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Nevada Football: Carson Strong Named Starting Quarterback
The Wolf Pack have named their successor to Ty Gangi and answered one of the Mountain West’s most critical offseason questions.
Contact/Follow @MattK_FS & @MWCwire
QB1 has been named in Reno.
One of the biggest narratives in the Mountain West’s fall camps this month surrounded what had been a three-man competition for the starting quarterback spot at Nevada. Now, according to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, head coach Jay Norvell has found his new starter.
https://twitter.com/Brett_McMurphy/status/1162947885065015304?s=20
The announcement arrived after a spring and a fall in which Strong, a redshirt freshman, performed well and stayed healthy, the latter of which may have played a significant role in his selection. Cristian Solano, who’d started one game in 2018 and was the only quarterback on the roster with in-game experience on the FBS level, bowed out of camp earlier than expected because of a broken hand. Junior college transfer Malik Henry, who’d been our staff’s choice as the conference’s preseason newcomer of the year, has recently dealt with a hamstring injury.
Chris Murray of Nevada Sports Net noted that Strong will become the first Wolf Pack freshman to start a season opener since 1996, and the expectations will be high right out the gate. Ty Gangi finished last year with a solid 7.5 yards per attempt, a 60.5% completion rate, and 24 touchdowns, but avoiding turnovers and improving an Air Raid attack that surprisingly finished just 97st by Passing S&P+ will be a critical part of maintaining the continuity of an offense that nonetheless averaged 31.1 points per game last season.
https://twitter.com/AndrewNepsundTV/status/1160277197925445632?s=20
The hope is that Strong can help Nevada come out strong in September against non-conference opponents, which has been a occasional struggle in years past: In 2017, for instance, Gangi won the starting job but gave way to David Cornwell and Kaymon Cureton after a pair of underwhelming performances; in all, the Wolf Pack haven’t finished higher than sixth by passer rating in non-conference play since their first year in the Mountain West back in 2012.
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