Former UVA Football QB Anthony Colandrea commits to UNLV

It’s anticlimactic now, with UVA Football signing two QBs out of the portal, but it’s official now, Anthony Colandrea is gone, on his way to UNLV.

Colandrea, who started 17 games over the past two seasons at Virginia, committed to UNLV and its new coach, Dan Mullen, formerly of Florida and Mississippi State.

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ICYMI

• UVA Football: Jahmal Edrine is a nice pickup at wideout from the transfer portal
• UVA Football: UAB’s Brady Wilson is a big O line get from the transfer portal
• UVA Football: Malachi Fields enters the transfer portal; huge loss for ‘Hoos

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There’s an NIL element to everything in college football these days, of course, so, Colandrea and his team would be wise to keep in mind what happened to the last QB that UNLV got from the portal.

Matthew Sluka, who committed to the previous coaching regime at UNLV this time last year, led the Rebels to a 3-0 start before quitting the team, claiming that the program didn’t come through with its NIL commitments.

This Sluka guy has visits with Memphis and Liberty on his calendar; meanwhile, UNLV, under Barry Odom, who left after the regular season to take the job at Purdue, picked up the pieces and went on to an 11-3 finish in 2024.

Another transfer, Hajj-Malik Williams, who spent five years at Campbell, took over as the starter in Week 4, and went on to pass for 1,941 yards and 19 TDs, ran for 851 yards and scored nine TDs on the ground, and had UNLV on the verge of a playoff berth.

Mullen was known for his innovative offenses at his two SEC stops, and his stints as an assistant at Utah and Florida under Urban Meyer.

His QB proteges have included Alex Smith, Tim Tebow, Dak Prescott and Kyle Trask.

Colandrea should be a good fit in Mullen’s spread offense, which uses four- and five-receiver sets to space the defense, creating looks for quick-read throws and read-option runs.

Generously listed at 6’0”, more like 5’10” in real life, Colandrea was a square peg in a round hole in Tony Elliott’s pro-style offense at UVA.

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ICYMI

• UVA Football: Would you believe, another QB? Chandler Morris commits to Virginia
• UVA Football: ‘Hoos land former Nebraska QB Danny Kaelin from the portal
• UVA Football: Anthony Colandrea, no surprise, headed to the transfer portal

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The two QBs that Elliott picked up from the portal last week are much better fits in his offensive scheme than Colandrea was.

The starter for 2025 will be North Texas grad senior transfer Chandler Morris, who passed for 3,771 yards and 31 TDs in 2024, after starting for parts of two seasons at TCU.

The developmental guy is former Elite 11 finalist Danny Kaelin, who redshirted as a true freshman at Nebraska in 2024.

We can call this a win-win for all involved.