Nevada Football Spring Camp Special Show

I think it'll make a significant difference for this [Music] organization okay so let's do this the right way today let's have a blast doing it man all right here we go let's go let's go let's go well hello there friends and welcome into our Champion Chevrolet studio for a very special production alongside Chris Murray I'm Mike Stephenson and this is our Nevada football spring camp special over the next hour we will dissect the silver and blues 15 spring practices and a bunch of storylines as we head into the 2024 season and of course those story lines Chris starting back in December of 2023 with Jeff Cho being hired as the new leader of Nevada football and with that big things are expected because he talks a big game he does talk a big game he is expecting Nevada to be the most improved team in the FBS in terms of win total at the introductory press conference he won the press conference a lot of energy a lot of motivational speak actually remind me a little bit of Chris Alt he is a non-nonsense guy but a guy who can get you really rallied around the community really rallied around a program and really excited about this next generation of n of Nevada football and certainly that excitement is required after back-to-back two in 10 seasons but this is a fresh slate and Jeff Cho has that experience was the head coach at Montana state had a lot of success there comes from University of Texas where he was co-defensive coordinator and now he's going to try and build Nevada into the winning programs he's been a part of in the past and as he said I've never gone 2 and 10 and of course he was still uh fulfilling his duties as the co-defensive coordinator with the long horns as he was introduced as Nevada's next head coach ended up finishing his duties with Texas at the college football playoff which is where every single team in the country would love to end its season so Jeff Cho has excelled at the highest level of the Sport and now he's hitting the ground running and trying to build up this Wolfpack program and and let's let's be honest he hasn't minced words about the work that needs to be done to get this program where he wants it to be he understands that there's a lot of work ahead but it seems like he wants to put in that work both in terms of getting people into the stands you look at Nevada last year ninth out of 12 teams in the Mountain West in attendance the last couple of years right around 15,000 fans per game that's not high enough he's trying to get Nevada to be a football town again here in Reno he's said that he's been very open about how important it is to be successful in football because it trickles down to all the rest of the sports but looking on the field yeah this team doesn't have an identity it hasn't had an identity the last couple years offensively they've really really struggled bottom five in the nation last year in terms of points per game defensively they've really really struggled as well he's a defensive-minded coach he's also been a special teams coordinator but I really am looking at that offense because Nevada football has long been known for its offense over the years obviously Chris Al a big part of that but this has been a team that routinely is is among the national leaders in scoring and that just has not been the case the last couple years still looking for its first thousand yard rusher and what's piling on over 5 years now right 2016 16 so we're talking eight seasons now as we jump into the 2024 season we're going to talk a little bit about how coach Cho wants to make Reno a football town again his first task though was to fill his staff we actually have connected with almost each and every staff member you can see those interviews at Nevada sportsnet.com and then it was Spring football and we connected with Jeff Cho on day one of what he said would be the most important spring in his tenure a lot of work goes into leading up to day one of spring practice especially when it's a new team new staff New Era and uh I thought the kids were awesome today they really were um one of the benefits of of some of the the rule changes in college football is you get a little bit more time to do some football related activities with them in the offseason and uh I think that's helped accelerate their learning curve and the most important thing that we're trying to accomplish in this course of Spring ball is learn how to do things the right way the Nevada way the way that we want things done and I was really pleased with the kids intent today absolutely so again that was Jeff Cho sounding off after day one the first of 15 spring practices that the wolf pack was allotted and and talking with the team after those 15 I think they felt like they got a lot accomplished and kind of set a foundation but the fact is there's a whole lot more out there and this summer is going to be big but this was the first step you have to set the culture you have to set the expectations you have to set the standard if you want to play for Nevada football under Jeff Joo this is what you have to do and this is what these 15 practices were all about setting that standard really really high and not backing down from it so that's why this was the most important spring camp of Jeff Cho's era because he is really setting the foundation for what he's trying to build uh it's going to be a long-term growth but you can't at the very beginning set that hurdle low you have to set it super super high and if they don't reach it they're not part of the program so there's been a little bit of a weeding out as we get through spring camp but that's going to be natural that attrition for any first year head coach uh speaking of setting the bar High soon after his hiring Jeff Cho appeared at aada basketball game in front of a packed Lawler Event Center crowd and and he proclaimed this is not a rebuild this is a launch no better place to say that than at a Wolfpack men's basketball game because for the last handful of years and even beyond that this is of course a basketball town coach Cho wants to get a little share of that with the football team and kind of turn Northern Nevada back into a football town as well but I think that shows that you can have success at Nevada I