UNLV's Go-Go System: Every CFB Fan Needs to Know Who Ricky White is
The VP interns questioned me last spring when I published an article suggesting Ricky White could finish as WR1 in CFF, now it's time to feast.
One great year can change your life.
- Brennan Marion, football coach
It’s been a somewhat tumultuous offseason for the UNLV Rebels, despite maintaining a very non-CFB-esque level of stability in their program.
Rumours of current OC Brennan Marion eyeing a move outward swirled in January, as did transfer rumours around star WR Ricky White. In both cases, these rumours proved to be unsubstantiated, as both the star player, and the architect of the offence return to the program for at least another year (LFG!).
That was welcome news for me, as I wondered if I’d be able to tap into the Las Vegas well once again this year—just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in. Yes sir, it was a good year to be a Rebel, and with the key figures of the UNLV crime family returning in 2024, is it really any surprise that there would be another VP article featuring this program?
That’s right, if you were around VolumePigs last spring, you’ll recall that there was an article suggesting Ricky White could legitimately finish as 2023’s WR1.
That idea seemed like a long shot at the time, however, after White finished third in receiving yardage in the FBS last season, it seems to be a more widely accepted notion amongst the College Fantasy Football (CFF) community. Now, you’ll be lucky if White makes it past the first two rounds of your draft.
But his rapid ascendence up CFF boards does beg the question: what exactly is Brennan Marion’s Go-Go Offence? In this article, I explore the answer to this question, and provide an updated assessment of the program’s CFF profile.
Breakdown of the Go-Go System
Brennan ‘God Father’ Marion joined UNLV in the 2023 offseason to take over offensive coordinator duties from Nick Holz. His presence immediately elevated the program’s point per game output, finishing the season averaging just over 34 PPG, a steep increase from 2022’s 26 PPG.
While the team overall didn’t actually pass more, or average a drastic increase in pass yards per game compared to 2022, the WRs on the roster — Ricky White in particular — benefited substantially.
The Rebels had two WRs catch 60 or more passes, and two surpass 600 yards receiving in 13 games, with White crossing 1400(!) yards receiving. White’s numbers from this season are pretty pig-gasmic, but we’ll get to those shortly.
What we really want to know is: what exactly is the ‘Go Go Offence’, right? Well, there’s probably none better to describe it than the God Father of the system himself. Below is a video of Marion giving a quick overview of what the system aims to do.
Summary of the system
2-Back, Power Run, Vertical Shots is the bread and butter of Marion’s offence (this is from his mouth in the video). If you watched any Rebel football last season, this description wouldn’t surprise you. Especially the deep shot part. That was a pretty substantial component of WR1 Ricky White’s production, and I suspect it’ll be again in 2024. Normally, my preference in CFF is not this type of receiver. I like players with lower average depth of targets (i.e. slot players), but there are exceptions. The next bullet will provide more clarity on why that is.
Marion’s system moves at a fast pace, and this essentially creates ‘five quarters’ worth of game being played. In 2022, UNLV ran a total of 764 offensive plays in 12 games. In Marion’s first season in 2023, the Rebels ran about 942 plays on offence in 14 games.* They finished 40th in the country in seconds per play with 25 seconds, an improvement from 26 seconds per play in 2022.
Unique Alignments and Creativity: He touches briefly on this in the video, but the high level summary of it is this offence is going to experiment with different formations in order to create mismatches and scheme players open. That in in of itself is not really a unique feature of Marion’s offence, but the way he executes this probably is.
*According to teamrankings.com, UNLV averaged 69 plays per game, which on their chart is 64th out of 133 teams. However, the difference between #64 and #10 in the rankings is 69 plays per game vs. 76 plays per game. This is more of a commentary on how many programs are moving at a fast pace in this day and age of CFB than anything.
A Big Transfer Acquisition at QB
Last year, when I wrote about White, one of the concerns I highlighted was the QB play. As it turns out, the Rebels had a young up and coming stud in Jayden ‘Sorry Kirby, I changed my mind’ Maiava. The amount of interest Maiava garnered when he hit the transfer portal surprised me. I knew he had a good year, but I wasn’t expecting his top two suiters to be UGA and USC.
Nonetheless, Maiava moved on, and so did the Rebs. UNLV announced the transfer acquisition of former Holy Cross (FCS) QB Matthew Sluka in mid January.
