Look Deep into His Eyes

Here is the quote that has the RG-J board flailing madly.

They have an advantage over us because most of us are pretty short. That's why we practice every day playing the eyes, playing the hands and not looking back for the ball so we can overcome our disadvantages.

Read the full article.

So, there you have it: the defense really is training to NOT look at the ball.

Now I'm sure that in coaching world there is some logic to this; I can't think of it right now, but there must be some logic to it.  Maybe it's like James Bond, where you can just see the ball reflecting off of the receivers' eyes?  I somehow doubt it.

It may help overcome the 'size' disadvantage, but it does nothing to help the scoring disadvantage.  To me logic dictates that if you're not looking for that ball then you are giving your brain extra (an unneccessary) information to process, and the first time you see the ball will be when the receiver has control of it; that means you give up yards.  I think that's a bad thing, but I could be wrong about that.

Omar Clayton is an effective quarterback and, despite some coaching setbacks that we up here know NOTHING about, Nevada Southern is looking pretty solid this year.  This could be a long afternoon.

Images from the Silver State Part III

So tonight I give you two new pictures...hope they help ease some angst.

The first is looking South along Columbia Ave, toward Malpais Mesa, in Goldfield.  In the foreground is the old Nixon/Wingfield building, with the old Goldfield Hotel in the background.  Vincent St. John left here defeated, let's give it to Nevada South'rn the same way.

The second is a view of Peavine Peak from just off of the old Hunter Lake road, Mt. Rose Wilderness.  If I remember correctly, I was on the "D" loop.

I'm Okay With Groth

According to the RGJ this morning, Groth isn't thinking about Ault's employment. One interesting quote stood out to me:

"We are judged every day, coaches and me. We've got plenty of people saying, 'Fire Ault' and 'Fire Groth.' I'm judged just as much as Coach is and I accept that challenge and I accept that responsibility. As we proceed through the season we evaluate ourselves and we evaluate our program. But we've just played three football games. While we're all disappointed we're 0-3, let's see how we respond."

For the record, I'm quite happy with Groth. She's arguably one of the best ADs we've ever had. Before she showed up, local advertising of our sports programs was mild and sporadic at best - after she showed up, I saw McDonald's pushing Wolf Pack connections, most of the major casinos running Wolf Pack-related promotions, and so on. She's been paying attention to our basketball program, she's been pushing for more aggressive scheduling for our football program, our softball team won the WAC championship last year, and on and on it goes. Unlike previous ADs (Ault!), she pays attention to more than one sport and doesn't micromanage her coaches, unlike previous ADs we've had around here (AULT!!!).

Back to our namesake...

I want to be crystal clear about something. We don't expect to win against top-25 teams - well, I don't, anyway. It would be nice if we did from time to time, mind you, but I don't expect it. There's a reason they're top-25, after all, and there's a reason we usually aren't ($$$). That said, it's one thing to lose. It's another thing for an experienced football team to do this:

Nevada has 10 turnovers and just one takeaway through three games this season. The turnover total is four more than the Wolf Pack's touchdown total. Maryland, which defeated Nevada, 42-35, in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, last December, is 1-3 and has 13 turnovers and 11 touchdowns. The Terps lost to Rutgers, 34-13, at Maryland on Saturday. Our take(AWAY): It should be no surprise, then, that these two teams are a combined 1-6.

It's not the losses that are driving me to "negative nerd" territory. It's how our team is losing that's disturbing me.

Last but not least, just a gentle reminder: We have a comments section! Feel free to post a comment below a post. I know we're not the only ones that are fed up with Ault - our traffic numbers prove it. Feel free to share your misery and pain with the world. That's why we're here.

Why Good People Go Bad

My cohort in crime here touched on a phenomenon that I independently was pondering throughout the weekend - how come brilliant people suddenly stop being so brilliant? Why did General Lee, one of the best generals in history, suddenly believe he was invincible and make an ill-advised charge at Gettysburg? Why did Napoleon suddenly decide it was a good idea to invade Russia during winter? Why did George Lucas, who made three great movies, make such mediocre prequels? Gene Roddenberry started the most iconic science fiction franchise ever with little budget, go-go boots and spandex uniforms - how did the same man that created Star Trek come up with Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Wesley Crusher? Most importantly, at least for the purposes of this blog, how did Chris Ault go from College Football Hall of Fame hero to pariah?

