Next QB project: Can Dan Mullen revive Jackson Arnold's career at UNLV?

Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) scrambles for a touchdown against Mercer during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Auburn, Ala. Photo by: Butch Dill / Associated Press

Quarterback Jackson Arnold was a top-10 overall football recruit coming out of high school in Texas in 2023.

Over three collegiate seasons, he’s started 27 games in the Southeastern Conference, splitting time between Oklahoma and Auburn.

Start No. 28 will come at UNLV this fall.

The university announced this morning that Arnold was transferring to the Rebels program from Auburn, where he spent one season and threw for 1,309 yards and six touchdowns. Throughout his college career — including two seasons at Oklahoma — Arnold has completed 334 of 530 passes for 3,293 yards and 22 touchdowns against just eight interceptions.

Arnold failed to establish himself as a long-term starter at either program. Auburn stumbled to a 5-7 record with just one SEC victory before firing its coach, while Arnold also lost the starting job at Oklahoma during his tenure there.

Arnold started eight games at Auburn, leading it to three wins to open the season and a No. 22 national ranking. But the program fizzled to a 4-4 record by the end of October and he was benched in favor of Ashton Daniels.

At UNLV, Arnold will replace Anthony Colandrea, who departed after earning Mountain West Conference Player of the Year honors to transfer to Nebraska. The Rebels are banking on coach Dan Mullen, a renowned offensive mind who has developed quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Tim Tebow, to unlock Arnold’s potential.

Arnold, like Colandrea, has the ability to run. He has 871 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, bringing the dual-threat option to the UNLV offense.

Despite losing Colandrea through the transfer portal, UNLV retained key pieces on its high-powered offense, including seniors Jai’Den Thomas at running back and offensive lineman Austin Boyd.

Boyd, who has appeared in 40 career games, posted on social media that “loyalty matters to me.” Thomas earned first-team All-Mountain West honors after rushing for 1,036 yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

UNLV enters the season riding back-to-back 10-win campaigns and is positioned as the favorite to win the revamped Mountain West in 2026.

With Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State departing for the restructured Pac-12, the path to an undefeated season has become more manageable.

The schedule features winnable nonconference road games at North Texas and Akron, plus a home matchup against Cal — a middle-tier ACC program that will be breaking in a new coach.

The toughest test figures to be a road game at New Mexico, which defeated UNLV in Las Vegas last fall and finished in a three-way tie atop the Mountain West standings.