Nevada football fills many needs

Appeal Sports Writer

RENO - Nevada football coach Chris Ault was gushing like a proud papa, his excitement showing in his every word.

As the recruiting film rolled in Legacy Hall, Ault extolled the abilities of each and every recruited athlete. Welcome to national letter of intent day. It's a day of boundless enthusiasm, hope and a glimpse at the future of Nevada football.

Ault and his coaching staff signed 22 players, 14 freshmen and eight junior college players. Among the group are four players with Northern Nevada ties - Fallon linebacker Josh Mauga, Bishop Manogue running back Kenny Visor, Spanish Springs running back Mike Kanellis and McQueen's Charles Manu, who played a year at Feather River College.

Another local player, Douglas High running back Dusty Cooper, a 2004 graduate, said he plans to walk on at Nevada.

Ault and his staff looked at film from the current roster and he said that only 11 players on the current roster fit the current criteria to compete in the WAC.

"When you build a program from the ground floor, you must improve the talent," he said. "We looked at what it would take to win in the WAC (when we were recruiting).

"We had immediate needs and we filled them all. I was looking for high-character kids; athletic kids. We looked at kids that come from big, successful programs. We have a lot of freshmen that are going to play for us next year."

That comment may have opened some eyes, but Ault feels the Wolf Pack out-recruited some Pac-10 schools for some of his new players.

Ault shaved 14 players from last year's roster - three that had medical issues, including linebacker Logan Carter, and 11 that weren't getting the job done and didn't have a future with the Wolf Pack. It left Nevada with 68 scholarships.

"With 68 scholarships, I could look recruits in the eye and tell them they could come in and compete right now for a starting position," he said. "I've never done that before with freshmen. Usually they come in and automatically redshirt."

Ault's biggest concern was defense. He wanted to get better defensively in all three units - line, linebacker and the secondary. He stressed the need to get bigger and faster at linebacker and to get solid run-stoppers up front.

At 6-3 and 300 pounds, Manu gives the Wolf Pack some muscle in the middle to replace Chris Barry, and Jay Dixon from Saddleback College, gives the Wolf Pack a solid speed-rusher to team with Craig Bailey and J.J. Milan.

"He (Manu) is a strong kid," Ault said. "I think Dixon is a pretty good football player. He has a good motor."

Jason DeMars from Sacramento City College will compete for time at linebacker with Jamaal Jackson and Jeremy Engstrom. Selevasio Fauolo could replace Shaun Tagatauli, who is out of eligibility, at outside linebacker. And, don't forget Mauga and Josh Shapiro.

"He (Mauga) is the best linebacker in the last decade in Northern Nevada," Ault said. "He could have gone many different places. He has a chance to play next year at outside linebacker. DeMars runs well. He could be the steal of the class."

Ault said that all three recruited defensive backs - freshmen Mike Samples, Arthur King Jr. and JC transfer Joe Garcia will be at cornerback until any off-season shuffling is completed.

"Defensive back was another area where we struggled," Ault said. "Joey Garcia is one of the fastest kids we recruited. No question he's going to start somewhere. If it's not on defense, weaÄôll move him to the other side of the ball.

"Samples is a safety (type) that will come up and stick you. He'll start working at corner. That's where we want him. No question he's a Pac-10 player."

On offense, Ault wanted to get immediate help on the offensive line, get faster at wide receiver and get deeper at running back and quarterback.

The offensive line has three openings left by the departure of Harvey Dahl, Chris Hines and John Tennert. Adam Keifer, a tackle, and Thomas Stevens, who made several starts at center, are back. So are guard Barrett Reznick, tackle Dominic Green and Adam Garcia.

Ault expects that two of those openings will be filled by JC transfers Fred White (6-2, 280) from Bakersfield College and Reid Jacobs (6-4, 295) from Eastern Arizona JC.

"Anytime you bring in a JC player you are expecting them to play," said Chris Klenakis, Nevada's offensive coordinator and line coach. "Both have a great chance to start. They'll compete right away.

"Fred is an inside guy (guard). Reid has played both. We're going to put our best five offensive linemen on the field."

Added Ault, "Reid can go to either side. He has good feet and a good work ethic."

At quarterback, Brendan Gaskins, who has returned from his two-year Mormon Mission, is back on campus. Also coming in is 6-1 freshman Nick Graziano, who threw for nearly 6,000 yards and 71 touchdowns the past two seasons.

"He was at our football camp," Ault said. "He has a strong arm. He's a smaller Chris Vargas."

Freshman Jack Darlington, freshman Kyle Sanders and JC transfer Kyle Sammons each have an opportunity to make an impact immediate. Darlington caught 46 passes for 1,084 yards, Sanders has exceptional speed and Sammons, a strong 200-pounder, had 85 catches for more than 1,200 yards.

The duo will battle returnees Nichiren Flowers, Caleb Spencer, redshirt freshman Mike McCoy, senior Trevor Brackett, Alex Rosenblum and Kyle Eklund for playing time.

Visor, Kanellis and Tim Ham, all freshmen, give Nevada some depth behind redshirt junior Robert Hubbard, senior B.J. Mitchell and redshirt sophomore Drew Robinson. Ham broke his collarbone in the fifth game of the season.

"He (Ham) is similar to Chance (Kretschmer), but much faster," Ault said.