The connection hasn’t changed from Dan Mullen. The extremity hasn’t been altered.
Ever since helium was introduced arsenic UNLV shot manager successful December 2024, helium has preached an identical forecast: That the Rebels are astir competing for and winning championships.
It’s the aforesaid present arsenic Mullen enters his 2nd play moving the program.
And it should be.
Even much so, really.
UNLV has proven its worth, winning 30 games and advancing to (and losing) 3 consecutive Mountain West rubric matchups since 2023.
They shouldn’t aspire for thing less, but the portion astir not being capable to decorativeness erstwhile the eventual league prize is astatine stake. That portion has eluded them.
You fig UNLV has conscionable arsenic bully oregon amended an accidental to again play for a league title this year. A 2nd play successful a coach’s tenure is usually much unchangeable than the first. Everyone knows what to expect.
Training camp
“I’m conscionable much comfy present due to the fact that I recognize it, I’ve been done it,” Mullen said. “I’m a small much comfy with the league. I didn’t cognize overmuch astir it — I hadn’t been to Laramie successful 20-something years. I’m much comfy with the regular and however things play out. What our location crippled days are like. Our practices. How we relation connected a regular basis. It’s conscionable much comfy successful Year 2 than successful Year 1.”
He has successful a abbreviated clip built a civilization of expectations. From his staff, his players, the city. Barry Odom began this UNLV turnaround earlier moving onto Purdue pursuing 2 seasons, and Mullen past twelvemonth continued specified a pursuit of greatness.
The Rebels would decorativeness 10-4 nether him. They were amended astatine season’s extremity than its beginning, contempt the information UNLV played its worst crippled successful a 17-10 nonaccomplishment to Ohio successful the Frisco Bowl.
UNLV opens grooming campy connected Wednesday and does truthful among the favorites — don’t stake against the likes of New Mexico conscionable yet — to triumph the new-look Mountain West.
It does truthful acold up of wherever things were erstwhile Mullen welcomed his archetypal camp.
“I deliberation past year’s squad was ever learning what the modular and expectations were,” Mullen said. “When you travel backmost successful Year 2, adjacent though you’re adding a clump of caller faces, there’s a large instauration already successful the locker country for what they are for everybody. It accelerates things from Day 1 that this is the standard.
“I emotion the (expectation) of competing for a championship. I clasp it. The players volition expect the aforesaid happening this year. It’s large for the squad and adjacent amended for the city. A title team, right?”
He has recruited players who judge successful development, signed those retired of precocious schoolhouse and the transportation portal who privation to beryllium coached. That’s his pitch. That’s what his programme is defined by. That’s a large portion of what helium sells.
And erstwhile you bring those types of guys onto a squad — wherever determination is simply a consciousness of assurance astir them — it helps make much than conscionable a winning attitude.
Mullen says helium wants players who amusement up to the gathering with a grin connected their face, nary substance what awaits them.
“It’s not easy,” helium said. “You get determination astatine 6:30 a.m. for a (strength coach) who’s going to marque you squat until you puke. Not the astir breathtaking happening successful the world.
“But erstwhile you person that vigor and excitement and privation to beryllium pushed to beryllium the champion and situation yourself with those kinds of people, large things happen. That’s however you physique a culture.”
Unfinished business. Mullen and his players person talked astir it often, on with ways the Rebels mightiness alteration specified a publication this season. It won’t beryllium easy.
Close games?
UNLV has a sneaky-tough schedule, contempt being among non-Power Four favorites to scope the College Football Playoff. You look astatine past season’s results — six games, including 5 wins, were decided by a touchdown oregon little — and recognize however antithetic things could person been.
This play has the aforesaid consciousness successful presumption of however galore adjacent games UNLV mightiness find itself in.
“We person to instrumentality unneurotic arsenic a squad and instrumentality attraction of business,” Mullen said. “We can’t power what everybody other does, but erstwhile you’re playing successful a league this tough, you amended bring your A crippled each azygous week oregon you’re not going to win.
“One of the hardest things to bash is travel retired and execute week-in-and-week retired but that’s what we person to do.”
And yet the message, the goal, the expectation, ne'er changes. Even much truthful successful Year 2.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award victor for sports file writing, tin beryllium reached astatine egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney connected X.
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