Yes...they have a team. 3-0 so far this year and the starting QB, a transfer, just announced he is leaving the program immediately as certain commitments were made and have not been met. He's leaving now so he doesn't lose a year of eligibility. UNLV opened -2.5 vs Fresno and was up to -4 last time I checked although off the board now. No details on those commitments, but you have to guess they are related to NIL. Apparently, UNLV just could not find any resource to toss the guy a couple thousand bucks or a complimentary shrimp cocktail.
No old man rant from me here as I'm not old enough yet but this has to be a poor indicator for the overall health of college football. What part of being a student athlete did the university not live up too. Did all his classes get cancelled? It's generally not talked about but most colleges provide learning tools and education opportunities not available to regular students. Tutoring resources, typed out class notes, back logs of previous sample tests, private exam times/dates. These give the student athlete every chance to be successful despite a tough learning situation for some with injury, travel, commitments, etc. Simply walking away because you didn't get your money (that is what happened, I'm guessing too) pulls at the core of what the experience is supposed to be. What is this QB gaining from his actions? I don't know how this ever works out under it's current structure.
Also, if you think the NFL has left a littered field of ruined athletes who never understood their finances and blew through their money, how do you think these even less prepared kids getting NIL money are going to fare? Getting 300K in your college years with proper investing, compound interest, etc. should give you time and enough work years to be setup for life, that's not going to happen with most of these kids and this QB's mindset proves it.
Was college athletics, and Las Vegas, better when Jerry Tarkanian just invited you to the hot tube meet-n-greets so you could "shake hands" with some boosters? Argument could be made for, yes.
Also, if you think the NFL has left a littered field of ruined athletes who never understood their finances and blew through their money, how do you think these even less prepared kids getting NIL money are going to fare? Getting 300K in your college years with proper investing, compound interest, etc. should give you time and enough work years to be setup for life, that's not going to happen with most of these kids and this QB's mindset proves it.
Was college athletics, and Las Vegas, better when Jerry Tarkanian just invited you to the hot tube meet-n-greets so you could "shake hands" with some boosters? Argument could be made for, yes.
NCAA knew they had to make a change so instead of keeping payment to athletes "in house" by having the greedy universities paying, they outsourced it so the money could come from outside resources thus giving up any control of the process. This mess is what you get and this player is only the first who will use his play as leverage during the season instead of waiting until after.
yes I cannot believe he was only suppose to get 100,000 when kids are making a million at big schools, and it is allowed for the school to pay the player directly, here this QB was only promised 100,000 and they did not even give it to him, plus they were not even paying his room and board, what a ripoff I would think that some rich alumni would have just written him a check for the 100,000 after a 3-0 start, or that coach should have found someone or just told the school to pay the kid
he was not asking for anything more than he was promised a QB in college at 100,000 is very cheap Ohio st, Bama, Georgia those qb's are getting 1 million or more this kid gave up offers from the big 10 and other big schools to play at UNLV and for a lousy 100,000 and then we find out all they had paid him so far was 3000 and they were making him pay for his room and board I say the school should have just paid the kid after all you are 3-0 and ranked wtf do they want for 100,000 if they would have out sourced his payment I find it hard to believe someone would not have came up with a lousy 100,000 to keep him playing
I’m throwing down on Fresno, Sluka was also their leading rusher , without him they can focus on shutting down white lll. I’m not impressed with the backup.
Just for the record, I'm not blaming the kid at all.
In the preseason QB competition, the three on the roster were very close. Sluka won the competition...he has been a much more effective/tough runner than an accurate passer. Odom is 13-4 ATS in his season and a half. I'm holding UNLV -3 and will stick with that rather than buying off. Fresno hung in the game vs. Michigan (losing 30-10) and then beat three patsies (SacSt, UNM, NMSt). They beat UNLV by seven last year as the Rebels dropped a TD pass at the end of the game. Agree with 151 above.
In the preseason QB competition, the three on the roster were very close. Sluka won the competition...he has been a much more effective/tough runner than an accurate passer. Odom is 13-4 ATS in his season and a half. I'm holding UNLV -3 and will stick with that rather than buying off. Fresno hung in the game vs. Michigan (losing 30-10) and then beat three patsies (SacSt, UNM, NMSt). They beat UNLV by seven last year as the Rebels dropped a TD pass at the end of the game. Agree with 151 above.
