After the smoke cleared and the dust settled, the Nevada Wolf Pack finally ended the off-season long controversy and named its starting quarterback.
Days before Nevada broke the huddle for their final training camp practice, the team named junior Tyler Stewart their starting quarterback. The big decision has finally been made, and Coach Polian was rather pleased by the maturity of his team in such a tough time.
“I’ve seen the team come together, which is exciting,” said third-year head coach Brian Polian. “We’ve had some good physical play, and we’re getting better fundamentally. Training camp is over now – it’s time to set a depth chart and get ready to play.”
The team will suit up for its first game in less than a week in a home game versus UC Davis, and Coach Polian wanted the quarterback with the most experience to start that game. Polian flirted with the idea of using a two quarterback offense but decided against the idea last minute and made Stewart his man.
“Statistically, it was incredibly even,” Polian said. “The only difference was one or two interceptions and three or four completion percentage points.”
Stewart has more experience at the college level than his competitors. Stewart’s last serious playing time came in 2013 when he was a freshman. In his only start, a 31-9 win over Hawaii on Sept. 21, 2013, Stewart was 14-of-20 for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He’s only thrown two passes in games since then.
Stewart’s experience will be tested early in tough games versus ranked opponent Arizona at home and against the always dangerous Texas A&M on the road. It’s these games where Stewart will have to show what he is really made of to show everybody why Coach Polian made the right decision.
Naming the team’s starting quarterback wasn’t the only decision Coach Polian made this week. Polian also introduced four new captains to the team. Senior RB Don Jackson and sophomore LT Austin Corbett will represent the offense. On the defensive side, the captains will be senior DE Lenny Jones and senior LB Jordan Dobrich.
Dobrich becomes the first three-time captain in recent Wolf Pack history. Corbett is the second sophomore in recent history to earn the role as captain. Running back Don Jackson gets the job with much merit as he was named to the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list after returning from his 957-yard campaign last year.
“I am very excited about the group of four players that our team has voted into the leadership position of captains,” said Polian. “I think Don, Austin, Jordan, and Lenny will do a great job of setting the tone for the 2015 Wolf Pack both on the field and in the locker room. Being a team captain is an important responsibility and I have full confidence in these guys.”
So now that the tough decisions have been made, there is only one thing to do now and that is to focus on having a successful season. You can tell the mark of a great team by its leadership and there is no doubt that the Wolf Pack are confident in who they have leading their ship.
