RENO, Nev. – Nevada Football head coach Jeff Choate announced the following staff updates Friday:

On offense, James Price has been elevated to coaching wide receivers full-time, after overseeing the position in an interim role in 2024, and Mike Lynch, who coached running backs last season, moves to assistant offensive line coach.

On defense, Parker Henry remains Nevada's special teams coordinator and moves to oversee the Wolf Pack nickels in 2025, after coaching linebackers in 2024. Nico Johnson will oversee Nevada's inside linebackers after coaching the EDGE position last season, and defensive analyst Tevis Bartlett will serve as assistant defensive line coach in 2025.

Choate made two additions to the defensive coaching staff, as Rob Christoff, most recently inside linebackers coach at San José State from 2021-23, comes on as Senior Defensive Analyst. Reno native and McQueen High graduate Cole Flores returns home, joining the Wolf Pack as a defensive graduate assistant following four years coaching inside linebackers on Robby Snelling's Butte College staff in California.

On offense, Matt Wade, most recently with Fresno State from 2022-24 and its quarterbacks coach the past two seasons, joins the program as Senior Offensive Analyst. Offensive graduate assistants also joining the Pack include Trey Tinsley, most recently of Northern Iowa and USC, and Nikhil Nayar, a former Idaho quarterback.

Wednesday, Choate announced the addition of Bobby Merritt as the program's General Manager. It was announced Thursday that Jim Mastro, Nevada's general manager in 2024, will return to the role of the Wolf Pack's running backs coach, a position he previously held from 2000-10.

Head Coach Jeff Choate on 2025 staff updates:
"One of the things that stood out to me as we went through last season was that we have the right people, but maybe didn't have everybody in the right seat on the bus. Juggling some things around, especially on the defensive side where we can get one voice in our defensive line and secondary rooms, allows [defensive coordinator] Kane [Ioane] to be more of a 'walkaround' coordinator, so Joey [Thomas] is going to handle the entire back end.

We're going to take Parker Henry and move him into that room to be in charge of our star and nickel positions because they have a very unique skillset that they're required to do, and it's a position he played at a really high level at Washington State. That's a really good mix right there and allows Parker a little bit more flexibility and freedom in terms of game-planning on the special teams front, and allows for a lot of continuity in the communication on the back end between corners and safeties with Joey running that room.

Similarly, we did kind of the same thing with the front. Instead of having our EDGEs and interior defensive line separate, we have everybody in one room with [defensive line coach] Payam [Saadat] as the guy who's leading that and moving Tevis from linebackers to an assistant defensive line role. Now we have an older guy and a younger guy in that room, we can divide responsibilities based on skill and drill work, but again everybody's going to hear the same message in the same room and that gives us an opportunity to slide Nico [Johnson] over to inside linebacker.

The way the staff originally came together was Jacquies Smith was our EDGE coach. So that we weren't upsetting the apple cart, we just moved Nico into that. But Nico's a guy who won three national championships playing inside linebacker at Alabama and in the NFL--he has instant credibility in that role. It's a position he's very knowledgeable about and he's very passionate about, so it was a win-win for us. We got better in all three areas by just moving some guys around a little bit."

2025 Nevada Football Staff Updates (2024 position listed next to name)

Bobby Merritt – General Manager
David Gilbertson (QBs/WRs) – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Jim Mastro (General Manager) – Running Backs
James Price (Interim WRs) – Wide Receivers
Mike Lynch (Running Backs) – Assistant Offensive Line
Parker Henry (Special Teams Coordinator/LBs) – Special Teams Coordinator/Nickels
Nico Johnson (EDGE) – Inside Linebackers
Tevis Bartlett (Defensive Analyst) – Assistant Defensive Line
Matt Wade – Senior Offensive Analyst
Rob Christoff – Senior Defensive Analyst
Trey Tinsley – Offensive Graduate Assistant
Nikhil Nayar – Offensive Graduate Assistant
Cole Flores – Defensive Graduate Assistant

James Price – Wide Receivers
After serving as interim wide receivers coach in 2024, Price is elevated to overseeing the Wolf Pack wideouts full-time for the upcoming season. Price, plenty familiar with the Mountain West as a Wyoming wide receiver from 2015-18, previously worked with wide receivers at IMG Academy from 2019-21 and was an offensive graduate assistant at Kansas in 2022.

Last year, Price helped in the development of Wolf Pack receivers, especially in All-Mountain West seasons for Jaden Smith (62 receptions, 849 yards, seven TDs) and Cortez Braham Jr. (57 receptions, 724 yards, four TDs).

