Coach Shibest was already a two-time winner of the Football Scoop Special Teams Coordinator of the Year award at two previous schools when he took over the Rebel special teams in 2023. In Las Vegas, he immediately produced a First Team All-American kicker and a finalist for the Jet Award for the top returner in his first season. Now, in 2024, Shibest is again overseeing one of, if not THE, top overall special teams performances in the nation, making him one of the nation’s top assistant coaches and a perfect example of what the Broyles Award embodies. The numbers: -UNLV leads the nation with five total blocked punts through 10 games -WR Ricky White III leads the nation with a school-record four punt blocks, which is more than any other ENTIRE TEAM in the FBS -True freshman PK Caden Chittenden is the highest-scoring kicker in the nation with 109 points and is tied for the NCAA lead with 22 made field goals -UNLV already has FOUR Special Teams Player of the Week honorees this season (one by Ricky White and three by Caden Chittenden) -Punter Marshall Nichols is averaging 43.3 yards per attempt, which would rank 34th in the nation if he had enough attempts to quality -The Rebels have returned two blocked punts for touchdowns -RB Jai’Den Thomas retuned a kickoff 90 yards vs. Fresno State that marked UNLV’s first kickoff return for a touchdown in 13 years -UNLV’s punt-return defense ranks 15th in the nation, allowing just 3.4 yards per attempt -The Rebels rank 29th in the nation in punt return average at 11.7 -Preseason Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year Jacob De Jesus ranks second in the conference in punt return yards -Thanks in large part to Coach Shibest’s work, the Rebels are also among the national leaders in field position All of these highlights are part of a season that has seen UNLV get nationally ranked for the first time in school history (AP and Coaches), win its first five away games of the season and earn bowl-eligibility in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. Now known as one of the top special teams units in the country, the Rebels are 8-2 overall and looking to earn a second straight trip to the Mountain West Championship Game and possibly the CFP.
