Nevada quarterback Carson Strong throws against UNLV on Oct. 31 in Las Vegas. (Photo: John Locher/AP, file)
The Carson Strong era at Mackay Stadium might be shorter than you think. The Nevada Wolf Pack’s junior quarterback is considered a possible first-round NFL draft pick after this coming season by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.
Kiper rates Strong as the fourth best quarterback in the 2022 draft. The Sporting News isn’t as impressed with the Pack quarterback but still lists Strong as the 15th best quarterback in the nation.
“Get to know Strong now because he has a chance to be that first round pick in the 2022 draft that you’ll be learning about later,” writes the Sporting News. Fox Sports’ Jason McIntyre says the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Strong will be the No. 19 draft pick in the 2022 draft and is “a sneaky candidate to make a quantum leap as a pro prospect.”
There have been just six Wolf Pack quarterbacks drafted by the NFL: Bill Mackrides (1947, fifth round, 229th overall), Stan Heath (1948, 25th round, 231 overall and 1947, first round, fifth overall), Pat Brady, who also punted for the Pack (1952, 13th round, 155th overall), John Dutton (1998, 6th round, 172nd overall), Jeff Rowe (2007, 5th round, 151st overall) and Colin Kaepernick (2011, 2nd round, 36th overall).
No Pack player of any position has been drafted since offensive lineman Austin Corbett in 2018 by the Cleveland Browns in the second round (33rd overall).
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Of course, none of this means anything. These sort of hollow rankings in June are just a byproduct of the internet media, which has pressure to generate some sort of click-bait story each day.
But if Strong has the sort of season that Wolf Pack fans know he is capable of producing, well, the Carson Strong runaway draft train, which has already pulled out of the station, will be hard to stop. Strong could solidify his status as a solid first round pick by the first week of October if he plays well against California (Sept. 4), Kansas State (Sept. 18) and Boise State (Oct. 2).
And if Strong plays well then the Pack might be looking for a new head coach and offensive coordinator at the end of the year.
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Pack head coach Jay Norvell, for some reason, held a press conference this week (universities also treasure the value of click-bait stories in June) and put Pack fans at ease by saying that Strong had successful knee surgery this off-season and should be ready for summer practices in August.
“He’s right on schedule,” Norvell said. “Carson’s doing great.”
Everything is wonderful in Wolf Pack Fantasyland right now, especially compared to a year ago when it was feared COVID-19 would wipe out the entire season. The Pack is now coming off a 7-2 season, has a NFL-quality quarterback, is getting ready for some exciting opponents (namely Cal, Boise State, Kansas State), will have fans in the stands at Mackay and has most everyone in uniform back from a year ago.
“Nobody wants to go through a year like we had last year,” Norvell said. “We handled it better than most but we’re not anxious to do that again.”
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The Pack could be looking at its best season since 2010, when it finished 13-1 and ended up ranked No. 11 in the nation. And Norvell, unlike some coaches, isn’t afraid to talk about those lofty expectations.
“We have very high goals,” said Norvell, now in his fifth year as Pack coach. “We want Nevada to compete for championships on a yearly basis, beat multiple Power Five teams (that means you, Cal and Kansas State), be ranked (beating Cal and Kansas State will do exactly that), win our conference, host our championship game at Mackay, play on New Year’s Day. These are all things we talk about and I’m not shy to talk about them.”
If all those things do happen, Norvell will likely be coaching somewhere else by this time next year.
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Strong, if he doesn’t get lured away by the NFL, will be the greatest Wolf Pack passing quarterback in school history. Thanks to COVID-19, his Wolf Pack career will consist of five seasons, likely five bowl games, possibly three Mountain West titles and 60 or more games overall.
He will obliterate the school records for yards, touchdown passes, completions and attempts. In fact, he might own all those records after just four seasons and have a fifth year to put the records out of reach until the next pandemic.
When this season is over, after another 12-14 games, he could own the single-season records for passing yards (4,265 by Chris Vargas in 1993), passing touchdowns (34 by Vargas in 1993), completions (331 by Vargas in 1993) and attempts (490 by Vargas in 1993). And, by the way, the record for quarterback victories in a season is 13 by Kaepernick in 2010).
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Wolf Pack fans won’t know whether to cheer or boo on July 14 at this year’s Governor’s Dinner at the Governor’s Mansion. The guest speaker, after all, just might bring back some unpleasant Pack memories.
Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, though, will likely enjoy himself in the sea of silver and blue just like he did from 2011-13. That was when Carr, then the starting quarterback for the Fresno State Bulldogs, shredded the Pack defense (and head coaches Chris Ault and Brian Polian) for 1,022 yards and eight touchdowns (no interceptions) while completing 76-of-127 passes over three games and two Fresno State victories.
Current Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams caught 17 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the 2012 and 2013 games combined. Who is going to be the guest speaker next year? A collection of Boise State Bronco stars since 1999?
