LAS VEGAS >> University of Nevada-Las Vegas football coach Tony Sanchez was about a minute into his postgame press conference on Saturday night when quarterback Johnny Stanton walked in to join him at the podium.

“As you build a program, one of the most important things is seeing the consistency in the fight,” Sanchez said. “And there’s no better example of that consistency in the fight as John standing right there.”

Consistency in the fight if not the position.

Stanton, a senior out of Santa Margarita High School in Southern California, has had quite a journey. After Saturday’s 31-23 win over Hawaii at Sam Boyd Stadium, Stanton is owner of a two-game winning streak as a starting quarterback to go along with a blocked punt and eight tackles at linebacker earlier this season.

“There’s no better definition of courage than this guy right here,” Sanchez said. “The way he came into the year not being the guy and stayed positive. We all know the story — blocked punt, played defense — now he’s back, so Mr. Utility.”

Said wide receiver Brandon Presley, “It’s crazy to see how he was missing two, three weeks of quarterback reps in practice and in the game and then comes out and performs the way that he did is just amazing.”

Stanton completed 18 of 26 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday, despite playing just three-quarters of the game.

Stanton was a top recruit out of high school and signed with Nebraska. After three seasons (including a redshirt year) with limited playing time, he decided to transfer to Saddleback College, a JC in Southern California. There, he earned state player-of-the-year honors, passing for 3,471 yards with 27 touchdowns. He also led Saddleback in rushing with 747 yards and 12 touchdowns. He came to UNLV in 2016 and was named the starter, choosing the Rebels in part because offensive coordinator Barney Cotton had been on the staff at Nebraska.

However, after four games, Stanton suffered a season-ending knee injury. Redshirt freshman Armani Rogers then won the starting job this past spring, leaving Stanton as a backup.

Rather than mope, Stanton asked to switch positions. He began practicing as a linebacker and with the special teams unit. His first snaps of the year came with the latter against San Jose State on Sept. 30. He immediately contributed, blocking a punt to set up a touchdown. Against Air Force on Oct. 14, he saw his first game action at linebacker. The next week against Utah State, he played most of the game and recorded six tackles.

However, in that game, Rogers suffered a concussion. Kurt Palandech came on to replace him, but when practice started up the next week, Stanton was back with the offense. He didn’t make any mistakes against Fresno State, and the Rebels pulled off a surprise 26-16 win on the road, handing the Bulldogs their first Mountain West Conference loss.

Sanchez said he wanted to get Rogers back on the field this week, so the incumbent came on at the end of the first quarter and played the next two drives. However, he was ineffective and Stanton was back out there for the second half.

“Johnny had a heck of a game,” Sanchez said. “We knew Armani was healthy and we wanted to give him an opportunity and I thought he did some really good things. Johnny came out in the second half and had a hot hand and got us going right away.”

Asked his thoughts going forward, Sanchez said he’d think about that today.