know it is a different program but men's basketball has been one of the standards in whatever conference it's been the Mountain West or the whack before that for the last two decades if you can have success in men's BAS you should be able to have success in football as well so that's a really good example of this community will support you if you go to a really good team out there a team that plays hard a team that has success and I think Jeff Cho knows he would love to see macki Stadium packed for the season opener on August 24th against SMU but I think in the back of his mind he knows they got to go prove it first before they get that bandwagon full I know they're working really hard to try and get 25,000 for that opener um but they're going to have to show the proof is in the pudding I think before team uh players come out um you know and and want to be recruited by the team before the fans come out and they want to be a part of this whole process I think he's done a really good job of speaking a big game and now actually putting that big game on the field starts here in a couple months we are not so patiently waiting for kickoff of the 2024 season it's a heck of a schedule as you get a look at the pack throwing a little new wrinkle uh this spring they went out and scrimmaged at Carson High School Chris which is again Cho saying hey we want to be present in this community not just the Reno Sparks Community let's go up over the hill and and go play a game in Carson and interact with those fans as well he said he wants to be Northern his team it's not just about Reno and Sparks certainly that is a big part of the population but he's talked about Fernley he's talked about Fallon he's talked about winam Maka obviously Carson right there you talk about gardenville and Minden you talk about Lake Tahoe as well uh you put a pinpoint right at the Reno Arch and you draw about an hour drive away you're talking about 5 600,000 people who could potentially be Wolfpack fans you have to do that Outreach because Nevada Athletics and Nevada football is asking a lot from its Community both of those entities have to go into that Community as well and put their arms around Wolfpack fans and say hey come on back to Macky stadium and we're going to make you proud and you know that's one of the reasons they did that scrimmage coach jot wants the Buy in from the community you can bet he wants it from his players as well and I think we've made progress I mean I you know I I I've told these guys from day one I was like hey we got to get to 80% of this roster has got to be committed when we play on on August 24th and you know I know that's like everybody's going why not 100 I'm because I'm a realist that's why um and I think we're making strides and I really think that you're going to see because the the nature of modern college football whether it's when we get done with Spring ball or Ohio state gets done with Spring ball there's going to be movement and change right and that's the reality and I can't get emotional about that that's just the fact that how what everybody at our level at every level has to deal with now and so the guys that are here in that room when we come back on May 19th and we start our summer program on the 20th that's the 80% I need committed and I I think we've made progress there and I believe that when those guys are sitting in that chair they're they're going to be committed because we're going to have those conversations and I we're look each other in the eye and we're going to be transparent and honest and the ones that are there I'm going to ride with them man I'm going to coach the guys that are here that message that coach Cho shared with us it seems to be not falling on deaf ears in that locker room because a lot of the players we talked to say they appreciate that about Coach Cho that he is up front and he is a realist and if you're going to ride with him he's going to ride with you he doesn't want a bunch of individuals in this program he wants one Collective unit and I think the spring was a good chance to get that started I think communication is important in any relationship and certainly from a player to a coach I think Jeff Cho is a very strong Communicator in terms of getting across his message he had 80 returning players from last year's roster none of those guys signed up to play for Jeff Cho so if the fit's not right they can part that's okay he's saying if we get through spring you have to be bought in you have to be sold on this team on this staff on me as your head coach and they've put a lot of work into that culture in terms of culture Wednesdays and bonding activities to try and make sure this team is as tight as possible before they actually get to play in their first game this year one guy he's certainly happy to still have around is number 32 on on defense Drew Watts I had a chance to catch up with Nevada's star linebacker following spring practices all right Drew spring is a wrap what can you say about the work you guys put in over those 15 practices uh it was a good 15 practic I think we identified a lot about ourselves and things we need to do for this season things we need to fix and things we can't do anymore if we want to win games and be competitive in this conference you have been here for three head coaches now what can you say about what coach Cho has brought to the table as well as his staff um I say with the three-head coaches coach Cho definitely the most passion out of him most more outgoing guy and he just has that Moxy by himself that's really easy to follow and I can say that him and his staff with all the experience that they have they really made me a better player and taught me a different way to play football and expanding my game a little bit with all the things I've learned and it's really helped a lot with my game and what I want to do as one of the leaders on the packs defense why was it important for you to stick around and and kind of lead by example here in this next season uh it was more about the city uh I love Reno and it's really hard for me to leave here and um I want to win here I've said that multiple times I want to be here when this changes and when we compete for rings and championships and balll games I want to be a part of