Marcus Arroyo was formally introduced Dec. 13, 2019, as the 12th head coach in the history of UNLV Football. Arroyo then used his next two months to hire a staff, win a Rose Bowl and then secure a record-setting recruiting haul of future Rebels.
Case in point: on Feb. 5, 2020, Arroyo announced his first UNLV recruiting class and the impressive group set multiple program records, including earning the No. 1 ranking in the Mountain West by Rivals and No. 2 by 247Sports. One year later, the 2021 class turned heads nationally, ranking eighth among all Group of 5 schools. Its standing of 67th overall was a stunning 36 spots higher than the average ranking for UNLV’s classes in the decade previous to Arroyo’s arrival on campus (averaged 103rd from 2010-19). In addition, the Class of 2021’s average 247Sports per-player rating of .8324 shattered Year One’s school-record mark of .8145. This also marked the first time since the introduction of the recruiting rankings that the Rebels finished in the top two of the Mountain West in consecutive years.
Under Arroyo, UNLV already became the first team in history to win the Mountain West Freshman of the Year Award in consecutive seasons while Charles Williams made history as the school’s all-time rushing king.
“Here we go,” said Arroyo at his introductory press conference. “This is amazing. I’m so fired up and have been preparing for this job my whole life. The fact that I get to do it here with UNLV during this unique time in this community, is amazing. “Rebel Nation – we’re going to win. We’ll recruit at a really high level. The goal is to compete for championships. We’ll block out the naysayers together as fans and city and administration and build a winner – a winner that will last.”
Arroyo, who turned 42 in January, took over the Rebels after most recently serving as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon. Behind his play-calling, the Ducks won the 2019 Pac-12 Conference Championship and then defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, which marked the eighth bowl game of Arroyo’s career. During his time in Eugene, the Ducks went 28-12 overall, including winning 15 of their last 17 outings.
Arroyo joined Oregon after spending two years as the running backs coach at Oklahoma State, and brought experience as a coach for every offensive position except the offensive line. Overall, Arroyo helped the Cowboys’ offense become one of just two teams in the nation to have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard receiver and a 1,000-yard rusher Prior to going to Stillwater, Arroyo spent the 2014-15 season in the NFL as interim offensive coordinator and play-caller for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He originally went to Tampa Bay to coach quarterbacks, but after a health procedure sidelined Bucs offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford, Arroyo took on the offensive coordinator duties. Tampa Bay’s offense saw receivers Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson both eclipse 1,000 yards receiving, the first time in team history a pair of receivers went over 1,000 yards. Arroyo earned the minority coaching internship with the Atlanta Falcons in 2013, working with quarterbacks under head coach Mike Smith and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter. Before making the move to the NFL, Arroyo spent the 2013 college football season as the offensive coordinator and outside receivers coach at Southern Mississippi.
Arroyo’s first stint in the Pac-12 saw him spend 2011 and 2012 as the passing-game coordinator and play-caller at California. He spent the 2009 and 2010 campaigns at Wyoming as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, developing quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels into the Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2009. In fact, with UNLV rookie receiver Kyle Williams earning Freshman All-America and MW Freshman of the Year honors in 2020 and quarterback Cameron Friel taking the league Freshman of the Year honor one year later, Arroyo has now coached five freshman honorees in the last decade alone: QB Friel (UNLV), WR Williams (UNLV), QB Carta-Samuels (Wyoming), QB Nick Mullens (C-USA All-Freshman Team at Southern Miss) and RB Justice Hill (Freshman All-America and nation’s top rookie rusher at Oklahoma State).
Prior to his time in Laramie, Arroyo was the co-offensive coordinator for two seasons and quarterbacks coach for three campaigns at his alma mater, San Jose State. He was the quarterbacks coach and play-caller for the Spartans in 2006, and added co-offensive coordinator duties from 2007-08 under head coach Dick Tomey.
Arroyo began his coaching career with the Spartans in 2003 as an undergraduate assistant coach. He was the offensive coordinator at Prairie View A&M in 2004 before returning to SJSU as a graduate assistant in 2005. A native of Colfax, California, Arroyo was a three-year letterman at San Jose State, where he played quarterback from 1998-2002. In 2000, he passed for 2,334 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading the Spartans to seven wins, their most in eight seasons.
Arroyo graduated from San Jose State in 2003 with a degree in kinesiology. He is married to the former Kelly Thoni and the couple has a daughter and a son.
ARROYO’S COACHING FILE
2020-PR UNLV – Head Coach
2018-19 Oregon – Assistant Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks
2017 Oregon – Co-Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks, Tight Ends
2015-16 Oklahoma State – Running Backs
2014 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL) – Interim Offensive Coordinator
2013 Southern Mississippi – Offensive Coordinator, Outside Receivers
2011-12 California – Passing Game Coordinator
2009-10 Wyoming – Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks
2007-08 San Jose State – Co-Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks
2006 San Jose State – Quarterbacks, Play Caller
2005 San Jose State – Offensive Graduate Assistant
2004 Prairie View A&M – Offensive Coordinator
2003 San Jose State – Offensive Student Assistant
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
SEASON GAME (TEAM)
2019 Rose Bowl (Oregon)
2018 Red Box Bowl (Oregon)
2017 Las Vegas Bowl (Oregon)
2016 Alamo Bowl (Oklahoma State)
2015 Sugar Bowl (Oklahoma State)
2011 Holiday Bowl (California)
2009 New Mexico Bowl (Wyoming)
2006 New Mexico Bowl (San Jose State)
