April 1, 2016
RENO, Nev. - After leading the third-highest scoring offense in FCS last season, Tim Cramsey looks to install another lethal offense this year in his first season as the offensive coordinator at Nevada.
Get to know Coach Cramsey with a Q&A listed below as the Wolf Pack's new offensive coordinator talks about his offensive philosophies, his favorite football memory and much more.
NevadaWolfPack.com: How has your first couple months on the job been and how has the process of moving to a new team and community been?
Tim Cramsey: It's been great. The staff here is awesome. Coach Polian is a great guy to work for and work with. The entire staff has great comradery. We're all committed to improving this program and the offensive staff has also been awesome with installing this new offense. It's been a grind from moving in to a new home, to putting a new offense together and recruiting - hopefully at some point in June or July I can exhale. But, it's been great so far and it's a good fit for me.
NWP: What attracted you to this job opening and what ultimately led to you taking this opportunity?
TC: Coach Polian. We didn't have a relationship prior, but I was really excited about the opportunity to work with him. I also had a connection to Coach Boone from my past when I was at New Hampshire and he was at William & Mary. Ultimately, talking to Coach Polian and getting to know who he is as a person and as a coach - he was the reason I took this job over some other openings.
NWP: Without giving away your secrets, could you give fans a sense of some of your broad offensive philosophies?
TC: We want to use the whole field and stretch the defense out. But, really when you break it down, there's nothing that we don't want to do offensively - we want the defense to have to prepare for everything. I think when everything comes together, you'll see a bit of everything offensively and we'll force the defense to prepare for everything, while also keeping it simple enough to be executed. It's been great so far to see everybody's true skill set and now we're trying to put everybody in the best position to be successful.
NWP: What were some of the principle reasons you were able to lead one of the top offense in FCS with Montana State?
TC: I think the fact that it was my third year there had a lot to do with it. We knew our staff, we knew our players and we were able to put them in the right spots. Everybody knew the system inside and out. We had some great players, too. Our quarterback is now at Oregon. We had a tight end who's a possible draft pick. They were good players who were able to run our system and operate the way we wanted them to.
NWP: So far in spring ball, what have you learned about your offense?
TC: I like them. I think the running back core is solid - JB (James Butler) is as good as we can be back there. The receiving core is talented and we're moving guys around there. With tight ends, we have a player in (Jarred) Gipson who has played a ton of games for us. Up front, we have five, six, seven guys who are experienced and they're continuing to improve. I like our quarterback position. Tyler (Stewart) is having a great spring. Ty Gangi - a new guy coming in - has picked it up very well. Hunter Fralick is very steady and he knows where he's going. Dante Mayes has also shown improvement. I'm excited about our offense - I think the weapons are all there.
NWP: Are there any offensive players in particular that have jumped out to you?
TC: I tried my best to reserve my judgment on everybody until I actually saw them, but before I arrived I talked a lot with Coach Polian and our staff about our players. There's a lot of guys - I don't want to say any names just yet - that have shown me exactly what I want to see coming to a place like Nevada. I'm excited about the group we have. I think we have the players in place to work this system.
NWP: What is the most exciting football game you've been a part of?
TC: We had some good ones up in Montana State - we got into a lot of shootouts. Some of them were loses, though, like a 52-51 loss with Eastern Washington. Two years ago against Sacramento State we scored with two minutes left, they came back down and scored with 38 seconds left and then we scored eight seconds left and won 59-56. UC Davis two years ago also comes to mind - we hung 77 on the board. There are a lot of fun games and exciting games in my past, but in the end whether its 55-52 or 17-10, all that matters is if you win.
NWP: Why'd you decide to get into coaching?
TC: I really didn't like the business world. I've played football my entire life and played at New Hampshire. After that, I worked in the real world for about four years. I just realized that I started dreading Monday mornings but always looked forward to Friday afternoon. Sitting at a computer wasn't what I wanted to do, so I got back into coaching. I started with high school in eastern Pennsylvania where I grew up, went to alma mater at New Hampshire for nine years, spent one year at FIU, three years at Montana State and now here in Nevada. There's no better career for me to have. I'm happy to be here.
NWP: Outside of football, what are your favorite things to do?
TC: I have a three-year-old and a two-year-old and they take up most of my time outside of football. Right now, it's playing with dinosaurs, train sets and running around outside. When I get some free time, my go-to is always with my family. If I get some time away from both football and family, I like to golf - not very well, but I still enjoy it.
NWP: What excites you the most about 2016?
TC: I'm looking forward to going through this entire journey with this staff and team. I love going through the battle and that's why I do this. I'm looking forward to wrapping up spring ball, getting to fall camp and then going through the grind of a season with these guys. I'm excited to join in on striving for the goals Coach Polian has set for this program.