that process and I want to be here when we do that uh now that we jump into the summer coaches cannot be as involved what does the summer look like in your perspective uh it's a lot for guys like me to step up uh it's time for the players to take over the team and start to lead and do what the coaches say they can't be out there as much so we have a lot of player lay practices that are going to go on and that's up to guys like me and and kni and guys who are leaders on this team to to step up and build that culture and make sure we don't lose all the process we made in Spring what are the conversations like between the leaders on this team especially obviously you guys who have been around here now for a few seasons um we just a lot of the conversations are just work on the little things be more unified start hanging out more outside of football and just be be a team like we got to get closer as a team and I think we're we're doing that with football but it has to be stuff outside of football that we got to do together and just be closer and be more competitive and be one and be one fist as we swing coming into this fall and I think that we'll accomplish that this summer with the hard work we'll put in with Loco and uh it's going to be a good summer for us uh the Drew Watts that first step foot on campus versus the Drew as we stand here today what can you say about the growth that you've had so far as a young man and as a football player uh I've matured a lot uh the game is not just C get ball anymore as I as I've learned in high school in Pop Warner um I've matured a lot and I feel like um I've grown into more of a man with the game and I'm learning more of the game more the X and the O's and things that happen with offenses and then uh that comes with Coach choke they're showing me a different side of the game you know he played he was in the cfp and you know they run more complex schemes and stuff so he's really showed me and developed my brain and developed my IQ and that's how a type player I am is high IQ high high knowledge and it's gotten really better as the years gone on CU I played a lot of football of course last spring you guys were excited about the potential for that team and again it was another 2 and 10 season what about this group tells you that that won't happen this fall um I think it starts from the top um the program just feels different it has a lot of momentum I think that I didn't feel as much going into the last season with the spring yeah it was a new team we felt better but this it has a better feeling about it about about the team and the the competitive that's not that's going on in the practices that you guys don't see it's it just feels better you can you can see it if you're there but if you're not there you have to wait till August for you heading into your upper classman years a couple Mountain West honorable mention nods I'm sure you want to continue to rise through those ranks those ranks I guess personally what are your some of your goals as you head into the summer and then of course the season uh like I said before I don't really focus on personal goals They Come Those come with Team goals but I do want to dominate the conference and assert myself you know I've had two back toback honorable mentions and I'm grateful for those but those are just good I want to be great and uh that comes with putting more production on the field and doing better with my techniques and my flaws and I got to work on those this summer and and this upcoming fall camp and I will work on that to be dominating this conference what would you like fans to know about what is upcoming from silver and blue football uh we're going to bring back that macki magic uh we're going to get some good games in here we're going to win some games here and we're going to compete this conference so please come out please come support ask some you let's pack let's strive for 25 like we've been saying and please come out we're going to put a better product on the field to just give you guys a better experience so we can have that experience and win some games in macki what can you say drew Watts wants to stack some dubs Nevada's first look at the 2024 team coming in the spring game coming up next on our Nevada football spring camp special we go to that silver and blue contest the headlines out of that game right after this hey do not throw an extra football here one ball and seven on seven it's got to give me some love baby let's go let not aru for Let it go Let it go Let it go Let it go go go go go go yeah we had Jeff Cho miked up for the silver and blue spring game a lot more from coach coming up in mere moments but as our Nevada football spring camp special rolls on we do want to look closer at the silver and blue game of course Spring every year culminates with this contest inside macki stadium silver against Blue offense in silver defense in blue final score 2115 defense gets the win Chris what were your ultimate takeaways from this showcase I thought the defense was better I actually thought the scoring system was very beneficial for the offense so I thought if the offense didn't win there might be some issues on that side of the ball whenever you play an intercad scrimmage whenever you do a spring game it's a zero some game if your defense looks awesome that means the offense doesn't look so good and vice versa and I think the offense did show that it has a lot of room to grow now one of the interesting things about this spring game is the offensive coordinator for Nevada Matt is actually in Fort Collins as he um is in remission from leukemia which he was diagnosed with in October so it's kind of been a work in progress with putting that offense Together Matt lubic has been much more involved in terms of being able to help the team on zoom and whatnot but you're seeing a defensive touchdown right there two offensive touchdowns to one defensive touchdown in the game and the first score of the game yes was this defensive touchdown courtesy of the bishop manogue product the local kid Malcolm mccl Brendan Lewis we're going to talk in exhaustion about the quarterbacks as you see him hooking up with another local product in North Valley's um cam zidler this is Anthony griggsby Jr a new quarterback