Head coach Jay Norvell isn’t the only member of the 2021 Nevada Wolf Pack football team who didn’t truly believe that home means Nevada.
Nearly two dozen players, coaches and recruits, who were on the Wolf Pack roster or verbally committed to the school, all chose to be Rocky Mountain high with Norvell’s Colorado State Rams.
Norvell raided the Wolf Pack’s offense, taking with him to Fort Collins, Colo., offensive coordinator Matt Mumme, offensive line coach Bill Best, wide receivers coach Timmy Chang, tight ends coach Chad Savage as well as offensive linemen Trevyn Heil, Jacob Garner and Gray Davis, quarterback Clay Millen, running back Avery Morrow and wide receivers Melquan Stovall and Tory Horton. Also transferring to Colorado State from Nevada are linebacker Peter Montini and defensive back A.J. King.
Norvell also induced Nevada strength and conditioning coach Jordan Simmons, director of player personnel Lucas Gauthier and special teams coach Thomas Sheffield to join him with the Rams.
Norvell also persuaded recruits he originally convinced to commit to the Wolf Pack to change their minds and go to Colorado State. Those former Nevada recruits are quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi of Aledo, Texas, safety Corey Lambert of New Orleans, wide receivers Louis Brown and Justus Ross-Simmons, both of Inglewood, Calif., and offensive lineman Aaron Karas of Arvada, Colo.
SAN JOSE STATE ALSO NOW HAS NEVADA FLAVOR: Norvell’s Rams are not the only Mountain West program that has raided the Wolf Pack’s roster in the last few weeks.
The San Jose State Spartans this past week grabbed a couple of Wolf Pack wide receivers. Justin Lockhart, who caught 35 passes for 470 yards and two touchdowns this year, and Elijah Cooks, who caught 13 passes for 157 yards and four touchdowns in three games before suffering a season-ending injury, are now Spartans.
The loss of Lockhart and Cooks means that six (Romeo Doubs, Melquan Stovall, Tory Horton, Cole Turner, Lockhart and Cooks) of the Pack’s top seven receivers from 2021 have left the program.
The Pack’s leading receiver in its Quick Lane Bowl game in Detroit on Dec. 27 against Western Michigan was running back Toa Taua (37 catches, 273 yards and one touchdown).
Harry Ballard (six catches, 127 yards, two scores) and Jamaal Bell (seven catches, 44 yards, no touchdowns) will be the Pack’s two most productive wide receivers from 2021.
SPARTANS REVAMP OFFENSE: San Jose State has also added transfer quarterback Chevan Cordeiro from Hawaii in recent weeks.
The 6-1 Cordeiro played the past four seasons at Hawaii, passing for 6,167 yards and 45 touchdowns. He threw for 2,793 yards and 17 touchdowns this season.
Cordeiro’s transfer, as well as running back Dae Dae Hunter’s transfer to Liberty, prompted media reports of Hawaii players’ unhappiness with Rainbow Warriors coach Todd Graham.
“Me and a lot of others can truthfully say Graham has killed our love and passion for football,” a Hawaii player told SFGate.com, according to The Sporting News.
“It’s verbal abuse the way he talks to guys,” another player told SFGate.
HENLEY NOW A COUGAR: Wolf Pack linebacker Daiyan Henley has transferred to Washington State.
“Once a Cougar, always a Cougar,” said Henley this week, whose Crenshaw High in Los Angeles is also named the Cougars.
Henley, who has one more year of eligibility remaining, chose Washington State over USC, Washington and Kansas State. Henley, who began his Wolf Pack career as a wide receiver, led the Pack this season with 103 tackles. The 6-2, 225-pounder also had four interceptions and three fumble recoveries. His 103 tackles are the most by a Pack player in one season since linebacker Austin Paulhus had 112 in 2017.
Henley returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown against UNLV this year and also returned a fumble 56 yards for a touchdown against San Jose State.
WOLF PACK BASKETBALL GAMES CANCELED: The Wolf Pack announced Tuesday morning that its men’s basketball game Tuesday night (Dec. 21) against Grand Canyon was canceled because of COVID protocols within the Grand Canyon program.
This is the third game the Pack has had canceled this month because of COVID protocols. The Pack canceled its games against North Texas on Dec. 4 and Texas-Arlington on Dec.7 because of COVID protocols within its program.
The Pack had its Mountain West opener at San Jose State on Dec. 29 canceled because of Covid issues with the Spartans.
The next Wolf Pack game at Lawlor Events Center will be Jan. 1 against New Mexico.
