Anthony Colandrea didn’t hedge, delay, or leave the door cracked.

“I’m not transferring,” the UNLV quarterback said Monday. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.”

In a college football economy that rewards movement, that decision carries extra weight at a program that entered this season with just two returning starters and more than 60 new transfers. UNLV didn’t build 2025 on continuity. It was built in assembly.

That context matters.

Colandrea, the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, authored one of the best quarterback seasons in school history with 3,275 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, 621 rushing yards, and nine additional scores. Those are the kinds of numbers that usually turn roster building into roster erosion.

Instead, UNLV is seeing the opposite.

This wasn’t a February declaration made after options dried up. Colandrea’s commitment came during bowl preparation, days after the Mountain West Championship loss to Boise State. The exact moment when leverage peaks and uncertainty creeps in.

UNLV returned to practice this week to prepare for the Frisco Bowl against Ohio on Dec. 23, and Colandrea framed his decision around finishing what he started.

“I just want to play in the bowl game and finish out the year with the guys,” he said.

That language mirrors head coach Dan Mullen’s posture throughout the season. Mullen, despite national interest as jobs opened, has emphasized program-building over mobility. Colandrea made it explicit that alignment, not NIL, drove his decision.

“Money is never going to be part of my decision,” Colandrea said. “I base it on my future, and my future is here with Coach Mullen and Corey Dennis.”

For a team that was almost entirely new twelve months ago, that choice represents a pivot. UNLV no longer has to reintroduce itself to its quarterback. It gets to advance with one.

Leading rusher Jai’Den “Jet” Thomas, a first-team All–Mountain West selection, confirming his return for his senior season, transforms Colandrea’s announcement from individual loyalty into a structural signal.

Thomas rushed for 985 yards on 137 carries, averaging 7.2 yards per attempt, one of the most efficient marks in the conference, while scoring 12 rushing touchdowns. His production wasn’t volume-driven or situational; it was foundational. In an offense built rapidly through the portal, Thomas consistently created favorable down-and-distance and controlled tempo.

“Vegas was my first home,” Thomas said. “Money comes, money goes. Just stay true to who you are.”

When programs rely heavily on transfers, the margin for misalignment is thin. Veterans who stay, especially first-team all-conference ones, compress those margins and stabilize the structure around them.

Dan Mullen said Monday he wasn’t aware of any UNLV players opting out of the Frisco Bowl, a notable stance in a season defined by roster turnover.

“It’s a bowl game,” Mullen said. “For a lot of guys, this might be their last game.”

That mentality reframes the Frisco Bowl as more than a reward. It becomes a cohesion test, proof that a roster assembled quickly can still commit collectively.

The loss to Boise State in the Mountain West Championship still lingers. Colandrea didn’t sugarcoat it.

“It sucked,” he said. “They played better than us and deserved to win.”

But programs that are still fragile fracture after moments like that. Programs with direction consolidate.

Colandrea has already lived the transfer experience once, moving from Virginia to UNLV, and has been candid about how taxing that process can be. Choosing not to repeat it, despite leverage, production, and opportunity, is the clearest indicator yet of where the program stands.

This is the shift: UNLV built this season with 60+ new pieces. It enters the next one with its spine intact. Anthony Colandrea and Jai’Den Thomas returning doesn’t mean UNLV will stop using the portal. It means the portal is no longer the identity. The program has moved from construction to continuity.

And that’s how expectations replace hope.