How UNLV football breaks down by position this season

QUARTERBACKS

It took longer than expected, but former Nebraska signal caller Johnny Stanton finally was named the Rebels starter on Sunday after being locked in a tight two-man competition with junior returnee Kurt Palandech since the start of spring practice in March.

“It’s not a knock one bit on Kurt but we just feel right now Johnny gives us the best chance to go out and be explosive on offense,” UNLV coach Tony Sanchez said Monday.

The strong-armed Stanton will make his first career start at the NCAA Division I level Thursday night against Jackson State after transferring from Saddleback College, where he accounted for 39 TDs last season en route to earning junior college first-team All-American honors. The 6-foot-2-inch, 245-pound Stanton appeared in only two games as a redshirt freshman for the Cornhuskers, completing his only pass in the 2014 season.

Sanchez said Palandech also will play Thursday.

“I don’t want to get into this whole quarterback controversy deal but we feel we have an able guy that can come on in,” Sanchez said. “He proved that last year.”

Palandech started three games last season and appeared in 11 in relief of oft-injured Blake Decker, throwing for 794 yards and nine touchdowns with five interceptions and rushing for 293 yards and four scores.

Redshirt freshman Dalton Sneed is the Rebels’ No. 3 quarterback.

RUNNING BACKS

Lexington Thomas (506 yards, 6.2 yards per carry) had three 100-yard games off the bench last season as a true freshman and is poised to have a breakout year. Equally explosive true freshman Charles Williams earned the No. 2 spot on the depth chart over sophomore returnee Xzaviar Campbell (469 yards, five TDs).

Sanchez: “One day, (Williams) will be the best back in this conference.”

Steady senior David Greene also will get some carries in what might be one of the most dynamic backfields in the Mountain West.

Sanchez: “I really think our strength needs to be running the football.”

WIDE RECEIVERS

Junior starter Devonte Boyd (54 receptions, 904 yards, seven TDs) returns to lead what expects to be one of the top receiving corps in the MW despite the loss of 6-4 returning junior starter Kendal Keys (43, 515, six TDs), who had season-ending surgery Friday to repair a lateral meniscus tear in his right knee.

The Rebels are counting on big things from highly-touted redshirt freshman Darren Woods Jr. and sophomore returnee Brandon Presley, who will replace Keys in the starting lineup.

Before Keys hurt his knee in practice, Sanchez said Presley and Woods are in the exact same category as Keys and Boyd, a preseason All-MW pick and Biletnikof Award candidate as college football’s outstanding receiver.

”Those four guys are all just as good. They’re all big, strong, physical guys, they all have good hands and they all run after the catch,” he said. “Woods can be as good as anybody in this conference.”

True freshman Mekhi Stevenson is expected to add additional electricity to “The Flight Crew” and 5-foot-5-inch redshirt freshman walk-on Allan Cui and true freshman Elijah Trosclair will be in the mix as well.

TIGHT ENDS/FULLBACKS

At 6-6 and 255 pounds, senior Andrew Price looks like an NFL player and the Rebels are hoping he’ll play like one in his final season for UNLV. The Rebels bolstered this position with junior transfers Trevor Kanteman and Tim Holt, who also will line up at fullback.

Sanchez on Holt: “He’s a matchup problem for people because he runs so fast.”

All three players are expected to see plenty of action and senior Marc Philippi, a Bishop Gorman product, returns to the fullback spot after missing last season with a broken foot.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Senior center Will Kreitler (6-0, 300), an honorable mention all-MW pick last season, returns to anchor a line that is significantly bigger than last year, when it started three players in the finale weighing 270 pounds or less.

Left tackle Kyle Saxelid (6-7, 290) and right tackle Nathan Jacobson (6-5, 290) each gained 20 pounds since last season and junior college transfer Michael Chevalier (6-3, 300) and redshirt freshman Justin Polu (6-4, 320) give the team a pair of 300-pound guards.

True freshman Jaron Caldwell (6-4, 315), a Bishop Gorman product, also is expected to see plenty of playing time this season.

Sanchez: “The guy that’s blown us away, the big surprise in camp is Jaron Caldwell. We’re going to work a rotation with the tackles where he gets in. We’re really excited about that group.”

DEFENSIVE LINE

UNLV finished last in the country in sacks last season with nine. Jeremiah Valoaga, a 6-foot-6-inch, 255-pound senior defensive end who had 2½ sacks in six games last year, might get that many himself this season if he lives up to preseason expectations.

Sanchez: “He’ll jump off the screen at people. If he can continue to work hard and stay accountable, he can have a hell of a year for us and be that sparkplug that really leads to a better pass rush.”

Palo Verde product Mike Hughes returns to start at defensive tackle alongside sophomore returnee Salanoa-Alo Wily. Senior returnee Iggy Porchia is the other starting defensive end on a line that will be coached by Tony Samuel, who helped Georgia State make the biggest improvement in the country in run defense last season (UNLV made the second-biggest improvement).

LINEBACKERS

Nowhere is the added depth on the team more evident than at linebacker, where returning starters Tau Lotulelei, Ryan McAleenan and Matt Lea were on the field for virtually every snap of every game they played last season. This year’s unit shapes up to be one of the deepest and strongest positions with the additions of pass rusher LaKeith Walls, a fifth-year senior graduate transfer from Illinois, and run stuffer Brian Keyes, a junior college transfer who began his career at Arizona.

Defensive coordinator Kent Baer, in his 30th season as a Division I coach, says Lotulelei is one of the most talented players he’s coached and he expects him to have a huge year.

Baer: “Not that many guys have that much speed and quickness, and he’s so strong.”

The linebacking corps also will be bolstered by sophomore returnee Bailey Laolagi, who has made big strides since last season.

Sanchez: “We’ve got six guys we really think we can insert in the game at any point and have quality out there. That’s a big deal.”

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Sophomore returnee Darius Mouton had arguably the best fall camp on the team and will start at cornerback alongside senior returning starter Torry McTyer. Sophomore Tim Hough, a Desert Pines product who tied a 42-year-old UNLV freshman record for interceptions last season with four, will start at nickelback.

The team lost two of its top tacklers from last season in strong safety Peni Vea and free safety Blake Richmond. Replacing them are 6-3 senior Troy Hawthorne at strong safety and 6-4 senior Kenny Keys at free safety.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Evan Pantels, a sophomore transfer from Georgia Military College, was brought in to replace three-year starting punter Logan Yunker and also has won the starting kicker job over senior incumbent Nicolai Bornand.

“(Pantels) just had a phenomenal camp,” Sanchez said. “Niko has got the ability, he just needs to be more consistent.”

McTyer and Williams will return kicks and Presley and Stevenson will return punts on what Sanchez expects to me a much improved special teams unit.

Sanchez: “I really think we have the opportunity to be more explosive and change games and change field position than we did last year.”