Nevada offense, defense share spotlight in scrimmage
Appeal Staff Report
After some early dominance by the Nevada Wolf Pack defense in the season's first scrimmage, the football team's offense kicked it into high gear Saturday at Mackay Stadium.
"Both sides (offense and defense) had their moments," Nevada head coach Chris Ault said. "We'll have to look at the tape to see some of the intangible things that we need to see. But overall, I liked the hitting. The hitting was crisp."
The Nevada defense forced three consecutive three-and outs to start the 90-play scrimmage, before redshirt freshman quarterback Colin Kaepernick romped 59 yards on a fourth-and-4 play for the first touchdown of the day.
Kaepernick - who ran three times for 80 yards - and sophomore Nick Graziano are competing for the starting quarterback position and saw about equal playing time during the scrimmage.
Graziano completed 13-of-25 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
"It came together for us at the end," Graziano said. "We pulled together as a unit and got the ball down the field."
The offense scored four touchdowns, including three on the ground. Sophomore running back Brandon Fragger (23 yards) and redshirt freshman Vai Taua (4 yards) joined Kaepernick with scoring runs.
Graziano hit redshirt freshman Chris Wellington for a 39-yard touchdown pass.
Nevada will have two more scrimmages in August before concluding fall camp.
The Wolf Pack opens its season on the road Sept. 1 against Nebraska.
Single-game and season tickets are available by calling (775) 348-PACK or by visiting www.nevadawolfpack.com.