piece for the wolf pack again that is one of the most intriguing storylines of the spring I will I had coach Cho in my ears you're going to hear his miked up coming up in mere moments but unforced errors was a storyline in this one is Marshon Brown another local kid out of Bishop Mano catches the touchdown from Brendan Lewis there but a lot of a lot of these possessions the pack was really shooting itself in the foot frankly and that was been a problem the last couple years right and you want to play as clean of football as possible now there weren't a ton of turnover so that was a very big positive but penalties having too many men on the field not getting the right read not being able to execute those all have to be eliminated and it's going to take more than 15 minutes to eliminate that you're never going to play a perfect football game but I will say those Bishop Mano kids were fantastic you've seen two touchdowns thus far Malcolm McClure Marshon Brown both Bishop Mano guys and then probably the biggest hit of the entire scrimmage Donovan dco also a bishop Mano grab so the locals did Shine in this spring game how about the miners showing out and then right there the kid from Down Under Jaden oor the big Aussie tight end catching the touchdown from AJ bian as you look at chubba py the younger brother of Brock we'll talk about him coming up here as cross Patton gets loose for a little run ultimately though unfortunately the biggest headline out of this game injuries and frankly coach Cho said after the game he always has a love and hate relationship with the spring game there's Delvon Campbell coming up with a hamstring he has since put himself in the transfer portal so maybe not as big of a worry here in Wolf packland you see uh John ble there offensive line injury uh and that wasn't the only ones this culminated with a really devastating injury that ended the spring game to running back Shawn dollar yeah that was a really scary incident they had actually kind of finished the game and they went to Red Zone drills the first play of that a little counterplay and it wasn't necessarily the hit it was the impact on the ground and was down on the field for you know 15 minutes they had to cut his jersey off they had to stretcher him off now he did go to the hospital uh he was released later in the the night so everything was negative there but yeah that is the one thing you want to avoid is injuries specifically ones like this unfortunately Nevada was not allowed or I guess able to avoid those injuries there were a number of Nicks and bruises throughout the entire were and you could uh hear a pin drop inside macki stadium as the spring game ended on such a somber note and you mentioned that overtime period that was really when some serious evaluating was going to happen because the quarterbacks were live and and they were actually going to play some serious Red Zone football and that was essentially the first play of that red zone uh setup and sure enough Shawn dollars goes down here is coach Cho after the game after he had talked about uh Shan Dollar's status and then talked about the game itself I was kind of proud of the offense because with three of our top receivers out and and we kind of start the second half um I thought they did a really nice job of putting a couple of Drives together and and operating um still have some issues in the red zone and the biggest thing that shows up to me is just and and I'm guessing that this has been a problem is the the unforced aors the lack of discipline whether that's you know four false starts 12 guys on the field on defense on a two-point play um you know not taking care of the football and critical situations and so those are the things that we've got to continue to improve upon and that's going to be a major emphasis for us obviously as we go through the the remainder of the spring and into the summer program unforced airs one of the biggest takeaways from head coach Jeff Cho how does a head coach react to unforced heirs you're about to find out right KNE on a break ready okay so here's what we got now all right when we break here defense goes to this sideline offense goes to this sideline 7 on seven on offense is going to work South to start okay so you'll have the wind at your back for the first quarter is what I'm getting at about 2 and a half minutes to one-on ones that's a fun today kid remember today's not the day to make stuff up tracks tracks tracks today's the day to rely on your coaching and your Technique do you to been coach to do efforts the price of admission bring it every snap I just want to make sure we're good on knee controlling the whistle on the quarterback that won't Jam you it up at all okay no BS no BS it's about perfection not Direction baby you know play a clean game protect each other there's going to be opportunities maybe there's a shot that's questionable pull off on that we're still teammates right okay so let's do this the right way today and let's have a blast doing it man I he we go let's go let's go let's go the chain guy was like hey just introduced himself he was really cordial and he's like hey I'll be the guy that is holding you back and I said no no you're not I said good luck with that first of all when we do the ks just have make sure sure they have a ball yeah just in case hey do not throw an extra football here one ball and seven on seven it's got to give me some love baby let's go let's not argu for Let it go Let it go Let it go Let it go go go go go go go go go field pressure oh I got opportunity here we got an opportunity here Mike can you hear me P it punt it punt it punt it punt it punt it that was awful by the o line that series was garbage man got access give it to him here we go third down third down field goal field goal field goal field goal field goal we'll just flip it and go this way you're burning daylight here fellas you're burning daylight remember this is running clock the longer you take on the sideline the fewer plays we're going to have all right we got a shot here come on come on leverage on the perimeter go go go go nice job first down out of bounds you can Su they should have killed it right there yeah that's the sub that's the situation ball out of bounds on their sideline cuz you