Donovan McNabb was once one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, starring for a decade with the Philadelphia Eagles before finishing his career in 2011.
Some 15 years later, McNabb, who was also a college standout at Syracuse, has a son who’s ready to take college football by storm, too. And on Friday, Donovan McNabb Jr., who plays wide receiver and not quarterback, made up his mind about where he wants to start his own collegiate career.
McNabb, a 3-star wideout out of Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, announced on his social media account that he has committed to play at UNLV. For SEC fans, McNabb opting for UNLV should strike a particular interest, with ex-Florida and Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen going into his second season as the Rebels head coach.
Now, the son of Donovan McNabb, a 6-time Pro Bowl quarterback, is set to start playing for Mullen during the 2027 season. Mullen impressed during his first season in Las Vegas, going 10-4, and he’ll soon be getting a supreme talent on the outside from a notable football family for what would be Year 3 of his tenure at UNLV.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound McNabb did have offers from Power 4 programs, but he chose UNLV and the Mountain West Conference over offers from Kansas State, Iowa, Minnesota and Iowa State.
McNabb caught 23 passes for 280 yards and 5 touchdowns during his junior season at Brophy. He only made 1 official visit to UNLV last weekend before deciding that Las Vegas was where he wanted to be to start his college career. Right now, at least, UNLV’s 2027 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, McNabb is ranked 1,146th overall among prospects in the Class of 2027. He’s also the 144th-ranked wide receiver in the class right now and the 23rd-ranked player from the state of Arizona.
While UNLV tries to bold a roster that will one day compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, the sport’s current elite will take aim at a berth in the Playoff this fall. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the top teams in the mix to be playing for a national championship come December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