Along with the standout years from Smith and Braham, Price's development work with Nevada's up-and-coming wideouts was invaluable. UTEP transfer Marcus Bellon had a career year, hauling in 39 passes for 522 yards and four touchdowns, while Nate Burleson II made the first touchdown catch of his career and fellow redshirt freshman Marshaun Brown saw more time late in the season, making five catches for 62 yards, a 12.4-yards-per-catch clip.

Thanks in part to Price's mentorship, Nevada's receiving corps produced three members with at least 500 receiving yards for the first time since 2021, when it had four.

Mike Lynch – Assistant Offensive Line
In 2025, Lynch will move from coaching Nevada's running backs to helping offensive line coach Brian Armstrong oversee the continued development of The Union.

Injuries took their toll on the Nevada running backs room in 2024, but despite the limitations, Lynch's group rushed for a combined 1,284 yards--it's most since 2019--at a rate of 4.77 yards per carry. Savion Red (687 yards, eight touchdowns) and Patrick Garwo III (246 yards, five touchdowns) accounted for 13 of the Wolf Pack's 21 rushing touchdowns on the year, while the other eight came from quarterback Brendon Lewis, who led the team with 775 yards on the ground.

Parker Henry – Special Teams Coordinator/Nickels
Henry will head into his second season as Nevada's special teams coordinator and oversee nickels in 2025 after coaching linebackers a season ago.

A former linebacker at Washington State, Henry oversaw a Wolf Pack group which accounted for three of the team's top four tacklers in 2024. Despite injuries limiting him to just nine games last season, Tongiaki Mateialona still finished third on the team with 61 tackles while leading the Wolf Pack with 9.0 tackles-for-loss. Part of Henry's work with the corps included the elevation of a pair of redshirt sophomores in their first significant time as Stone Combs (58 tackles, 2.5 TFL) and Austin Harnetiaux (44 tackles, 1.5 TFL) were taking on the lion's share of the workload over the final month of the campaign.

Nico Johnson – Inside Linebackers
Johnson spent his first season at Nevada in 2024 overseeing the Wolf Pack's EDGE corps, and will shift to the inside linebackers in 2025.

Johnson returns to the position at which he was a four-year starter (2009-12) at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide to three BCS National Championships (2009, 2011-12) and two SEC titles (2009, 2012) while being named a Freshman All-America in 2009.

While coaching the EDGE position for Nevada last season, Johnson worked with Henry Ikahihifo, who led the Wolf Pack with 3.5 sacks while finishing second with 7.5 tackles-for-loss among his 43 tackles. Fellow EDGE Kristopher Ross, a transfer from Texas, also made an impact in his debut campaign for Nevada, racking up 5.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks among his 29 tackles.

Tevis Bartlett – Assistant Defensive Line
Bartlett, who served as a defensive analyst for the Wolf Pack in 2024, rises to assistant defensive line coach where he will work with associate head coach/interior defensive line coach Payam Saadat.

An All-Pac-12 linebacker at Washington, Bartlett has previously coached the defensive line during his time at UC Davis in 2023. With the Aggies, Bartlett helped oversee a defensive line which played a key role in holding opponents to just 108.9 rushing yards per game, a figure which ranked 16th-nationally and second in the Big Sky.

Matt Wade – Senior Offensive Analyst
Matt Wade joins the Nevada staff as Senior Offensive Analyst after spending the past three seasons, including 2023-24 as quarterbacks coach, at Fresno State. Prior to his time in Fresno, Wade served as offensive coordinator at Southern Utah (2020-21) and Pacific University (2013-19).

With the Bulldogs, Wade oversaw the development and performance of All-Mountain West quarterbacks Jake Haener, who became the first Fresno State quarterback selected in the NFL Draft since Derek Carr in 2014, and Mikey Keene.

Keene would twice be named All-Mountain West Honorable Mention, and in 2024  had a 70.5 completion percentage in 2024, the second-best mark in Fresno State history, as the Bulldog passing attack ranked fourth in the Mountain West at 242.5 yards per game.

In his first season as offensive coordinator at Southern Utah, Wade led an offensive unit that averaged 26.5 points per game and nearly 380 yards per contest. His quarterback, Justin Miller, was named an FCS Sophomore All-American by HERO Sports while offensive tackle Braxton Jones also garnered All-American honors. The following season, Jones was tabbed a first team All-Big Sky lineman while also earning an invitation to the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl.

Over his seven seasons at Pacific University, Wade served as the team's Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks Coach and Recruiting Coordinator.

In 2019, the Boxer offense set multiple school records, including yards per game (454.5 yards), points per game (34.7), rushing yards per game (187.2) and passing yards per game (267.3). The offense also ranked seventh in the country in third-down conversion percentage, while quarterback Kenyon Harris led the country in completion percentage.

Another Boxer quarterback, Warner Shaw, was named to the All-Northwest Conference Second Team in 2015, a season in which he broke Pacific's single-season mark for touchdown passes thrown (23), threw for 2,396 yards, and left the program as its all-time leader in completion percentage (66.9).

