Whoever Wins UNLV's QB Battle is Going to Lead CFB in Rushing Scores?
Well, maybe not literally; but the formula of Dan Mullen's system + G5 competition + the current UNLV personnel is leading me to expect a monster statistical output in 2025.
I love Las Vegas when I’m winning.
- Dean Martin, musician
I think I speak for everyone when I say that it’s about damn time that Dan “Dual Threat Sensei” Mullen made his way back to coaching.
He was fine as an analyst, don’t get me wrong, but when your inventory of former protégés includes the likes of Dak Prescott and Tim Tebow—both of whom absolutely tore up the gridiron along the ground during their heydays—selfishly as a CFF player I like to see a great mind like his back in action.
And the landing spot couldn’t be much better, honestly. What’s remarkable is that despite a tenured career, we haven’t even seen Mullen’s system in action at the G5 level yet, which excites me greatly about 2025.
Not only does Mullen’s history show a strong pattern of huge rushing production at the QB position, he’s also had a top-five CFF QB finish in Kyle Trask’s 2020 season at UF, who was a player that didn’t utilize the ground much. Trask threw for 43 TDs to only eight INTs that season and added 50 yards on the ground with three more scores in 12 games.
But the highlight of Mullen’s accolades really lies in his work with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, and during his first tenure with the Gators (2005-2008). Let’s get into some more details on that.
Coaching & System
In case it isn’t obvious by now, former SEC stalwart Dan Mullen was hired as UNLV’s latest head coach. He replaces Barry Odom, who’s a defensive mind, as well as OC Brennan Marion, who brought his “Go-Go Offence” to Las Vegas.
Marion has established something of a reputation as a WR kingmaker at this point in his career, with none greater as an example of his development than former Rebel WR Ricky White.
Mullen has a similar track record, but not at the WR position. His repertoire includes some of the best dual threat QBs CFB has ever seen. Mullen coached Florida Gator legend Tim Tebow during his time as OC from 2005-2008. He then served as head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs from 2009 to 2017.
During Tebow’s first season as the starter (2007), he threw for 3200 yards, 32 TDs to 6 INTs and ran 210 times for 895 yards and 23 scores. He followed that up in 2008 with 2700 passing yards, 30 TDs to four INTs and 176 carries for 678 yards and 12 scores.
The first handful of seasons in Starkville were rough as Mullen took over a rebuilding program during a time of incredible competition in the SEC. That being said, his starting QB in Mullen’s second season ran 194 times for 713 yards and five scores. A few seasons later Mullen got his guy in Dak Prescott, who in his first year starting (2013), ran 134 times for 829 yards and 13 scores.
Prescott followed that up with an incredible 2014 season, throwing for 3400 yards, 27 TDs to 11 INTs, and 210 carries for 986 yards and 14 scores. Prescott continued to run Mullen’s system in 2015, but his overall numbers pulled back slightly. He still ran 160 times for 588 yards and 10 scores.
Just to put things into perspective, USF’s Byrum Brown averaged over 30 PPG in all CFF formats, and finished as a top five QB in 2023 with a final stat line of: 26 passing TDs, 3200 yards, 11 INTs, and 203 carries for 809 yards and 11 scores.
After Prescott left for the NFL, the 6’5 South Georgia gunslinger Nick Fitzgerald took over. As it happens, Dan Mullen has a lake house in South Georgia, which in part explains why he likes recruiting down there.
In his first year as starter (2016), Fitzgerald ran 195 times for 1375 yards and 16 TDs, adding to his 2400 yards and 21 TDs passing. His second year (2017) was more of the same, with Fitz running 162 times for 984 yards and 14 scores.
If you’re following the pattern here, that’s five straight seasons at Mississippi State where the QB scored double digit rushing TDs, and in four of five seasons the QB rushed for more than 800 yards.
When Mullen moved on to Florida, the rushing production of his QBs waned. Felipe Franks still scored seven times on the ground in 2018, but he only rushed 110 times. Then Trask took over in 2019 and the rushing production took a nosedive. This was due to Mullen tailoring the offence around his skill set.
I don’t foresee that being a problem at UNLV this season considering the personnel.
QB Competition — Anthony Colandrea & Alex Orji
The good news for Mullen (and CFF players) is that the two players who are expected to vie for starting duties have both demonstrated a strong ability to perform on the ground.
UVA transfer Anthony Colandrea is not an elite runner, but he did rush for over 200 yards on over 100 carries in back to back seasons. While the rushing output isn’t all that notable, the fact that UVA’s staff would run him as often as they did, or that he’d choose to run as often as he did, shows a level of comfort with that aspect of his game. He carried the football double digit times in seven games last year alone.
Orji is a much more run-first QB commodity. His passing ability was supremely poor last year while starting for Michigan, but his athleticism has never been in question. He’s absolutely of the mold of previous Mullen QBs and—as CFF Nate would say—there is a true nuclear potential here with him at QB if he can just become a serviceable passer.
To put things in perspective, he ran for essentially the same rushing yards as Colandrea (269 to 277) on less than half the carries (57 to 128). Colandrea is also a much more lethal passing commodity so the defences wouldn’t have stacked the box vs. UVA the way they did vs. UM in 2024.
Overall, I’d say that both players have monster potential in this system going against a lower level of competition in 2025. Colandrea is the better passer at the present moment which leads me to believe he may be the early favourite to win the job. Though I’m not ruling anything out with Orji lurking.
Every year in this great game we call CFF, there are massive breakouts coming seemingly out of nowhere at the QB position. Last year, we saw Pitt’s Eli Holstein, New Mexico’s Devon Dampier, Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph, and even UNLV’s Hajj Malik Williams epitomize this. UNLV, under Dan Mullen, feels like fertile ground for this sort of phenomenon in 2025. ◾
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