about it. But we fully expect him to go out and have a great year for us.”

Let the hype begin

There are two ways to look at such an overly enthusiastic assessment of a quarterback who has yet to take a college snap.

One is the easiest of reactions, which is to say on its face, any such comparison is beyond absurd. That’s not to suggest Rogers can’t deliver a terrific first season and use it as a catalyst for a memorable UNLV career that, in time, could deliver a conference title and bowl berths.

Except for a few teams at the top, Mountain West football isn’t very good. Hasn’t been in some time. We’re not talking about climbing the ACC or Big 12 here.

But any level of mention of a first-year player in the same sentence as Newton, who as a junior at Auburn produced one of the greatest individual seasons in history — 14-0 record, national championship, Heisman Trophy, 2,854 passing yards, 1,473 rushing yards, a combined 50 touchdowns — is silly.

Newton was stupid good. Beyond electric. Once-in-lifetime-season.

Here’s another way to look at the comparison: It’s UNLV and someone actually thinks the Rebels have finally found a quarterback capable of turning the tide. That, in this manner, any publicity is good publicity.

That if Rogers is mentally able to quickly set aside being mentioned alongside Newman and not allow it to affect his attitude or preparation, having a national spotlight shine on the program for football-related things and not just promotional videos based on a “SportsCenter” theme should be viewed as a huge positive.

“We’re UNLV going into the 50th year of our program, and you can count the number of bowl games on one hand, and you don’t even need the whole hand,” Sanchez said. “We’ll move the needle, but if you want to get after somebody, get after me. Don’t get after him. Give him time. We know there will be bumps in the road. There will be mistakes. But he’ll do great things.

“Our fan base should really appreciate this kid. He’s probably the first guy who said, ‘I’m not going to this Pac-12 school and instead I’m going to UNLV because I believe in what they’re doing.’ So when he makes a great play, celebrate it. When he struggles, give him some time.”

It’s pretty simple: He’s not Cam Newton and will never produce such a historic season, but Armani Rogers has a chance to be special and write a new, winning storyline for UNLV football in the coming years.

Which means hype, even the unhinged kind, doesn’t have to be a bad thing if kept in perspective.

Contact columnist Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be heard on ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.