Many of you already have an answer in your heads: He was in Division I-AA! Of course he was brilliant there - he was competing against lesser coaches and lesser competition. What's easy to forget here, however, was that he had the same athletes everyone else in Division I-AA had. Before he showed up, Nevada was not known for any form of football prowess. He managed to take what was otherwise an utterly forgettable backwater and turned it into the best of its class. By any objective measure, that's pretty impressive. When Nevada made the jump to Division I-A and into the Big West in 1992, the first thing he did was win a Big West championship - yet again, we were the best of our class, such as it was. You can't ask for much more than that.

So, what went wrong?

Yes, it's true that our class is suddenly a bit more competitive than it used to be. Boise State would be a formidable opponent in any conference. We're actually having to play better teams instead of just beating up on I-AA opponents when given half a chance. There's an even bigger issue at play, here, though:

Ault is the victim of his own success.

Before he left to become athletic director, he had assistant coaches that were there when Ault first started and consequently possessed the personal pull with Ault necessary to keep his worst tendencies under control. Now, however, he's effectively the savior of the program. He was the athletic director, he's the only coach, other than Horton, to lead us to bowl games, and he's the only coach since World War 2 to maintain a winning record at Nevada. In short, he's Keith Hernandez... err... Chris Ault! Chris Ault does what Chris Ault wants to do! If Napoleon says it's a good idea to invade Russia, we'll invade Russia! If General Lee says we should attack up the middle uphill against a well-fortified position because "it's where they'll least expect it", well, that's what we'll do! If George Lucas says we need more muppets and kids hitting on 14-year-olds, well, by George, that's what we'll have! If Gene Roddenberry says we need a know-it-all teenage kid to barge in at every conceivable moment to save the day because the flagship of the Federation is otherwise staffed by incompetent boobs, well, we'll give them Wesley Crusher! And when Chris Ault says that, instead of just using a QB sneak on 4th-and-1 like every other sensible team in the country, we should run a drawn out run up the middle from the pistol, well, that's what we're going to do! Why? Because he's Chris Ault, that's why! Go ahead - try and stop him! He built this program! He's in the College Football Hall of Fame! Who are you, Mr. Assistant Coach of Whatever with your conventional ideas, to question that sort of greatness, hmm?

That's what I thought.

This is why Ault needs to go. It's not that he's lost his touch. He might still have it, if he was willing to accept his weaknesses and let his assistants call more of the plays and manage the clock for him. He's clearly a decent recruiter - talentwise, we measure up pretty well against the rest of the WAC. He has some solid big picture ideas - the Pistol is a better way to run the spread offense than the Tisdel/Tormey single back formation that we sat through for years. He's also a solid motivator - honestly, it's been a while since I've seen our team absolutely quit in a game, which is more than could be said under Tormey. Unfortunately, he's too caught up in his own reputation to be more good than harm these days.

He had a good run. Nobody here is denying it. Even so, it's time to let somebody else, somebody with a bit of humility and some fresh ideas, take the reins and make the most of things. It won't be pretty. We probably won't get a decent coach on the first try, or even the second. But, we know how far we'll get with Ault.

We're already there.

For Our New Visitors

Our visits have increased greatly in the past few days, so I'd just like to say 'WELCOME' to our newcomers as well as our regulars, whomever they may be. 

I know that my partners are frothing at the mouth to do some posts.  Not wanting to step on their toes I'll just do a little wheel spinning until they're able to get theirs up and posted.

While I was at the game Friday night, about midway through the fourth quarter, a lady walked by.  She happened to hear some rather coarse language with regards to Coach, and said: "Aw, he's not that bad."  Of course I have to ask: "Then why are you leaving now?" 

A few years back I remember Groth announcing our future OOC competition...a rough lot, to be sure.  I also remember her as saying that we would >>competitive<< by then, an ultimatum in no uncertain terms.  I was still an Ault apologist at that time, and I remember a lump going into my throat at that point.

I remember when Ault fired Tormey.  I had a number of friends, colleagues, and people on the street fuming about the firing when it seemed that we were just about to turn the corner (2003).  Most of that talk died a quick death with the swath of fellonies his team left behind him, but, at the time, I defended him.

I remember when Lilley hired Ault, and that the talk was (and still is, in some circles) that he had let Tormey go in order to usurp him.  I defended him then, too.

