Can the Nevada Wolf Pack Ever Win With New Coaching?
Defense
Is it really something to brag about if you return a lot starters on defense when you had the 102nd ranked scoring defense last year, giving up more than 34 points per game? In Nevada’s case, possibly. The unit was very deep last year, with 18 guys seeing significant action last year throughout the season, and 12 of them are back. And they should be much more experienced this year.
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The defensive line went nine-deep last year, and all of the starters are back. Senior Brock Hekking will be the guy to wreak the most havoc after recording 8 sacks and an interception last year. Along with him, Rykeem Yates at tackle and Lenny Jones at end combined for 6 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, and 49.5 tackles overall last year, so don’t sleep on them either. Ian Seau will have a larger role this year as well after recording 18 tackles, Jordan Hanson, Dupree Roberts-Jordan, and Salesa Faraimo all have experience. The major issue with the line, though, is size. Hanson is the heaviest player in the rotation at only 280 pounds, and only three other players weigh more than 270 pounds. Help is on the way, though, with junior college transfer Jeremy Miller at tackle, weighing 300 pounds. Look for him to play immediately, and his size should dramatically improve the front, which is already very deep and experienced.
The strength of the unit this year should be the linebackers, with the five major contributors all back from last year. Senior Jonathan McNeal managed to be all over the field last year, recording 81 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, and a sack. Matthew Lyons is also going to be a potential star as a junior after recording 72.5 tackles and 6 tackles for a loss last year. Juniors Jordan Dobrich and Bryan Lane are a little more versatile at the position, combining for 100.5 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, and 7 passes broken up. All four players will be valuable this year, as will sophomore Alex Bertrando, who recorded 36.5 tackles and 4.5 tackles for a loss last year as a freshman. There is plenty of depth and much more experience here for the unit to be better than it was last year, so there’s no reason it can’t be better this year.
Nov 30, 2013; Reno, NV, USA; BYU cougars quarterback Taysom Hill dives for a first down in the first half of their NCAA football game with Nevada Wolf Pack at MacKay Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen/USA TODAY Sports. BYU won 28-23.
Nevada’s secondary suffered the biggest loss with the departure of cornerback Markus Smith, who recorded 3 interceptions last year. Free safety Bryson Keeton is also gone, but he’s not much to miss. Senior cornerbacks Charles Garrett and Evan Favors will be the leaders of the group, and together they should make up for Smith’s departure after combining for 9 passes broken up last year. Sophomore cornerback Elijah Mitchell will also have a larger role after seeing action in 11 games last year, recording 17.5 tackles, and breaking up 2 passes. Kaodi Dike will take the full-time spot at safety after seeing action in 9 games last year as a freshman, and seniors Gabe Lee and Nigel Haikins will also see valuable action. Randy Uzoma saw action in 10 games as a freshman last year and should be much better this year as well. Junior college transfer Duran Workman could immediately step in as a starter too. In addition to being able to go so deep with players, the Wolf Pack also have six freshmen that could fill in as well. So this unit should also be more improved over last year.
The defense has enough experience this year and newcomers in the right spots that although it shouldn’t be great, it should be much better than last year. If there are no serious injuries, then an improved defense could be enough for Nevada to steal a couple of more close games that it lost last year.