can't tell if there's a sub or not so they should kill it in that situation A all us to sub we shouldn't be waiting on [Applause] you there you go oh punt it offens is up the punters punters got money on the game right here that's all right get rid of it huddle them up huddle them up huddle them up huddle them up huddle them up let's make sure we get this right that's okay huddle him down oh you never know oh you got it okay [Music] oh that's right right idea right idea right idea here we go cuz this is going to be a delay if we're not careful go let's go chubba there we go good operation Good do something with it now okay got the first yeah it's going to be a hold it's going to be a hold what this one might be pre- snap here hang on hey try to operate this quick cuz we got a running clock Brian you hear me okay it's the same thing we talked about on Thursday these guys are these guys are just too casual they got to get their cleats in their hand in the dirt guys are moving as we're snapping the ball that's what they called ah he tagged him right there we got to punt this we got to punt this here we go punt it punt it punt it punt it that's terrible right there we had an opportunity to get a four down opportunity and we get a procedure penalty call Mama do it again do it again unforced errors man so you got base and nickel ready and then when you get it you go and they're just they're all on the numbers right there when we when we get what we're doing we go I think it'll make a significant difference for this organization more inform you been wa a minute be good I appreciate you [Music] guys tell you what when coach Cha's out there not only are the players going to get it his staff is going to get it and even the referees might get it a little bit yeah really entertaining and it does show you down at field level how fast that game actually is played it keeps on moving and the clock was running coming up next on our Nevada football spring camp special we're going to dive into some position groups no microscope bigger than the one in the quarterback room that and more right after [Music] this hey there friends and welcome back to our Nevada football spring camp special he's Chris Murray I'm Mike Stephenson we're diving now into various position groups and we talked to quite literally every position group this spring except the quarter backs Chris and that was calculated yeah they were off limits to us I think Jeff CH wanted him to focus just kind of on football for now but it is a very interesting race you've got a couple of returners and Brennan Lewis AJ Bianco started games from Nevada last year then a couple of newcomers and Anthony griggsby he's a transferred from the junior college levels and a little bit bigger name chubba py coming from Nebraska before that at Florida State so you really got four in contention for that starting job and of course last year we saw Brendon Lewis and AJ biano both play significant time but really that team and that off just wasn't conducive to their skill sets and so the verdict is still out really on all these guys uh six touchdown passes 12 interceptions so it wasn't conducive to a lot of very good things and really you look at the last two years for Nevada 13 touchdown passes 20 interceptions both the last two years they had more interceptions than passing touchdowns that's not a formula for winning ball games so that quarterback position must get much much better and I do think if Brendan Lewis wins his job and he seems to be the front runner he showed some really good things at Colorado so I wouldn't look at last year his first at Nevada and say this guy can't play for the wolf back he has a really good skill set and of course a lot of folks are excited to see what Chua brings to the table he was uh coming off of an injury at the start of spring camp was a little bit healthier as the spring game came around but again he wasn't full blast all of spring camp coach Cho again said he wanted to be that buffer between the media and the quarterbacks is a reason we didn't talk to them not to add any more pressure but he did break down what he has in that room who the quarterback is is going to determine a lot of our identity right and so I think Brennan has had a really strong spring I mean he has Bel has done a really nice job um the guy that's probably been a little bit hard on has been chubba because he's coming off an offseason injury and I know that he's been frustrated because he hasn't been able to go through team reps High completion percentage in seven on seven but that's what you expect so that's that part of the competition is going to continue into fall Camp uh probably the Dark Horse the guy that's had a really good spring has been griggsby uh he's been a guy that obviously he's a winner he knows um he's a grinder man the guy's a gem rat like he comes into my office every night and hey can we do this can we do that but I think those uh you know those three guys I think you know quite honestly I think have have emerged and I think it's going to be a really good competition AJ is a different skill set but has had a really good spring as well and so that's kind of the you know it's going to be these four guys hey you know in today's day and age can you keep all four of them you know that's the question and I don't have the answer to that but that's one of the reasons we move Spring ball up you know we wanted to make sure that hey we had an opportunity to be candid and honest with every player in the program about where we saw them and they have opportunity to evaluate where they're at and uh in this day and age you're you know I mean I think it's naive to say hey we're just going to keep everybody in the program I know that's not going to be the case and that's not that's just unfortunate but that's the way that that's the way modern football is I can attest to griggsby's work I think he was the first guy out there ahead of the silver and blue game on that Saturday inside Macky stadium so who's going to catch the ball that is another a point of emphasis who will Nevada be throwing to maybe Cortez Braham Jr emerges as a guy the West Virginia transfer making some noise in spring camp but with that said the Pack's not returning a whole lot of production