Nevada redshirt freshman quarterback Hunter Fralick unleashes a throw to Jerico Richardson, while the team's quarterbacks look on, during Saturday's open practice at Mackay Stadium in Reno.
The Nevada football team held its Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday in front of nearly 600 fans at Mackay Stadium in Reno.
A controlled scrimmage — highlighted by a pair of touchdown receptions from junior Hasaan Henderson — concluded with an autograph signing session after the team’s 12th official practice of fall camp.
For the Wolf Pack, Fan Appreciation Day is a dually important event. The fully padded scrimmage in front of referees and fans provides one of the top barometers fall camp has to offer. Just as important, the event provides Nevada’s student-athletes and coaches with the opportunity to engage with fans before the season opener.
“I appreciate all the fans that came out today,” said head coach Brian Polian, entering his third season at the helm. “We always look forward to the opportunity to hang out with some dedicated fans after the scrimmage. It’s a good change of scenery for our guys to be back at Mackay with fans out there — it amps things up a bit.”
Fan Appreciation Day opened with the Wolf Pack going through its routine practice drills. The latter half of practice consisted of a controlled scrimmage, with both sides of the ball coming up with its share of moments.
“Other than a few issues, there were good plays made on both sides of the ball,” said Polian. “We were far from perfect, but it’s practice 12, so we still have a long way to go. I’ll see the film and we’ll correct the Xs and Os, and then we’ll keep moving forward.”
Both junior Tyler Stewart and redshirt-freshman Hunter Fralick — who each traded time with the No. 1 string offense — completed seven passes and threw for one score. Fralick scored the scrimmage’s first touchdown with a 21-yard pass to Henderson on a fade route. Henderson later caught a 12-yard pass from Stewart in the end zone on a post route.
Redshirt-freshman Blake Wright led the rushing attack with 49 yards on nine carries and one touchdown – an eight-yard rush up the middle. Senior Don Jackson added 24 yards and sophomore James Butler ran for 10 yards. Brent Zuzo connected on both of his field goal attempts in the scrimmage, splitting the uprights from 29 and 41 yards.
Freshman linebacker Gabe Sewell led the Wolf Pack in tackles with 7.5. Senior defensive end Ian Seau tallied 2.5 tackles and a sack in the end zone for a safety. Junior defensive end Nolan Dambacher also posted 3.5 tackles and a pair of sacks.
Nevada is 14 days away from its season opener against UC Davis on Sept. 3. Kick off between the Wolf Pack and Aggies is set for 7 p.m. at Mackay Stadium.