I agree with you all as well. All the value on the Rebels now. I was not going to wager this game but if I can get UNLV as a dog at kickoff, I will be on it.
Odom is an old-school coach and I think he can get his team up for this game very effectively now. Most of the UNLV kids are not NIL warriors, they are student athletes at UNLV to play football at the highest level they think they can be successful and get an education. Odom can now give a "for the love of football" and "if you care more about yourself and money than you do about your teammates and winning, then we don't want you here anyway" type of speech. The young men on that team, who were mostly lightly recruited, will eat that type of Knute Rockne verbiage up and be ready to run through brick walls. Throw in the fact that UNLV might actually have some semblance of a home crowd for this game and the Rebels who do show up to play will likely give a great effort.
Odom is an old-school coach and I think he can get his team up for this game very effectively now. Most of the UNLV kids are not NIL warriors, they are student athletes at UNLV to play football at the highest level they think they can be successful and get an education. Odom can now give a "for the love of football" and "if you care more about yourself and money than you do about your teammates and winning, then we don't want you here anyway" type of speech. The young men on that team, who were mostly lightly recruited, will eat that type of Knute Rockne verbiage up and be ready to run through brick walls. Throw in the fact that UNLV might actually have some semblance of a home crowd for this game and the Rebels who do show up to play will likely give a great effort.
Today, a third string running back announced that he is taking the same route. May be completely unrelated although he referred to commitments not met, but it looks like it has to do more with playing time. A trivia question for the future...who did Odom follow as the Rebel football head coach? It was Bobby Petrino who was in that role for one month and never coached a game.
UNLV will turn to a veteran transfer after the controversial exit of starting quarterback Matthew Sluka, CBS Sports has learned. Hajj-Malik Williams, a record-setting passer and runner in the FCS, will start for the College Football Playoff-chasing Rebels on Saturday against Fresno State.
The senior has played in two games this season and has 88 yards on 10 carries but has not yet attempted a pass. He played five seasons at Campbell, where he departed as the career leader in passing yards (8,326) and touchdowns (58). He also ran for 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career there. In 11 games last season, Williams threw for a school-record 2,597 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes. A multi-time All-Big South player with an All-America honor as a freshman, he was frequently ranked in the top 10 of multiple offensive categories in the FCS during his career.
Williams arrived on campus in the winter and battled for the starting job through the spring and summer before Sluka arrived in mid-June and named the starter ahead of the season opener. Included in the Rebels' 3-0 start is a come-from-behind win at Kansas and the program's first top-25 ranking in the Coaches Poll.
Williams was a star at Campbell, leading the program to a 6-1 start as a freshman in 2020, but he spent most of the 2021 hampered by injury. The former Hapeville (Ga.) Charter quarterback said in 2023 he received an offer out of high school from Georgia Tech late in the recruiting process but opted to stick with Campbell.
He was an electric athlete for the FCS program as both a passer and runner, recording multiple highlight-reel plays during his career. Upon his arrival at Campbell, he said he had to learn how to become a leader, according to a profile on the school's website last fall.
(During my freshman season), I didn't know I had to ask my teammates about their family back home, what their aspirations are, what motivates them to play this sport," Williams said. "When you're in the fire, they know you have their best interests at heart and makes it easier for them to follow you."
Williams was rated a three-star prospect and the N. 58 quarterback in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. He enrolled at UNLV on Jan. 15.
UNLV added two FCS quarterbacks -- Sluka and Williams -- to the roster when last season's breakout star, Jayden Maiava, transferred to USC after earning Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Senior Cameron Friel was also in a three-way battle for the starting job in August before Sluka emerged.
Once we learned that Jayden (Maiava) was going to USC, we just went all in on every quarterback that was in the portal that we thought fit what we're doing," Odom told CBS Sports last week. "There was some concern that, OK, we ended up taking two guys with Sluka and then Hajj-Malik Williams, who was a great player at Campbell, and then, you know, it's hard to keep two quarterbacks on a roster that aren't starting, much less three, and we had a backup from last year, Cam Friel, that stayed in the program. And so it was a three-way battle, really, for who was going to start. I think we've got three quarterbacks that we can win with, and that's really, really unique and valuable for us."
