UNLV football welcomes six additions, including experienced QB

UNLV’s football team announced the addition of six new players Monday as it looks to build on last year’s historic season.

Senior quarterback Matthew Sluka, senior defensive back Jarvis Ware, junior wide receiver Jaden Bradley, junior defensive lineman Grant Hessler, junior offensive lineman Nick Scalise and redshirt freshman defensive back Kodi DeCambra have all joined the program and are taking classes in Las Vegas.

The group will try to help the Rebels maintain the momentum from last year’s campaign, when they reached the Mountain West title game in coach Barry Odom’s first season.

DeCambra, a Hawaii native that played at Bishop Gorman, signed with Oregon out of high school. He redshirted last season before coming back to Las Vegas.

Ware spent his last two years at Central Florida and didn’t play last season. He would need to secure a seventh year of eligibility to compete for the Rebels.

Bradley played for North Carolina-Charlotte last season, appearing in two games. He played 18 games the previous two years at Pittsburgh. He is reuniting with UNLV offensive coordinator Brennan Marion, who coached the Panthers’ receivers in 2021.

Hessler arrives from Santa Barbara City College. He had 55 tackles, nine sacks and 16½ tackles-for-loss in 20 career games for the Vaqueros.

Scalise attended Sierra College before transferring to Texas-El Paso before last season.

Sluka had 5,916 passing yards, 3,583 rushing yards and 97 combined touchdowns during his time at Holy Cross. His arrival serves as the formal starting bell for UNLV’s quarterback competition.

Last year’s starter, Jayden Maiava, transferred to Southern California. That left senior Cameron Friel and Campbell transfer Hajj-Malik Williams to show off their skills in spring practice.

The Rebels begin their season August 31 with a matchup against Houston. The game will be shown on FS1, making it the first of a program-record 11 games that will shown on national TV this year.