Over the course of four seasons under Wade's direction, Boxer quarterbacks threw for over 7,000 yards and 74 touchdowns. He was instrumental in the efforts that twice earned J.T. Greenough All-Northwest Conference Honorable Mention (2017-18).

Wade began his collegiate coaching career at UC Davis in 2006, going on to spend seven seasons (2006-12) with the Aggies where he coached wide receivers, tight ends, and served as the program's recruiting coordinator.

Rob Christoff – Senior Defensive Analyst
Rob Christoff, with more than 25 years of college, high school and pro football coaching experience, joins the Nevada staff as a senior defensive analyst. Christoff is more than familiar with the Mountain West, having coached outside linebackers at San José State from 2021-23.

Christoff is another member of the Nevada staff with Montana State ties, as he coached linebackers and was defensive coordinator for the Bobcats from 2000-06, including for three Big Sky champion teams (2002, 2003, 2005). In Bozeman, he helped oversee the development of Bobcat All-Americans and current Nevada coaches Kane Ioane and Joey Thomas, with Ioane a four-time All-American and Thomas going on to be selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.

Christoff served with Choate on the 2008 Boise State coaching staff, working in an analyst role, then spent two seasons as Idaho's linebackers coach before moving into the prep ranks. There, he served as defensive coordinator for 10 seasons at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish, Wash., helping lead the Crusaders to four state titles (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019).

He spent a season in the pro ranks as assistant offensive line coach for the XFL's Seattle Dragons before taking the role at San José State.

Choate on the additions of Matt Wade and Rob Christoff:
"Matt got an opportunity to work under one of the premier quarterback gurus of our time in Jeff Tedford. It was an absolute blessing for us that Matt was available--with David [Gilbertson] stepping into a coordinator role, it really allows him to focus on putting the pieces of the offense together, scripting, watching that extra bit of tape on third downs, red zone, without having to worry about running a quarterback room. To get a coach of Matt's caliber, I can already see it paying dividends. He's a very technically-sound coach; he's with those quarterbacks every day, it's not just about the scheme its also about their mechanics, footwork, and things that are going to help them be better players.

I worked with Rob in 2008 at Boise State, he's a long-time coach in the Big Sky, and he's coached in the Mountain West at San José State. Rob is a really smart football coach who's been in and around the system that we run for a long time, so he has a lot of bandwidth. He coached both Joey and Kane at Montana State as their defensive coordinator, so he's a guy who can be a sounding board for Kane and he can really be another set of eyes for us in the linebacker room.

Matt and Rob are two veteran coaches that can really help mentor our coordinators and, by handling some of the other things, provide opportunity for those guys to go do the extra work that they need to do."

Cole Flores – Defensive Graduate Assistant
Reno native Cole Flores joins the Nevada staff as a defensive graduate assistant in 2025, after previously coaching inside linebackers at Butte College in California.

Flores spent four seasons on Robby Snelling's staff at Butte, culminating with a 10-1 record and Gridiron Classic Bowl victory over Foothill in 2024. Butte has gone 19-3 with postseason victories over the past two campaigns. Linebacker Austin Young led the team with 82 tackles, 8.5 tackles-for-loss, and 3.5 sacks, and was named All-Nor-Cal at the end of the regular season.

Flores played football and lacrosse at McQueen High School in Reno.

Nikhil Nayar – Offensive Graduate Assistant
Nikhil Nayar joins the Wolf Pack staff as an offensive graduate assistant in 2025.

Nayar played quarterback at Idaho from 2018-21, and prior to that was a standout prep QB in the Pacific Northwest. An All-KingCo 3A selection, Nayar helped lead Mercer Island High School to the state playoffs as a senior, before embarking on his collegiate career in Moscow. 

Trey Tinsley – Offensive Graduate Assistant
Trey Tinsley joins the Wolf Pack as an offensive graduate assistant in 2025 following stints with Northern Iowa and USC the past two seasons.
 
At UNI, Tinsley worked with the Panther following a 2023 campaign at USC in which he worked with the No. 4 passing offense in the nation led by 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. 

Before USC, Tinsley spent a three-year stint at Mississippi State under head coach Mike Leach where he worked as a quality control analyst during the 2022 season and a graduate assistant with the quarterbacks and receivers in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Tinsley was involved in eight bowl games in eight years as either an athlete or a coach.

During his collegiate playing career, Tinsley began as a quarterback at Fullerton Junior College before transferring to Washington State where he played for four seasons.

He received his bachelor's degree in social sciences from Washington State in 2019, and his master's degree in Workforce Educational Leadership from Mississippi State in 2021. He was a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention (2017-18).