on on the C catching side yeah four combined career catches at the FBS level among Nevada's returning wide receivers so that is certainly an area that has to be impacted in the coming weeks and months before the season starts you look at some of the top wide receivers for Nevada last year well John Jackson I third he graduated but Delvon Campbell put his name into the portal after spring camp he's probably Nevada's top returning wide receiver Jamal Bell had transferred before spring camp to Baylor so there are certainly some huge holes to fill though I really like the young wide receivers but can they be great in year one that's a big question Mark Maron Brown from Bishop Mano I think he's a guy who's going to get a lot of playing time but they need to bring in some veterans to help that group yeah Marshon certainly got a future but is right now the time we will soon find out he's going to have to grow up pretty quick as will that entire pass catching group you saw coach Cho put his arms around Andrew Sava who did not participate in Spring he is a tight end out of Florida keep an eye on him as well and of course Ki latu is a guy that in the pack is excited to have back as you see him there uh back in that tight end room let's transition out of the running backs as you see Dominic ball get a handoff here he is a true freshman that folks are excited about graduated early from high school to be able to join the wolf pack in spring camp was originally committed to tan and then flipped over to Nevada but some really good power five transfers as well obviously Shawn dollar Ashton Hayes from Oregon and Cal joined Nevada last season but Patrick Garo thei a transfer from Boston College where he was a captain a very mature guy he was an all ACC player uh in 202 2 so I think that's a pretty strong group we'll see if the line can open up some holes for the running backs let's hear from a couple of those newcomers on the offensive side of the ball the running back room a lot of experience and Leadership uh different type of energy I'm a very confident guy uh and I'm a leader just by nature and I bring a lot of passion I play with a lot of passion I lead with a lot of passion and Coach chose the same way you if you got of a conversation you could tell so I feel like I blend in well here and my favorite group is like they they all funny and then the thing is when when we get on the field they all just come to work so that's why I like about this uh this receiver group even though they we got a whole bunch of young guys they still come to work every day and put they all on the field I feel like I'm me I feel like I can go up and go on top of uh DB go get the ball I can track the ball real well I got good hands um I can run routes real good too I feel like I get out my break and that that's my uh skill set just getting on my break and catching the ball number eight got a little swag we'll see what he brings to the table let's talk about the defensive line now boy they're so excited to have Henry eaho back and also a new guy by kayen by the name of kadon Johnson they'll be two pass rushers to watch Kon Johnson coming over from Wisconsin he was a really high fourstar recruit coming out of high school he's got some pretty good experience but yeah Henry eaho you mentioned he came Nevada as a tight end a lot of moves from there but transferred in from Cal last year was not eligible as a two-time transfer but he should be an impact player at the edge we had Henry miked up for the spring game we'll have that coming to you in mere moments let's quickly talk about the secondary that is a position that has been bolstered a bit through the transfer portal especially at the safety slot did lose some key players Amman Johnson graduated Richard Tony Jr transferred over to TCU but yeah you have to really like Keaton Crawford he's a transfer from Texas and then kesan Cobb a transfer from West Virginia probably your top two safeties I think both those guys could be all conference players and there's KK Meer taking a pick six back in his home state of Texas just last season let's hear from Henry ikaho and Mr Crawford man that was probably one of the worst experience of my life uh just sitting on the sidelines every Saturday seeing my boys go out to war and I couldn't help them at all at all and I couldn't make the impact that I know I can make uh it actually hurt me a lot mentally but also brought a fire back in me to prepare myself for this upcoming year uh it was a big learning step for me and and I'm just grateful that it happened because I came back better and stronger and I came back lighter than ever so I I would say I'm grateful for that I feel like I'm a great pass rusher uh this conference doesn't have it like you know known for a lot of pass rushers we had one last year at Colorado State couple at Fresno State and I want to be that one for Nevada uh I want to make sure that we bring that Ed you know we got we added a couple weapons to the room solo Caden and it just feels good having two edges on the field with me that you know can ball and do the same exact thing as me just coming here well obviously I I play mostly special teams I got a couple of snaps but coming here expected well I hopefully to get like a lot of more snaps here so I can know grow my experience at safety and what do you hope to bring them about of defense this year just uh a lot of energy hope to be a leader as well but uh just to have fun you know enjoy my last year excited to see what some of these new faces came do how about familiar faces there are a lot of locals making impacts on this team we've already talked about a bunch of them we'll hear from them next as our Nevada football spring camp special rolls [Music] on welcome back to our Nevada football spring camp special he's Chris I'm Mike we're talking local products on the 2024 wolf pack at this point and there's some upper classmen there's some underclassmen and there's a lot of kids that have a chance to be impact players this season you can't call yourself Reno's football team if you don't have some kids from Reno on the team and yeah it's really exciting whenever you have a local Northern Nevada High School product uh opt to play for the wolf pack and for the wolf pack to reciprocate