In 2023, Sluka threw his WR1—future NFL draft pick Jalen Coker, to 1035 yards and 15 TDs. Sluka also ran 186(!) times for 1243 yards and 9 TDs. His dual usage excites me, a lot, about his prospects for CFF supremacy in 2024. It does concern me slightly about White’s volume, but then again, Maiava was also somewhat of a runner. Though, to a much lower extent. Maiava finished 2023 with 73 rush attempts, so less than half that of Sluka.
Sluka finished 2023 with a 20 to 5 TD:INT ratio, passing for 1723 yards. Combining his rushing stats, he would have averaged 26.4 PPG over 12 games.
Ricky White — CFF’s Future WR1?
Ricky White finished 2023 with 88 receptions for 1483 yards and eight TDs (20.37 PPG in 1PPR). Those numbers are obviously pretty sick, but I think we can go even higher in 2024.
Maiava was a good player, there’s no doubt, but he was also a true freshman. The aforementioned Matthew Sluka transferred in, and so did FCS transfer Hajj-Malik Williams this offseason. More competition is always a good thing in my mind in this context, as it increases the chances that the QB play will be up to snuff for our boy here.
The Rebels also brought in some WRs this offseason, notably Casey Cain, by way of Texas. Former FCS transfer Jacob De Jesus also returns for another year. That is to say, there are other mouths to feed here, but RW11 is the big dog in the room.
He won’t be catching many programs by surprise this upcoming season however, as he finished third in the FBS in receiving yards, trailing only Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze. Undoubtedly, it was a true breakout season, but some (me) were already banging the drum on this one last spring. So how did we get here?
White was a three star prospect out of Marietta, GA, who originally committed to Michigan State in the 2020 class. He had a massive game in his freshman season vs. Michigan, catching eight of his 10 targets for 196 yards and a score (33.6 points). That would be the sole bright spot of that season, unfortunately.
While the next season (2021) was a special one for MSU, it was a pretty forgettable campaign for White, who appeared in only one game vs. PSU, but registered no stats. That offseason, White pledged his allegiance to the UNLV crime family (iykyk), which proved to be a prudent move early when White torched Idaho State and North Texas in the first three weeks of the season.
However, despite a hot start, White’s 2022 season ended up being a somewhat forgettable one. Nonetheless, the damage was already done as far as I was concerned. The potential was here, and with the Go-Go system coming into effect, it was reasonable to assume that there was a lot of alpha to be had here.
That proved to be case in 2023, with White finishing with a PPG average of just a hair over 20 on the year. The Mountain West Conference has long been good to CFF players, especially at the WR position, and I think this upcoming year will be no different with White, Jalen Royals at Utah State, the Hawaii WRs and others.
Closing Thoughts
It’s all systems go on Ricky White for 2024, that much is obvious by now. Unfortunately, that means that the alpha to be had here is no more. If you want White on your team, you’re going to have to pay the price. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to acquire him in the rounds that I’ve seen him go in, as I usually dedicate the early rounds to the RB position. After all, the whole point of VolumePigs is to acquire the Ricky Whites of the world, before everyone knows they’re Ricky White.
His teammate, and WR2—Jacob De Jesus, now becomes an even more intriguing idea. I had a share of his last year in a very deep dynasty format I played in. Ultimately, I ended up dropping him, as his production was disappointing. He’s worth taking a shot on if you simply want a piece of this offence at a discounted price, and are not willing to pay the steep price to acquire White. The WR transfer from Texas is also worth a dart throw in deeper formats.
I expect White to be the guy in this offence, but there could be value in the WR2 as we enter into Y2 of the system’s implementation at UNLV.
One thing to note is that Sluka will use his legs often. That may not noticeably affect White’s production profile in 2024, but it is something to keep in mind. His QB last year also rushed the football on occasion. The idea of pairing Sluka, who you can probably acquire at a very late round, with White, is a tantalizing one for CFF.
But — I will point out as a word of caution to the reader — while stacking QB-WR pairs is extremely powerful, it is best done with a pure air-raid system deploying a statue QB (i.e. WKU’s Bailey Zappe and Jerreth Sterns in 2021), rather than when the QB is a frequent runner. Even still, it’s probably not a bad idea here if you’re into this kind of thing (I am). The problem for me will be acquiring White at his current price.
However, if you’re looking for a WR early, I see few players worth reaching for ahead of UNLV’s Ricky White. He is one of the best WR assets that you can acquire in CFF, and he is one of the best returning players in CFB, period.
If you enjoyed this content, I encourage you to join the Pig Pen (subscribing), and follow me on twitter.
Have questions? Find out what people are saying about VolumePigs here.