Nevada Leans On a Stout Front Seven While a Rebuilt Offense Chases the Program's First Bowl Since 2021
Nevada slogged through a 3-9 season in 2025, going 2-6 in the Mountain West and extending a bowl drought that now stands as the program's longest since the 1997-2004 stretch. Head coach Jeff Choate enters a pivotal third year at 6-19 in Reno, and the defining story of his offseason is another sweeping staff turnover. Only one offensive assistant remains, with new coordinator Brett Bartolone, a Deion Sanders protege from his Jackson State and Colorado days, arriving to install an Air Raid-inspired attack that the Wolf Pack hope can finally lift a passing game that has been the program's undoing.
Offense
The position sits at the center of Nevada's problems. Wolf Pack quarterbacks combined for just 10 touchdown passes against 17 interceptions in 2025, the worst ratio in the country, and the trouble runs deeper than one season: since 2022 the program has thrown 42 touchdowns to 45 picks. Carter Jones, thrust into action as a true freshman and a seven-game starter, is the projected No. 1 but must hold off UCLA transfer Luke Duncan for the job. Jones showed growth as the year wore on, and finishing the season on the field earned him a real chance to run Bartolone's system. Whichever man wins the competition, a meaningful jump in the passing game is the single biggest requirement for the season.
The receiver room was a glaring weakness and now looks almost entirely new after the departure of the top five pass catchers. The staff attacked the roster hole through the portal, leaning on senior Damien Morgan, a productive hand at FCS Idaho State, and adding Gary Givens III from Northern Illinois, Donnie Cheers from Southeast Missouri and Jaceon Doss from Towson. That transfer quartet is expected to provide a major boost. Marshaun Brown is the leading returner after 16 catches a year ago and gives the group a familiar target. At tight end, young DJ Asiasi is in line to see the field early. How quickly these newcomers develop chemistry with an unsettled quarterback spot will shape the whole offense.
The ground game profiles as Nevada's most dependable offensive weapon. Herschel Turner is set to claim the lead role after averaging 5.1 yards per carry in 2025, running behind a line built to win up front. Dominic Kelley flashed as a freshman power back and offers a change-of-pace complement, giving the Wolf Pack a two-man rotation they can build early-down identity around while the passing game finds its footing.
This is the clearest strength on offense. Nevada brings back high-end tackles Jack Foster and Zach Cochnauer, a pair viewed as all-conference-caliber bookends, along with guard Snoop Leota-Amaama. The staff supplemented that returning core with Memphis interior transfers Jacob Norcross and Ethan Newman, adding veteran bodies inside. The result should be a physical, experienced front capable of setting the foundation for the run game and buying time for a young passer, and it is the unit most likely to keep the offense functional while the skill spots sort themselves out.
Defense
The defense was good enough to win games last season and was undermined mostly by the offense's turnovers, and it is headlined by a genuine star. Defensive end Dylan LaBarbera is a first-team all-conference returner who led the team with 87 tackles and paced the league with 17 tackles for loss while adding 6.5 sacks. He is a leading candidate for Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and carries a legitimate pro future. Interior anchor Logologo Va'a returns at nose tackle, with Tanner Vaughan, David Paine Jr. and Myles Williams filling out a rotation that must replace significant production but has a foundation to build on up front.
EJ Smith is the one sure thing in the second level. He had become one of the team's leaders before an injury cost him the second half of last season, and a healthy campaign should make him a central figure. Colorado State transfer Jeremy Naborne-Owens, who saw significant snaps with the Rams, is expected to be an immediate impact addition alongside him. Beyond that duo the group is unproven, part of a broader challenge after the Wolf Pack lost eight of their top nine tacklers.
The secondary is again a rebuild, having lost all five starters for the second straight offseason. The bright spot is cornerback Aiden Walker, who emerged as a true freshman and projects as the top player on the back line, with Bryson Snelling bringing starting experience on the opposite side and drawing good reviews this spring. Safety Bishop Turner returns, and the staff loaded up the room with transfers, including Jaylen Webb, a former junior college All-American by way of Texas and Boise State who impressed in camp, plus Joshua Scott and Larry Turner-Gooden. Generating takeaways is the mandate after Nevada managed just 15 last season against 27 giveaways.
Senior placekicker Joe McFadden provides stability after connecting on 19 of 25 field goal tries with a long of 50 yards. The punting job is wide open after the departure of the previous specialist, with Australian import Ewan Baulch stepping in as the favorite. Return duties fall to Ky Woods on kickoffs and Gerick Robinson on punts.
Overview and Prediction
Nevada reached a bowl 14 times in a 17-year span through 2021 but has gone just 10-39 across the last four seasons, never topping three wins. The schedule offers a soft launch with Western Kentucky and Montana State at home before conference play, and there are winnable games sprinkled throughout a rebuilt Mountain West. The preseason consensus slots the Wolf Pack in the bottom third of the league, projected sixth or seventh, with national placement hovering around the 110 range.
The verdict is straightforward: this roster has the pieces to be respectable on defense and up front, but reaching six wins hinges almost entirely on whether the passing game climbs out of the cellar. LaBarbera, the offensive tackles and a veteran-heavy transfer haul give Choate something to work with, yet the four-year bowl drought will only end if Jones or Duncan turns a historically bad aerial attack into something merely average. That is the make-or-break, and it makes the quarterback battle the most important story in Reno this fall.