and say we want you to be a part of our program so you go up and down that roster there are a lot of kids from Northern Nevada high schools uh on the wolf packs 2024 group and a lot that have the chance to see the field this season you just saw the North Valley skid cam zider catching a touchdown last year at Utah State there is Ashton Hayes who we will talk about coming up here in a little bit because he did not participate in the spring as didn't Jackson leuk the Oregon Transfer by way of Spanish Springs High School we've talked in exha also about Marshon Brown and how about Tyler Miller graduated early at Galina high school he could have been kicking it his final semester of high school instead he said no let me go back to the bottom of the pile and start Spring football early as a true freshman could have been the Big Man on Campus there in South Reno instead grinding through spring camp uh shows you how smart the kid is as an offensive lineman to be able to graduate a semester early and this is a guy who actually stuck with Nevada through the coaching change committed under Ken Wilson had some other FBS scholarship offers but opted to stay with the wolf pack after Jeff Cho was hired and doesn't sound like he regrets that move at all seems like he gained a lot from this spring camp uh let's hear from a few of those locals starting with Tyler Miller on what it means to suit up in silver and blue I think it means a lot you know I I grew up coming to all the home games going to every game mostly when coach Al was here and everything growing up it was kind of an inspiration once I got an offer here so I think I'm just really happy to be home and be here the Spring ball I feel like it's just for me it's just like developing my my confidence you know just getting getting back into it really but I feel like the biggest difference between uh Spring ball and and uh fall is just you know just learning you really like learning a new playbook and that's really it it was amazing being home uh you know I told pretty much everybody I'd rather be 2 and 10 here than whatever we were at Oregon um it was it was awesome being able to be in front of my family and friends and just being here cuz I I love it hearing trying to stay here really excited to see what a healthy Jackson leuk can do this season in that linebacker room same case goes for Ashton Hayes in that running back room boy he captivated us as a part of the teams at demman Ranch and McQueen high school starts his career at Cal ends up back in silver and blue and we just got a tiny glimpse of him before he got injured uh last year at Texas State that injury we didn't know a ton about it except it was a knee Cris this spring we found out it was a serious knee yeah it was a tornac that's about as bad as you can get in the knee I guess the Silver Lining is he had only played four games so he can take that as a red shirt has an extra year of Eligibility at Nevada I he's known for his speed hopefully that speed is all the way back when he does hit the field this fall uh that guy works as hard as anybody I'm sure he's rehabing the heck out of that thing to be 100% for Nevada this season you did have a chance to talk with him we're not going to hear from him in this moment but you had a chance to talk to him early in Spring and then they've essentially made him off limits because he wasn't participating what was the message you got from 26 uh just that he's very excited and I think that's the message from all of these guys as we mentioned a lot of these guys almost all of them signed under Ken Wilson so they were buying into that Vision I think a lot of them have quickly bought into the vision of Jeff Cho and I think a lot of that as Drew watt said is because of Nevada itself the university the community uh and then the coaching staff on top of that and Jeff chodas even said uh the reason that a lot of these guys wanted to stay here was because they love this campus so much so I think for those locals in particular to be able to represent the silver and blue play for the wolf pack a team that they grew up rooting for and going to games at macki Stadium it's very special for them and they more than everybody else wants to get Nevada back up to the top of the mountain back up to that Championship level back up to going to blls year in and you're out those kids growing up saw that happen as fans packing Macky stadium and now they want to do it again as players we don't have time to list every local product do you want to get a Chris SMY mention in the Douglas product is in his upper classman years now can't believe it a junior but he saw significant playing time and he expects to make an impact this season as well as one of those Edge rushers all right coming up next here on a Nevada football spring camp special we're diving into one of the fun feature stories out of this spring Tory muli is no longer St Moi that story right after this welcome back to our Nevada football spring camp special I'm Mike Stephenson in 2024 Nevada's number 28 on defense will have a different name on the back of his jersey Nevada Sports Nets Shannon Kelly explains why last Christmas was one to remember for the former Tory Moi and his stepfather father Eric Daffin I didn't know what I want to get him for Christmas so I was just like I know how much it would mean to him if I Chang my name so we got with the lawyers and stuff started the process and uh that was my Christmas gift to him the Alabama native changing his last name from Moi to Daffin this off season to honor the man who made a big impact on his life growing up just seeing his the smile on his face you know he makes so many sacrifices stuff for our family like it was definitely nice to see those sacrifices beginning when Tori was in elementary school and his mom was stationed in Germany as part of the army Eric becoming a father figure to the young man that now shares his name I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for him at times there he just taught me so many lessons and stuff and when I was young I used to think like he was just hard on me like oh you know maybe because I'm just a stepchild and stuff but now that I'm older and stuff I realize like he was just for me to be a man daffin's path to Reno