Nevada Football: Would Malik Henry-led Wolf Pack contend in 2019?
By Zach Bigalke
Defense has shaky outlook
While things look fairly bright for the offense, the Nevada defense is another story. After ranking middle of the FBS in yards and points allowed, the Wolf Pack lose a large part of the 2018 roster. Entering 2019, Norvell’s crew ranks 98th in returning defensive experience.
The front six in the 3-3-5 held opponents to 142 yards per game on the ground, good for 39th nationally (but only sixth in the run-stingy Mountain West). The loss of defensive tackle Korey Rush is going to make it tough to remain as stout against opposing rushing attacks, and the departure of standout edge rusher could set back a unit that ranked eighth nationally in tackles for loss and 27th in total sacks.
Jay Norvell and defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel are going to be heavily dependent on a youth movement on the defensive side of the ball. While they have recruited well in recent years, it remains to be seen whether the individuals can live up to their recruiting hype on the college gridiron.
Focusing on the defensive backfield
The biggest question marks on defense for Nevada this season fall on the secondary. The unit lost all three starting safeties in their backfield-heavy formation, which will put a ton of pressure on unproven talent to step up quickly and fill those shoes.
Sophomore safety Tyson Williams looks to be the star of the group this year after notching 18 tackles last fall. The team also signed a half-dozen defensive backs hoping to land somebody who can contribute to the secondary as soon as possible.
Senior EJ Muhammad hopes to return strong at quarterback after suffering a season-ending injury after just two games last year. Fellow senior Daniel Brown is the incumbent starter at the other cornerback position, after finishing 2018 with 11 pass breakups.