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Nevada Wolfpack (2000: 2-10) The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I-A teams, be sure to order the 2001 Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.
Coach and programNevada moved from the Big West to the WAC a year ago and knew there were going to be some growing pains. No one really expected them to be this severe. Despite the WAC not being a national, power conference, it was still too much for a Wolf Pack team that had questions in almost every area.“We weren’t really competitive,” said coach Chris Tormey, who oversaw Nevada’s move to the WAC after leaving his alma mater, Idaho. “We came into the year with concerns everywhere except for quarterback. We were just so inexperienced. We came in without knowing a whole lot or knowing what to expect. I can say this: We are a lot further along at this point than we were a year ago.” Nevada has 18 starters back, 10 on offense. But there are only 15 seniors, meaning Tormey will be dealing with a young team again. Times are going to be lean again this year, though not as bad. Quarterback David Neill is a senior leader who has been the starter since he was a sophomore. The offensive line is still young and the running game needs significant improvement. There is talent on both sides of the ball. But once again, it is in the lower classes. With the WAC undergoing major renovations with TCU and a host of star players gone, the Wolf Pack can improve this season and eventually be very competitive in this environment. Their high-powered offense and attacking defense mirrors what a lot of teams do in the league. And, the conference has two new members in Louisiana Tech and Boise State that will be going through the same sort of transition that Nevada did a year ago. The Wolf Pack knows what those pains feel like. More are on the horizon, but the foundation in Reno is slowly beginning to take shape.
OffenseNeill (6-5, 200) already holds numerous Nevada passing records and should have almost every yardage mark once he leaves. He might trade all those marks for a better view of the field. Last season, Neill threw for 2,334 yards and 13 touchdowns in the little time he spent standing up. He was sacked a WAC-leading 48 times, including 11 times in the season opener against TCU. The sacks totaled 300 yards, nearly negating a respectable 384 yards rushing.The running game is going to struggle early with chemistry, forcing Neill and a receiver corps that returns seven players and two tight ends who caught passes a year ago to be even better than its No. 30 national rating in 2000. Sophomore Marquis Starks (5-10, 185), who led the team in rushing with 457 yards, and fifth-year senior Adrien Dugas (5-10, 190), last year’s opening day starter who was lost for the year with a knee injury against Wyoming, are back and will get carries. But the job belongs to transfer Herman Ho-Ching (6-1, 220), a bruising runner who played two years at Oregon before taking last year off to attend Long Beach City College. Though the running game is full of uncertainty, Nevada has familiar hands at wide receiver. Junior Nate Burleson (6-2, 169) is the leader of the three-receiver set. He led the team in receiving and was the Wolf Pack’s most versatile player. He had 921 yards and eight touchdowns on 57 catches. He also returned punts and kicks, leading the team with almost 100 all-purpose yards per game.
Defense and special teamsFor as many struggles as the offense had, the most difficult part of moving from the Big West to the WAC was on defense. The Wolf Pack had seen high-powered offenses in the WAC, but they never saw the overall talent and depth that some WAC teams had a year ago. The transition was most felt up front, where Nevada had a hard time stopping the run or giving help to a secondary that needed a hand.The Wolf Pack finished last in the WAC against the run, giving up 232.5 yards per game. That was 112th in the nation. The 41 rushing touchdowns Nevada gave up were 15 more than any other team in the league and four more than any other team in Division I-A. Rutgers was next with 37. The good news is that the players who went through the mess in 2000 are all back with a very tough year of experience behind them. At tackle, senior Horacio Leyva (6-4, 250) is back after being a co-captain last season. He made 25 tackles but, like a lot of Nevada players, was slowed by injuries. Three of the starting four linebackers are sophomores. Backup middle linebacker senior Jeff Peterson (6-1, 220) is the only one of the nine players at linebacker or rover who isn’t a sophomore or junior. The concern is the inexperience and finding a leader to replace co-captain Josh Smith, who graduated. Jorge Cordova (6-2, 235) is moving into Smith’s spot. He has the size and speed to be a star in the WAC. As a redshirt freshman, he led the team in tackles with 91. Sophomore free safety Ronnie Hardiman (6-0, 170), who also returns kicks and could return punts this year as well, is the leader in the secondary. The Wolf Pack is uncertain at kicker, but the punting job is in good hands. Sophomore Derek Jones (6-3, 210) finished fourth in the WAC in 2000 with a 39.5-yard average.
Bottom lineThe offense needs to be more of a ball control unit to keep a defense off the field that was not good a year ago. There is some talent, but it is young, developing talent.With the balance in the conference, Nevada should win more than the one conference game it did a year ago. Improving on last year’s two victories with this non-conference schedule, though, is going to require some major surprises. |
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