wasn't easy after being ruled ineligible by Alabama State he began his career at East Central Community College in Mississippi and would find a new home out west 3 years later transferring to Nevada in January 2023 I love just Reena like coming from a small town o like Alabama just super country stuff so I definitely love Rea Tori adds he probably wouldn't be in the biggest little city either without his family support as Eric helped spark his love for playing on the grd iron he definitely introduced me to the game of uh football when I was younger and stuff he actually had uh scholarships and stuff to go play but like you say he had a kid at a young age so he wanted to uh he joined the military and um just so he can make sacrific stuff for our family now in his second and final season with the wolf pack the 5 fo8 safety hopes to help Nevada reach a bowl game for the first time since 2021 under first year head coach Jeff Cho not the biggest or stuff always had this like this Fearless mentality when my numbers called or not on the field like I'm not you know just SC I just just play you know so I think that's where it really come from just being Fearless in Reno Shannon Kelly Nevada Sports night so Shannon put together a great piece you and I actually did that interview with Tori and man I came away so impressed by him he even gave us a shout out on Twitter he was so thankful that we took the time to talk with him which that's just our job I mean I know we're breaking down like all the positions and stuff like that that's what this is about I mean these guys are kids these guys are trying to grow into men and they love playing football and they're doing it here at Nevada so great to know his story coming from all the way across the entire country growing up in Alabama tremendous young man and we'll see the RO that he has this season and you said it each and every one of these players has a story and ultimately that's what we love to do is share those stories sure it's fun to cover games and it's fun to cover winning teams but at the end of the day every player has a story whether they're a winner or they're not winning games and we love to share those with you in the community all right we're almost done can't believe it with our Nevada football spring camp special got another guy miked up for the spring game though Henry eah heo if you were excited to see him play you're going to be excited to hear him talk as well that's right after this I'm miked up how your spring game do it's going pretty well uh I wish my boy Henry was out there with me but you I still love my dog pass pass pass good job solo good job hey a p oh that's tough baby come on dude did he just all right Bel tell man they B blit L blit hey hey that's a good Bess right there right so going in you got to say hey Davis I got you or whoever I got you got you ain't nobody got me you was too locked in huh too locked in you over here got two sacks how your Spring ball going it's going great you know I'm enjoying it the season going good you feel me I'm just having fun out here having fun yeah okay I'm the Ops hey I'm the Ops watch what y'all say I'm the Ops watch what y'all say ready coach you tough hey you tough you tough you ever get that R oh hey hey see he not even like there see that's what you get I have no ass stop lying stop lying to these people I was just kidding I was just kidding you want to know it's crazy Austin actually mix his scava with us as tongin he mixes scava with us if you don't know you got to look it up did you get home nah the C to me oh they they slid to your side oh okay did you pop it one more or no you stay The Tackle pull right you got you got to pull so remember pull you no no you going straight to the QB it's a mess charge so the back is Drew you're you're the QB player it's exciting man they get to see the real me this is a great guy love this guy don't don't start Wy don't don't say it don't say it that's Nevada dudes man you got to watch watch watch us sometimes he has take the a gap walk up Nelson's going to wrap around and she'll be a set right see what happens now good Austin yeah o okay t Okay Big Brother yo oh yeah T man thank y for coming out supporting us on the spring game go P yes sir you could tell Henry's quite a presence not only on the field but on the sideline as well hopefully he got that rash taking care of exactly I have no rash I love how they're messing with him and a tuny ikaho his older brother getting the tackle there at the end as those guys get to play together just about a minute left here in our Nevada football spring camp special there's going to be a lot of movement over the summer and there's already been a little bit of movement as far as transfer portal talk goes so we're going to talk about just two guys really quick that were expected to be big returning players Delvon Campbell and Marcel Walker Burgess they're looking elsewhere Chris Delvon Campbell LED Nevada in receiving yards last year he was going to be a big Target for whoever won the quarterback job and then Marcel Walker Burgess had the most sacks on the team last year with four really quality Edge player you could also throw Jax Leatherwood in there he's a quarterback from Nevada Darien Wy as well he actually joined the team for spring camp so you're going to see this attrition this is modern college football and his CH said he wants to get 80% of the roster bought in by the season opener like he's not under any delusions that this thing's going to be perfect in year one okay so again this show will be airing throughout the summer as we get ready for the start of fall Camp which will be July 24th so make sure to stick with Nevadas sportsnet.com and NSN tonight on week nights as we continue to track the portal comings and going because there's going to be a lot of them and we have you covered any final thoughts on Spring just exciting I think whenever you have a new head coach and a new tenure there's always a ton of hope and optimism I think Jeff Joe's going to do a really good job in time we'll see what he can do in year one let's kick this thing off already for Chris Murray I'm Mike Stephenson shout out to our producer Zack Larson and our director Jacob Smur that is your Nevada football spring camp special