From Prep to Pro!, EST 2001


  Draft Scout by Conference











 Draft Scout College Football Player News: Nevada
Previous 15 Notes Next 15 Notes

  08/01/22 - Toa TauarSr/2023, Nevada + More +

  The Mountain West and the entire nation is sleeping on Nevada Wolf Pack running back Toa Taua. Taua was not named to the preseason All-Mountain West team and he was not named to the Doak Walker Watch List, an award given to the nation's top running back. So, yes, the fifth-year senior is basically being ignored this summer heading into his final college season. Taua, one of the best running backs in Wolf Pack history despite playing for a pass-happy head coach (Jay Norvell), deserves more respect than what he is getting. Taua has 3,086 career yards and will become just the sixth Pack back in history with 4,000 or more yards, joining brother Vai, who is second all-time at Nevada with 4,588 yards (Frank Hawkins had 5,333). We expect the Pack, a team who will start an inexperienced quarterback this season, to emphasize the ground game. But you never know with all of these young offensive coordinators who like to flash fancy passing stats on their resume. - Nevada Appeal

rSr/2023 RB Toa TauaNevada
News Source: Nevada Appeal
Share/Comment: Here


  Linebacker Adrian Jackson Jr. has left the Oregon football program. Jackson, who was entering his fifth-year redshirt-junior season, is no longer listed on UO's roster, which was updated on Tuesday. He moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker in the spring and has been a designated pass rusher for much of his career, which has been plagued by injury. A right foot injury sidelined Jackson for all of 2019, then a left foot injury ended his 2020 season after four games, when he had four tackles with a sack. Jackson had 16 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, last season and 13 tackles (one for loss) as a true freshman in 2018. It's not immediately clear if Jackson intends to transfer or retire. - The Oregonian

rSr/2024 OLB Adrian JacksonNevada
News Source: The Oregonian
Share/Comment: Here


  2022 PRESEASON LOU GROZA AWARD WATCH LIST: Brandon Talton - Nevada, Class: Senior - Hometown: Vacaville, California,...A Groza semifinalist in each of his first three seasons, Talton's 41 career field goals from at least 30 yards out are the second-most in the country and top the next-closest three-year kicker by double-digits. He made multiple field goals in six straight games, capped by a 2-for-2 performance against San Jose State in which he hit from 51 yards and then from 45 with three seconds left for a 27-24 victory. - Lou Groza Award

rSr/2024 K Brandon TaltonNevada
News Source: Lou Groza Award
Share/Comment: Here


  With the season opener still seven weeks away, Colorado head football coach Karl Dorrell isn't naming a starting quarterback yet. He made it clear Wednesday, however, that it's Brendon Lewis' job to lose. Speaking at a media roundtable at Colorado National Golf Club, Dorrell said the competition to start will be ongoing but, "B-Lew is in the driver's seat. "He was our starter a year ago. We can't discredit that. I mean, someone's gonna have to beat him out. That's the flat truth." Rick George says remaining Pac-12 members 'staying aligned' amid conference realignment Lewis, now a sophomore, started all 12 games in 2021, but struggled at times. He was 11th in the Pac-12 in passer rating (118.82), and 12th in completion percentage (58.0) and passing yards per game (128.3).

Overall, he threw for 1,540 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also threw just three interceptions - the lowest total among the starters in the conference. Lewis displayed his toughness, fighting through a year in which the offensive line struggled. He was sacked 31 times but still ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns. "He knows he's got a job to hang on to and he knows he's got to continue to get better," Dorrell said. "And he knows that there's people nipping at his heels, so it's great competition, but he's in the driver's seat." - Daily Camera


rJr/2026 QB Brendon LewisNevada
News Source: Daily Camera
Share/Comment: Here


  Nevada historically has relied on an effective passing game, but last year's starting quarterback, Carson Strong, now is an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. Oklahoma State transfer Shane Illingworth is the most likely replacement. How effective will Illingworth be for the Wolf Pack? The ex-Oklahoma State backup was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and had plenty of Power Five offers. He didn't see the field much in Stillwater, Okla., aside from a start against Missouri State when the usual starter was in COVID-19 protocols. He'll have a tall task with an inexperienced offense around him. - The Gazette

rSr/2025 QB Shane IllingworthNevada
News Source: The Gazette
Share/Comment: Here


  Nebraska quarterback Chubba Purdy signed dozens of T-shirts, footballs and other memorabilia during NU's football development camp on Saturday. At one point, he ran out of ink. At another, he paused an interview to sign one more shirt. The camp was for the kids. But the coaches, which included Purdy and 29 of his teammates, needed it too. Nebraska has welcomed 33 new players to the program this offseason. Nine were at Saturday's camp - teaching basics, blowing whistles and building rapport with their teammates. "We got new guys and (returning players) bonding with each other, having fun, cracking jokes with the kids," Purdy said. "I think this is a great thing for Husker football and all the new guys coming in." Purdy practiced only twice with his new teammates this spring because he missed six weeks with a foot injury. Purdy said his old Nike cleats were too tight and hurt his feet.

