Three-star QB recruit to decide today between UNLV, Fresno State

A few months removed from a wrenching 31-28 loss at Fresno State, UNLV is hoping for a reversal of fortune Thursday in a recruiting battle with the Bulldogs for three-star quarterback Armani Rogers.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 210-pound Rogers — a former Cal recruiting commit from Los Angeles' Hamilton High School — said he plans to orally commit to either UNLV or Fresno State around 3 p.m.

Rogers, who also had scholarship offers from Arizona State, UCLA, Utah, Washington and Colorado State, made his official visit to UNLV on Jan. 15 before visiting Fresno State on Friday.

Rated the nation's No. 24 dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com, Rogers said he enjoyed his visits to both Mountain West conference schools.

"Everything they have in those two programs is what I'm looking for," Rogers said. "That's what makes the decision tougher than I expected it to be."

Rogers visited UNLV with a dozen other high school seniors and was especially pleased to see Rebels freshman defensive back Jericho Flowers, who was one of his wide receivers at Hamilton.

"That's one of my best friends," Rogers said. "The visit went very well. I got a whole different perspective because I didn't have a chance to interact with other (UNLV) players before. I got to interact with the other recruits and we all bonded real well. I had a good feeling."

Rogers, who committed to Cal in February and decommitted in October, also was impressed by UNLV's coaching staff.

"We all built a very good connection," he said. "I've been talking to them. They've been there since Day One, pretty much."

Rogers said he wants to try to play as a true freshman.

"If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen, but one of my goals right now is to start as a true freshman," he said. "(The coaches) told me I have the opportunity to come in and (compete for) a starting position. As long as I have the playbook down, the opportunity to come in and start is wide open for me."

The Rebels signed quarterback Johnny Stanton — a midyear junior college transfer from Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif. — in December and also return quarterback Kurt Palandech.

According to Rivals.com, Rogers completed 64.5 percent of his passes in his senior season for 1,433 yards and 18 touchdowns with only one interception. He also rushed for 431 yards and six TDs.

"He'd be a nice pickup. He's raw but he looks the part," Greg Biggins, director of recruiting for Scout.com, said of Rogers. "He kind of looks like Cam Newton. He's a big, athletic kid with a strong arm. He's got a chance to be pretty good."

Rogers said the Rebels coaches also have compared him to UNLV great Randall Cunningham, who was recently inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

"That's one of the biggest comparisons if I was to go there," he said. "I could be the next Randall Cunningham. All the coaches told me that."

Rogers, whose father, Sam Rogers, is a former NFL linebacker, said he's visited Las Vegas with his family for every New Year's Eve since he was in the third grade.

"The only thing I'm going to have to get used to is the weather, when it's 100 degrees," he said.

If he becomes a Rebel, Rogers is confident he and the rest of UNLV's 2016 recruiting class — which Rivals.com ranks No. 2 in the MW and in a four-way tie for No. 68 in the country — can help turn around a program that has produced only two winning seasons in the past 21 years.

"They have a very good chance, especially with the recruits I was talking to and them being No. 1 or No. 2 right now in the Mountain West," he said. "The people I met on the visit are very passionate about football and with this class coming up, it will bring more competition to the table so everybody has to strive to be the best they can be."