Brian Polian believes his 2016 recruiting class has made the Nevada Wolf Pack a better football program.
“It’s a rock solid group,” said Polian of the 23-player class who signed a National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. “There’s nobody you look at and say, “Geez, I hope he pans out.’ I’m very happy with this class.”
The Wolf Pack signed players from seven different states (California, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Florida, Alabama and Virginia), adding four junior college players, one fifth-year transfer and 18 high school players.
“Admittedly, it might not be the sexiest class we’ve ever had here,“ said Polian of his fourth signing class since becoming the Wolf Pack head coach in January 2013. “But I’m not worried about rankings. Once you get past the Top 25 schools in the country, people don’t really know. Even we don’t know completely. But we’re taking educated bets and I feel real good about all our new players.”
Polian seemed most pleased with the five defensive backs (all high school players) the Pack added: Daniel Brown (Harbor City, Calif.), Kevin Howell (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Daq Irby (San Diego), Daylon Johnson (Conroe, Texas) and Marcus Lucas (Mobile, Ala.).
“This DB crop is real good,” Polian said. “There are one or two freshmen that could end up in our depth chart.”
Johnson’s recruitment
involved talking to his grandmother on Skype. “She really wanted Daylon to go to a school closer to New Orleans, where his family is from,” smiled Polian.
Howell, Polian says, is a big-time hitter. “He just destroys people on film,” he said.
The Wolf Pack, it seems, also added a stable of running backs who could help immediately and in the future.
“It’s hard to not get excited about this running back group,” Polian said.
The Pack lured former Penn State running back Akeel Lynch to help share the load with returning tailback James Butler next year. Lynch, who has just one year of eligibility remaining after gaining 1,318 yards at Penn State in his career, “will help us win games next year,” Polian said.
The hope is Lynch will help fill the void left by the loss of senior Don Jackson off last year’s team. Lynch, who graduated from the same high school (St. Francis High, just outside Buffalo, N.Y.) as Polian, will graduate from Penn State this May and join the Wolf Pack in June.
“We’ve known about Akeel for a long time,” Polian said. “James Butler is our guy. No question. But we want to play two tailbacks. That makes us better by the end of the season.”
New Pack backs also include high school players Isaiah Hamilton from Sacramento and Jaxson Kincaide from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Hamilton had to sit out last season after transferring to Inderkum High. But he did gain just under 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns in two seasons combined as a sophomore and junior at Vanden High in Fairfield, Calif. Kincaide is from St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, the same school that also produced former Dallas Cowboys star Michael Irvin and tennis legend Chris Evert.
“The first time I saw film (of Kincaide) I perked up and said, ‘Whoa, look at this,’” Polian said. “He has exceptional quickness, exceptional feet and exceptional vision.”
The four junior college transfers the Pack added are quarterback Ty Gangi of Ventura College, defensive lineman Nakita Lealao of Laney College and offensive linemen Sean Krepsz of Riverside College and Jake Nelson of Saddleback College. All will be sophomores in the fall except Lealao, who will be a junior.
Lealao and Krepsz could see extensive playing time this season, Polian said. “They can have an immediate impact,” Polian said.
Gangi, who went to Colorado out of high school (St. Francis High in La Canada, Calif.,) before transferring to Ventura, passed for 2,288 yards and 21 touchdowns last year. He also ran for 279 yard and five touchdowns and might press returning starter Tyler Stewart at quarterback. “I’m not saying there’s a quarterback controversy,” Polian said. “We’ll go to spring ball and go from there.”
Lealao, a 305-pound defensive tackle, could help the Pack replace departed senior defensive tackles Kevin McReynolds and Rykeem Yates. “He’s an older, mature guy,” Polian said. “We brought him here to compete right away. He’ll be a run stuffer.”
The Wolf Pack also recruited Nelson a year ago out of San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) High. “We were concerned about whether or not he could put weight on so we suggested he go to junior college for a year and it worked out real well,” Polian said. “He got better and he put on 20 pounds and is now 275 pounds. I wouldn’t be shocked if he ended up red-shirting this year but we look at him as a 295-pound tackle someday.”
The Wolf Pack also added two Nevada high school players in Reed High’s Nick Gregg and Palo Verde High’s (Las Vegas) Kameron Toomer. Toomer, a 6-3, 235-pounder, is a defensive end while Gregg, a 6-foot, 295-pounder, is a defensive tackle.
“I saw (Gregg) play in person against Damonte Ranch this season and I was impressed with how well he moved for a guy his size,” Polian said.
The Wolf Pack also signed three talented and athletic linebackers in Lawson Hall, D.J. Powe and Alec Simpson. Last year’s starters, Matt Lyons, Jordan Dobrich and Bryan Lane, were all seniors.
Hall is from Narbonne High in Harbor City, Calif., Powe is from El Cerrito (Calif.) High and Simpson is from Pacific Palisades (Calif.) High. “Powe is a little raw but he has big upside,” Polian said. “Lawson Hall can play inside or outside and is very athletic and tough. Simpson is a very instinctive player.”
The Wolf Pack lost one senior on offense (Jackson) and seven on defense (defensive linemen Ian Seau, Lenny Jones, McReynolds and Yates) and linebackers Lyons, Dobrich and Lane who saw extensive playing time a year ago.
“This is just another year of building a foundation of what we hope will lead to a Mountain West championship,” Polian said.