His first step, in 2004 was to "take back Mackay," and he did, winning five of his six home games (none on the road, regrettably [including his only loss-to-date to UNLV in his 3rd stint] although the change in command left him with a shrunken roster) and losing only to Boise St.  The only thing I really couldn't defend was the fact that he benched Andy Heiser in favor of Jeff Rowe...Ault would go on to create the "Pistol Offense" around Rowe.

In 2005 we shared the conference championship, although we got positively clobbered by Boise State that year, with whom we shared the title, and beat a Fresno State team (in ten-degree weather) who, despite coming close against USC the week prior, would go on to lose to LaTech at home the very next week.  Central Florida would go on to win the Hawai'i Bowl for us on a missed PAT in OT (the Pack had a ten point lead late in the 4th quarter, by the way).

2006 was Rowe's last season, and Nevada put forth another very respectable 8-win season including two consecutive shutouts vs. Utah State and at LaTech, and capped by a near win vs. Miami in the "Boise Bowl" (with the famous WTF 2-point attempt).  By the way, what happened to that defense?

I think most fans expected 2007 to be a rebuilding year; and it was, more or less.  Yet watching the game at New Mexico State come down to the opponent shanking a last-second fieldgoal attempt just fed me up; I was tired of apologising, and this site was born.  This was also the year of the loss, at home, to that undefeated Hawai'i team, a game we led late and, thanks to some attrocious clock management, a game in which we had no chance to recover.  A 6-6 regular season somehow landed the Pack in the New Mexico bowl, a decades-long scoring streak came to a disasterous end, and Ault had his thrid career losing season (and second in four seasons since coming back).

In 2008 the Pack notches its first season-opening win since 2003, a home matchup against the powerhouse, 1-AA Grambling State...and again lands in a bowl game.  The 2008 team did give a 'fair' showing vs. Texas Tech, but also included a couple of hearbreaking losses to Boise St. and Hawai'i, and a total WTF loss AT HOME to New Mexico State.

There's no way around the fact that I am a HUGE history buff, so I can't help but draw comparisons accordingly; and the way I see it Ault is an awful lot like Robert E. Lee.  Lee was a great leader of men as well as a fine tactician, and together with some of the greatest generals in American history did some amazing things..in relation to the context.  What Lee and Jackson were able to pull off at Chancellorsville was similar indeed to the 1991 Weber State game. Then something happened to Lee: simply put, he got cocky.  Lee moved into the North in an attempt to draw out the Union army and put it on the defense.  This much was successful, but by the time the Army of the Potomac, under General George Meade, was in place Lee was in check, and in a desperate gamble...ran it up the middle.  The result has come down through history known as Pickett's Charge, and it signaled the beginning of the end for the Confederacy.

I hope Ault is able to put together a fine campaign in the next nine games (although if he only wins one it had damn well better be next week!), then he really can rest on the laurels that he has earned.  At the end of the season he can walk away...say that he and the family agreed that it was the right decision at the right time or something...and, in time, some of the embarrassing moments broadcast on national television (the coaching decisions, the clock managment stuffs, the predictable play calling...all the WTFs) will be forgotten.  He can take his place in Legacy Hall along with the Salad Bowl trophy.  After all, even Lincoln wasn't all that popular when he was alive, but now he is revered in nearly God-like fashion.

I don't want to remain in the proverbial Confederate backwater of the FBS.  Some may feel that being in the top half of the *WAC* and four-straight bowl appearances are good enough.  OK, but the drive to be something better is what drove Ault in the past, and that drive took us from D 2 to D 1-A and on into the WAC.  Why should we let go of that intensity, that 'drive,' just because Ault has?  Because we can't realistically expect any better?  Bosch!  If we'd have lived by that mantra 30 years ago the Pack would maybe, *maybe,* be hovering around the 1-AA Big Sky right now.  We need to keep aiming high, that is what I've always been told is the American way, and since Ault seems to be content riding the laurels of that win eighteen years ago and of his 'new' offense from which he still runs the same, predictable plays, it's time for Groth to live up to her ultimatum and use that contract extension of hers.

Thanks to Our New Friends

I would like to take a moment to thank the folks at The Money Line Journal for their support of our little campaign. So you know, David is working on a banner for you; it should come along in the next few days. As a small measure of gratitude we've added you to our links list.

FYI, we do own the domain for firechrisault.com, so you don't even need the blogspot extension (although I'm sure that blogger and google appreciate it).

Best of luck to you this fall!