The senior has played in two games this season and has 88 yards on 10 carries but has not yet attempted a pass. He played five seasons at Campbell, where he departed as the career leader in passing yards (8,326) and touchdowns (58). He also ran for 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns in his career there. In 11 games last season, Williams threw for a school-record 2,597 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes. A multi-time All-Big South player with an All-America honor as a freshman, he was frequently ranked in the top 10 of multiple offensive categories in the FCS during his career.
Williams arrived on campus in the winter and battled for the starting job through the spring and summer before Sluka arrived in mid-June and named the starter ahead of the season opener. Included in the Rebels' 3-0 start is a come-from-behind win at Kansas and the program's first top-25 ranking in the Coaches Poll.
Williams was a star at Campbell, leading the program to a 6-1 start as a freshman in 2020, but he spent most of the 2021 hampered by injury. The former Hapeville (Ga.) Charter quarterback said in 2023 he received an offer out of high school from Georgia Tech late in the recruiting process but opted to stick with Campbell.
He was an electric athlete for the FCS program as both a passer and runner, recording multiple highlight-reel plays during his career. Upon his arrival at Campbell, he said he had to learn how to become a leader, according to a profile on the school's website last fall.
(During my freshman season), I didn't know I had to ask my teammates about their family back home, what their aspirations are, what motivates them to play this sport," Williams said. "When you're in the fire, they know you have their best interests at heart and makes it easier for them to follow you."
Williams was rated a three-star prospect and the N. 58 quarterback in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. He enrolled at UNLV on Jan. 15.
UNLV added two FCS quarterbacks -- Sluka and Williams -- to the roster when last season's breakout star, Jayden Maiava, transferred to USC after earning Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Senior Cameron Friel was also in a three-way battle for the starting job in August before Sluka emerged.
Once we learned that Jayden (Maiava) was going to USC, we just went all in on every quarterback that was in the portal that we thought fit what we're doing," Odom told CBS Sports last week. "There was some concern that, OK, we ended up taking two guys with Sluka and then Hajj-Malik Williams, who was a great player at Campbell, and then, you know, it's hard to keep two quarterbacks on a roster that aren't starting, much less three, and we had a backup from last year, Cam Friel, that stayed in the program. And so it was a three-way battle, really, for who was going to start. I think we've got three quarterbacks that we can win with, and that's really, really unique and valuable for us."
Stephen A and Finbaum really went off on UNLV today on First Take. Talked about the irrelevancy of UNLV, but still managed to entirely blame them for the situation (which may be correct) although if this NIL deal ever existed, there was never a written contract. Williams is expected to be the new QB...he is a transfer from Campbell and was very successful there.
They should go off on UNLV and the player in equal respect. This will become a big time moment in college athletics. You know how many players will go to schools on some sort of NIL deal and then try to re-negotiate a new deal after 3 games or they can walk away and preserve a year of eligibility. Only option for both sides is extensive legal wrangling in EVERY NIL contract which will skyrocket the cost of bringing in these players and create an even further divide between those with large NIL war chests and budgets and those with little.
Now smaller schools who, in the transfer NIL era, already have a hard time keeping good players will be forced to worry about the 3 game mark of every season. Bring in a QB to UL-Monroe on a very small shared NIL money deal, the starting QB goes down in fall practice. Your QB starts 3 games and kills it. He then wants to get an individual larger NIL deal or he'll walk away and sit out the year to preserve eligibility. You can't win. Now the 4th game of every college football season essentially becomes the trade-deadline. Preserving eligibility was supposed to be for players who suffered injuries or hardships not for transfers who hope that at 24-25 years old they can beat out 18-19 year olds at some school and earn NIL money as their first job.
Now smaller schools who, in the transfer NIL era, already have a hard time keeping good players will be forced to worry about the 3 game mark of every season. Bring in a QB to UL-Monroe on a very small shared NIL money deal, the starting QB goes down in fall practice. Your QB starts 3 games and kills it. He then wants to get an individual larger NIL deal or he'll walk away and sit out the year to preserve eligibility. You can't win. Now the 4th game of every college football season essentially becomes the trade-deadline. Preserving eligibility was supposed to be for players who suffered injuries or hardships not for transfers who hope that at 24-25 years old they can beat out 18-19 year olds at some school and earn NIL money as their first job.