Meanwhile, he used the down time to dive into new offensive coordinator Mark Whipple's playbook. Purdy downloaded the first nine install phases - four to nine slides per install, about eight plays per slide - onto his iPad. He drew the routes on a blank document to help embed them into his memory. Nothing could substitute for the reps he missed, though. Purdy said he played "pretty well" during Nebraska's spring game, but he also thought he could've played better with more practice time. "It's tough because I want to get in there and show these coaches (and) my teammates what I can do," Purdy said after the spring game. "(I'm) trying to learn and read and get the physical reps, not just the mental reps." - Lincoln Journal Star


rJr/2026 QB Chubba PurdyNevada
News Source: Lincoln Journal Star
Share/Comment: Here

  06/09/22 - Nate CoxrSr/2023, Nevada + More +

  Has Nate Cox thrown away his first and only opportunity to be the starting quarterback for the Nevada Wolf Pack? Winning the starting job, though, is not Cox's biggest concern right now. There is a real chance the 6-foot-9 quarterback won't even be a member of the team this fall after his arrest last Sunday morning for driving under the influence. Whether Cox is on the team or not this summer will give Wolf Pack fans the first indication of what type of disciplinarian Ken Wilson will be as a head coach. The last thing a rookie head coach needs, after all, is for his potential starting quarterback to have legal troubles.

If Cox was a nameless, faceless special teamer we probably would never hear about him again. But he's a quarterback and, well, coaches tend to overlook a lot of things when it comes to quarterbacks. But this is not a good look for the Pack and Wilson, let alone Cox. DUI is a serious charge and needs to be taken seriously by everyone involved, especially a rookie head coach. Wilson says he is trying to build a new culture at Nevada, promising to bring back the discipline, high standards and work ethic of his mentor Chris Ault. The starting quarterback is the face of every program's culture. And right now the Pack's face is captured in a police mug shot. - Nevada Appeal


rSr/2023 QB Nate CoxNevada
News Source: Nevada Appeal
Share/Comment: Here


  Nevada's much-anticipated football game against Colorado State will be played in primetime on a Friday night on national television. The meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Rams - under former Nevada head coach Jay Norvell - kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 and will air on FS1. It will be the Wolf Pack's first Mountain West game at home in the 2022 season. The Nevada-CSU game was one of seven on the Pack's schedule to have broadcast and start-time details released Thursday, as conferences and networks made their first round of announcements for the upcoming season.

Nevada will also play a Friday game at Air Force on Sept. 23 (5 p.m., FS1) in what will be its MW opener. Previously, the Air Force and Colorado State games were slotted for Saturday games, on Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, respectively. Later in the season, the Pack will play four straight games on CBS Sports Network with 7:30 p.m. kickoffs. Three of those games - against San Diego State, Boise State and Fresno State - will be played at Mackay Stadium, with the road game coming at San Jose State. - Reno Gazette Journal


rSr/2023 DT Dom PetersonNevada
News Source: Reno Gazette Journal
Share/Comment: Here


  The Wolf Pack quarterback room just got a bit bigger - and, perhaps, a lot more competitive. Nevada officially announced the addition of Oklahoma State transfer Shane Illingworth, a verbal commitment from earlier in the year, on Tuesday. He'll join the team in time for summer camp, which usually has an early August start. In two seasons in mostly a reserve role for the Cowboys, Illingworth completed 69 of his 120 attempts, good for 939 yards and seven touchdowns. His best outing was a 315-yard game in OSU's opening win over Missouri State last season. As a first-time transfer, he will be immediately eligible to play in the fall; he has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

"Excited to have a quality athlete with Division I experience competing for our quarterback position," Nevada coach Ken Wilson said in a news release. "Shane is a fierce competitor with great intelligence who I have known for a long time. "Competition at all positions will make our team better. His presence will certainly help all of the players competing to be our starting QB." Illingworth joins a Nevada roster with an overall shortage of quarterback experience. Nate Cox, who backed up Carson Strong the last two seasons, led the first team during spring camp. He also started Nevada's bowl game loss to Western Michigan in late December that ended the 2021 season. - Reno Gazette Journal


rSr/2025 QB Shane IllingworthNevada
News Source: Reno Gazette Journal
Share/Comment: Here


  Everyone is down to one final chance to underestimate Dom Peterson. Nevada's veteran defensive lineman is back for a fifth and final season of college football, this time as the leader of a re-tooled Wolf Pack defense. That won't stop the questions, though. They usually center on his size - height, in particular - and whether he's capable of handling the interior, often a jumble of bodies right after the snap. It's just more of the same for Peterson, who has always had doubters, beginning with being lightly recruited out of Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.). More recently, the doubts extended to NFL teams and draft consultants, who raised some familiar questions even after Peterson had nine tackles for loss (including five sacks) while routinely being team-blocked last season.

