The UNLV shot programme has built a caller past of occurrence astatine wide receiver, with a bid of productive walk catchers helping bolster an discourtesy that has carried the Rebels to 3 consecutive vessel games and 3 consecutive Mountain West Championship appearances.
Now, 3 games into Mullen’s 2nd season, the Rebels person yet to spot a receiver look with the aforesaid accumulation the programme has seen implicit the past 3 years. That was astir evident successful UNLV’s 44-6 nonaccomplishment to North Texas, erstwhile the Rebels failed to people a touchdown for the archetypal clip since 2021 and the passing crippled managed 203 yards.
The receivers volition beryllium expected to prime up the violative slack connected Saturday, erstwhile the Rebels sojourn the Akron Zips, who person surrendered 89 points and 1,148 yards done 3 games.
Recent seasons person been led by Ricky White, who was 1 of the biggest standouts during that agelong aft joining the programme successful 2022 pursuing a transportation from Michigan State.
White totaled 218 receptions for 3,143 yards during his 3 seasons with the Rebels, including 1 of the champion receiving seasons successful programme past successful 2023, erstwhile helium caught 88 passes for 1,483 yards and 8 touchdowns.
After White was selected by the Seattle Seahawks successful the seventh circular of the 2025 NFL Draft, Jaden Bradley joined the Rebels alongside manager Dan Mullen pursuing Barry Odom’s departure from UNLV to instrumentality implicit astatine Purdue.
Bradley spent 1 play with the Rebels successful 2025, signaling 58 catches for 931 yards and 4 touchdowns earlier signing with the Washington Commanders arsenic an undrafted escaped agent.
Fast guardant to this play arsenic Oregon State transportation wide receiver Taz Reddicks, who led the Rebels with 75 receiving yards against North Texas, said the radical is focused connected making the astir of immoderate opportunities travel its mode arsenic the play rolls on.
“I consciousness similar we’ve had the strength that we need, but moving forward, you conscionable gotta marque the astir of the opportunity,” Reddicks said. “In football, immoderate games you’re gonna person 50 walk attempts, and you’re gonna person 10, and we’ve conscionable got to marque the astir of those opportunities.
“Right now, we person a large accent connected YAC (yards aft catch), conscionable uncovering the other 2 (yards) each and each play. Those 2 yards stack up.”
Through 3 games, UNLV’s passing crippled has had constricted opportunities to found consistency. Quarterback Jackson Arnold completed 26 passes successful each of the Rebels’ past 2 games aft completing 25 successful the season-opening nonaccomplishment to Memphis.
For Reddicks, fixing that accumulation starts with the details and uncovering ways to amended arsenic a whole.
“I mean, mistakes similar that conscionable commencement successful practice,” Reddicks said. “You gotta signifier with much intensity, particularly successful the crippled and going into the game.
“Each thrust you gotta person a mindset to people and enactment up points connected the committee with a tract goal, touchdown, anything. We conscionable got to prime up the strength connected that.”
Communication has besides go a absorption during the Rebels’ bye week, arsenic Reddicks said the full discourtesy needs to go much comfy moving together.
“I consciousness similar it was a precise small happening with each the offense, it is conscionable communication,” Reddicks said. “In the huddle with the wideouts, moving backs, choky ends, quarterbacks and violative enactment conscionable request to marque definite we’re connected the aforesaid leafage for everything. That was a large happening coming into this week and we got a batch amended astatine that starting today.
“There’s small things similar catching and tucking the ball, the shot is the team. It’s a pridefulness happening erstwhile it comes to that. So conscionable beryllium much assertive erstwhile it comes to each small happening and instrumentality those things seriously.”
Contact Donovan Hicks astatine dhicks@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HicksSports connected X.
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