UNLV QB Matthew Sluka suddenly has a redshirt and wants to enter the transfer portal – that's a big change in college football

The paradigm of College Football Negations may have been postponed late Tuesday evening when UNLV quarterback Matthew Slukaone of the engines of the Rebels’ 3-0 start, announced that he will use his redshirt year and the rest of the Season 2024 after promises made to him “were not kept after my enrollment.”

To put it in layman's terms, he says the money did not arrive as expected.

UNLV is the best start since 1984. The school is the highlight of the ball in a tug of war between the Pac-12 and Mountain WestBut now all that seems to have faded into the background, as the team’s starting quarterback – a transfer from Holy Cross – is withdrawing for the rest of the year.

“I chose to attend UNLV based on certain commitments that were made to me that were not kept after I enrolled,” Sluka wrote in a graphic posted to his X account. “Despite discussions, it became clear that these commitments would not be fulfilled in the future. I wish my teammates the best of luck this season and hope for the continued success of the program.”

247Sport has reached out to both Sluka and his agency Equity Sports for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication of this article.

So what does this mean for UNLV? And perhaps more pressingly, what does it mean for sports? Let's break it down.

An interrupted season

First and foremost, this is a story about a quarterback for the No. 23 team in the Trainer survey decided to leave the team after a 3-0 start. UNLV opened the season with a clear win at Houston from the Big 12 and defeated another Big 12 team two weeks later in Kansas.

Now the Rebels face a tough Mountain West game this weekend against State of Fresno without their best passer (318 yards, six touchdowns, one interception) and runner (253 yards, 6.5 per run).

The Rebels developed a running-based offense centered around Sluka, who rushed for over 1,200 yards in each of his last two seasons at Holy Cross.

Now UNLV will have to rely on some of its backup options.

Experienced quarterback Cameron Friel has some momentum in UNLV's victory over Utah Tech InstituteThe Rebels have also signed two new quarterbacks – Hajj-Malik Williams (Campbell) And Dylan Mehrotra (Southern), who has since left the program – together with Sluka in Transfer portal.

A POTENTIAL TREND

The College Football Calendar works in a strange way.

Lower-class students are only allowed to change if a portal window opens in December. But many players face a decision midseason, say four games in. Those who have never redshirted in their careers — like Sluka — can save themselves a year of eligibility by deciding to call it quits.

That's what Sluka did here. He'll be a redshirt senior again in 2025 and potentially be able to test the market again.