Nevada lists him at 6-feet, 285 pounds. "I had a little buzz, but I had a lot of what I want to call 'differentials.' Stuff going on, politics; you know, 'the height' and 'the size' and all that plays a big part," Peterson said after a recent practice at Wolf Pack Park. "So I had a little buzz based off my stats, but once they start going to the height and stuff, that's where I kind of started losing interest. So I think for this year, I just need to show them (that) against good teams, I can hold a point (on the line of scrimmage)." - Reno Gazette Journal


rSr/2023 DT Dom PetersonNevada
News Source: Reno Gazette Journal
Share/Comment: Here


  The Nevada Wolf Pack football team did not get the best of Carson Strong last season. Yes, Strong passed for 4,175 yards and a school-record 366 completions and 36 touchdowns with just eight interceptions in a dozen games. But he did it all on just one good knee. "I wasn't able to drive off my back (right) leg," Strong said this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "I'm just learning how to drive off it again and get rid of the bad habits I developed during the year. I have so much untapped potential and power I haven't been using." Strong passed for 300 or more yards in nine of 12 games last year and for three or more touchdowns seven times.

"I wasn't healthy," said Strong, who is expected to be drafted in the first three rounds of the seven-round NFL draft April 28-30. "During the season it (the knee) just wasn't quite ready. I had (knee) surgery (in February) that normally requires a year to recover and I came back in six months. So what I put on tape (in the games) this year wasn't the full me." Strong said he knew going into the 2021 season that it would be his last at Nevada. "My dad tried to get me to not play the first part of the season (because of the surgery)," Strong said. "But I was like, 'There's no way. I have to go out there and play with my team.' There was never a question I was going to play. I was going to play no matter what. It was just a matter of dealing with the challenges that came with that." - Nevada Appeal


rJr/2022 QB Carson StrongNevada
News Source: Nevada Appeal
Share/Comment: Here


  2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST HONORABLE MENTION (COACHES): Dom Peterson, DL,...Nevada football has 15 players who earned 16 conference honors following a vote by head coaches as well as conference and media representatives. Earning honorable mention are KR/WR Jamaal Bell, OL Gray Davis, OL Jacob Gardner, LB Lawson Hall, DL Sam Hammond, DB Jordan Lee, OL Tyler Orsini, and DL Dom Peterson. - Nevada Football

rSr/2023 DT Dom PetersonNevada
News Source: Nevada Football
Share/Comment: Here


  2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FIRST TEAM (COACHES): DL - Tristan Nichols, Sr., Nevada,...Nichols earned All-Mountain West First-Team Defensive honors after finishing the regular season first in the conference in sacks (10.0). It marked a career-high for the graduate student from Kihei, Hawai'i. The 2021 season was a break-out year for the edge rusher that included a single-game career-high three sacks against Idaho State and a season-high five tackles at Colorado State to close the regular season. - Nevada Football

rSr/2022 DE Tristan NicholsNevada
News Source: Nevada Football
Share/Comment: Here

  12/26/21 - Romeo DoubsSr/2022, Nevada + More +

  2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FIRST TEAM (COACHES): WR & PR - Romeo Doubs, Sr., Nevada,...Doubs was named First-Team All-Mountain West after finishing fourth in the conference in receiving yards (1,109) and tied for first in receiving touchdowns (11). Doubs recorded the second-most receiving yards per game in the Mountain West (100.8). He was tied for second with 7.3 receptions per game. Doubs also earned All-Mountain West First Team as a punt returner after leading the conference with 14.2 yards per punt return and a long of 47 yards for 170 total return yards. - Nevada Football

Sr/2022 WR Romeo DoubsNevada
News Source: Nevada Football
Share/Comment: Here


  2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST HONORABLE MENTION (COACHES): Tyler Orsini, OL,...Nevada football has 15 players who earned 16 conference honors following a vote by head coaches as well as conference and media representatives. Earning honorable mention are KR/WR Jamaal Bell, OL Gray Davis, OL Jacob Gardner, LB Lawson Hall, DL Sam Hammond, DB Jordan Lee, OL Tyler Orsini, and DL Dom Peterson. - Nevada Football

rSr/2022 C Tyler OrsiniNevada
News Source: Nevada Football
Share/Comment: Here

Previous 15 Notes Next 15 Notes






 BACK TO TOP

 Nevada Football Videos

 Buy Draft Scout Weekly


** Draft Scout Data **

(Everything Online PLUS)

 Support Draft Scout

The Database Engine for NFLDraftScout.com, Draft Scout is being repurposed...Support the Future Development of ScoutNation.com...

 




 Draft Scout Archives


** 2010-2022 Draft Scout Archives **

(Yearly Player Data Exports, Prospect Lists & More)

 

 Draft Scout Future

100% Dedicated and Never Done
80% Innovated
45% Hidden
35% Built

Synergization