Mullen sets physical tone at scrimmage

The UNLV Rebels football team held their second scrimmage on Friday.

Newly hired head coach Dan Mullen made mention of things he saw in scrimmage that he liked, including what he expects on offense from his team.

From the looks of things, Mullen wants to bring that SEC smash mouth style football to UNLV.

In speaking to media, Mullen said, “I want clean football”

“They came out today with a kind of serious approach. There was a lot of energy, but they did their job,” Mullen said.

“I’ve been on the quarterbacks not to constantly force the ball downfield. One of the hardest things to learn is to check the ball down. They pay guys a lot of money in the NFL to check the ball down. I was happy today to see us not forcing the ball into coverage as much … I’ve had years with three running backs who all went to the NFL. I’ve had some with one to two who spent all their time in the ice bath. It’s great to have depth and rotate guys and keep them fresh and healthy for a whole season,” Mullen said.

Mullen continued, “I want 11 guys running to the ball as fast as we can,” he said. “We’re going to be extremely aggressive and come after people. Take away what you do well and make you uncomfortable… Everyone says we’re a spread offense. Well, sometimes we run and sometimes we throw. It’s not about certain blitzes (defensively). It’s about 11 guys showing up and hitting the ball carrier with a nasty mindset.”