Reno, Nev. The Nevada football team’s offense came to life during the annual Silver and Blue Scrimmage on Saturday at Mackay Stadium.
With strong play from a trio of quarterbacks, the Wolf Pack offense scored four touchdowns in 12 series of play and put forth its best performance of the spring session.
“I was very pleased with the offense today and with those three quarterbacks in particular,” Chris Ault said. “Those guys bounced back today and our receiving corps made some plays. I was pleased with how we ended the spring offensively.”
Sophomore Nick Graziano was solid all day, completing 10-of-13 for 150 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran the ball four times for 24 yards, including touchdown runs of 7 and 13 yards.
Freshman Colin Kaepernick was 5-of-9 for 67 yards passing and he led all rushers with 43 yards on seven carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run. Fellow frosh Tyler Lantrip was 3-of-5 for 51 yards through the air.
The fourth touchdown was scored by running back Kevin Grimes on a 1-yard plunge.
“We wanted to do a lot of things through the air today and I think we accomplished that,” Ault said.
Junior receiver Marko Mitchell caught four passes for 58 yards while Brian Fludd had three receptions for 51 yards. Fludd, a walk-on juco transfer, impressed during the spring and could also factor in on special teams for the Pack.
The defense, which had the clear upper hand in the first two scrimmages of the spring, showed good signs again on Saturday. The defense forced four turnovers with fumble recoveries by Mike Samples, Mark Berry and Kevin Basped and an interception by Jerome Johnson.
Ault said he was pleased with the defense during the spring, especially the linebacking corps and the defensive front.
“Some of those guys had as good a spring as I have ever seen as a coach,” Ault said. “We can run on defense and I like what I see out of those guys.”
Saturday’s scrimmage concluded spring drills. Nevada will open up fall camp on Aug. 6. The Pack’s season opener is Sept. 1 at Nebraska. For ticket information, call 348-PACK.
STATISTICS
Passing: Nick Graziano 10-of-13 for 150 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions; Colin Kaepernick 5-of-9 for 67 yards, no touchdowns and one interception; Tyler Lantrip 3-of-5 for 51 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Rushing: Colin Kaepernick 7-43 yards; Nick Graziano 4-24 yards; Kevin Grimes 5-17 yards; Tyler Lantrip 3-15 yards; Dwayne Sanders 3-8 yards; Courtney Randall 8-4 yards; Luke Lippincott 2-4 yards; Mike Kanellis 1-4 yards; Vai Taua 2-0 yards.
Receiving: Marko Mitchell 4-58 yards; Brian Fludd 3-51 yards; Adam Bishop 2-28 yards; Mike McCoy 2-21 yards; Kyle Sammons 1-30 yards; Art King 1-25 yards; Dwayne Sanders 1-24 yards; Alex Rosenblum 1-14 yards; Andy McIntosh 1-8 yard; Vai Taua 1-7 yards; Luke Lippincott 1-2 yards.
Sacks: Kevin Basped 0.5 for -8 yards; Adam Liranzo 0.5 for -8 yards.
Tackles for loss: Matt Hines 2 for -4 yards; Kevin Basped 2 for -9 yards; Ezra Butler 1 for -4 yards; Erics Clark 1 for -2 yards; Thomas Flinn 1 for -2 yards; Nate Agaiava 1 for -2 yards; Adam Liranzo 1 for -8 yards.
Fumbles forced: Kevin Basped; Mundrae Clifton.
Fumbles recovered: Mike Samples; Mark Berry; Kevin Basped; Josh Catapano.
Interception: Jerome Johnson.
Scoring Plays
Nick Graziano 7-yard run
Colin Kaepernick 6-yard run
Nick Graziano 13-yard run
Kevin Grimes 1-yard run
