UNLV lands highly recruited linebacker prospect from Missouri

UNLV football coach Barry Odom and defensive coordinator Mike Scherer leaned on their Missouri ties, landing a commitment from high school prospect Melvin Laster on Thursday.

Laster, a 6-foot-1-inch, 225-pound linebacker from Liberty North High School in Liberty, Missouri, is considered a three-star recruit by the 247Sports composite rankings. However, the recruiting site’s own rating system lists Laster as a four-star prospect and the No. 7 recruit in the state.

Odom and Scherer played linebacker at Missouri and later coached there.

Part of UNLV’s recruiting class of 2024, Laster had 83 tackles in 13 games during his junior season, including 14 tackles for loss, according to MaxPreps.com.

Laster chose UNLV over a host of offers from Power Five schools, including Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Tennessee and Texas A&M. He was also considering Arkansas, where he’d previously been recruited by Scherer, who also coaches linebackers at UNLV.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.