Rebels bring in quality haul

Fresh off a three-year contract extension, UNLV head football coach is welcoming 17 brand new players into the Rebel program on Wednesday, including three local athletes and three three-star players.

The focus in the 2017 Class has been on the defensive side of the ball with 12 of the 17 trying to shore up an area where the Rebels need the most help. UNLV has lacked the ability to sack the quarterback and create turnovers in Sanchez's first two seasons, but with added depth, that should change soon.

Jacob Rominger, of Highland Community College in Kansas, is the highest rated member of the group. The Rebels beat out Louisiana-Lafayette to secure Rominger.

The Rebels also appear primed to protect their quarterback, whomever that may be next season, with four quality commits - Justice Oluwaseun, Sid Acosta, Ashton Morgan and Daniel Schoene. Oluwaseun, a tackle from Texas, is the highest rated of the bunch with a three-star grade.

Locally, Sanchez got a huge commitment from exciting quarterback prospect Marckell Grayson, who led the Desert Pines offense. Grayson, who is 6-1, 190 pounds, can beat defenses with both his arm and feet. He only played one game in his senior season but, when healthy, has the ability to see the field at a number of positions.

Another area that Sanchez shored up was depth at the wide receiver position. A plethora of injuries ravaged the position a year ago. Getting a pair of rangy receivers out of California - Noah Been and Jamaal Neal - both 6-foot-2 or taller, should help a unit that has a number of players coming back from injury.

This group of newcomers isn't as highly rated as last year's, but Sanchez and the Rebel staff did a good job of making sure that areas that have hurt UNLV over the past couple of seasons have gotten an influx of talent that should be ready to compete sooner than later.