Mixed Feelings

On the one hand, the game went much better than I originally expected. When you go into a game expecting a 61-3 drubbing and instead see your team lose 31-21, with plenty of opportunities to stay in the game, you have to feel a little happy.

Then you remember why your team lost. You remember the fumble on 3 yard line and how suddenly Missouri seized control of the game. You remember your quarterback - the same one that was excellent for his first two years - suddenly throwing as if his receivers were 20 feet tall, or as if he's just completely lost his nerve. You remember your coach... oh, where to begin. Should we start with the three timeouts in the first quarter? The bizarre on-sides kick at the end that was too clever by half? The fact that, outside of the running game, it looks like our offense still has no rhythm after a month of games and practice? Or the fact that our offense apparently does not have a hurry-up two minute game plan? How about opting to run the "pistol" outside of our own end zone, nearly leading to a safety? Or just plain ignoring that, as clever as a spread-option half-shotgun based offense was five years ago, people are starting to figure it out? Heck, we seem to have a decent running game - how about throwing a Wildcat in there once in a while, hmm?

I still say that our defense, at least by Nevada standards, wasn't half bad last night. They got some stops, they picked up a turnover, and, except for a big play or two, they did a pretty decent job of keeping the ball in front of them, which is really all we can ask. We know going into every season that our offense has to score points in order for us to win games and, I'm sorry to say, that's not changing anytime soon. We just can't recruit the kind of defense talent necessary to regularly keep opponents under 20. Even Boise State has troubles on that front and they have a captive recruiting market and double our budget.

Special teams really is shaping up to be a surprising bright spot. Considering how Ault spent the first couple of seasons staffing the special teams unit with walk-ons, along with the predictable woes that resulted, I can't complain there. If our offense can simply hold on to the ball, make some big plays from time to time, and reliably score more than 20, we might actually win a game or two this year. Maybe.

Meanwhile... Oregon is doing everything it can to make Boise State's victory over it look really good. Idaho is surprisingly decent this year, netting a solid win on the road against a decent MAC team. Nevada-Southern, meanwhile, is copying from our turnover-prone playbook. Honestly, Nevada-UNLV has the potential to turn into one of the ugliest games of football ever recorded. Could be fun, in a "car crash on I-80 in winter kills 30" sort of way.

I...er...uh...

From what I'm seeing on message boards from around the country, a great many people who watched our game vs. Mizzou refer to it, in as many words, as a great big Charlie Foxtrot.

There were some glimmers of hope; the defense played pretty well and was rather aggressive...for the first half...if you don't count the times that the corners were watching the defender rather than watching the ball.

Then there were three time outs in the first quarter, the WTF two-point attempt, miscues, mistimings, mismanagements, and general misfortunes.

It's far too late after a day that was far too long to enumerate them here.

I almost feel bad for the guy...it almost seems too bad to be true, you know? He just must be going senile or something, I can't figure it any other way. It seems pretty damned fundamental that when you're pinned down on your own 5 that running out of the pistol puts the quarterback ON THE GOAL LINE!!! It seems likewise fundamental that running out of the pistol on 3rd and short puts the ball an extra FOUR TO FIVE YARDS FARTHER BACK than it needs to be. There must be some natural reason for this...maybe something is eating his brains from the inside? Maybe he has lupus?

Or is this miracle creation of an offense just too damned perfect to be concerned with trifles like that?

It also seems to me that our young star, our promising young quarterback, talented though he is, isn't maturing the way one might expect. His decision making doesn't seem to be getting any faster...or better, for that matter. In fact, it almost looks like he's second guessing himself an awful lot of the time, and I see him, each and every game, morphing closer and closer to becoming David Neill. Either coaching isn't helping him with his problems the way it should, or coaching is creating these problems...or both.

It's too late to do much more for right now, but as I'm pretty sure that traffic is about to spike around here, there will be plenty of sequels in very short order.

Please Don't Boycott Our Games!!!

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009.

I can understand the frustration of many, and the fact that the price of of the product increases while the quality remains nauseating at the very best. I also understand that that same product has the very real possibility of adversely affecting our health.

However, despite having Murdoch at the proverbial helm, these boys are still trying their damnedest, and if there were ever a time when they need the strength of the fan base and the community behind them, it's now.

Now is the time to rally 'round the (proverbial) Virginians!

The hell with everything else, get out there for our sturdy men.

Images from the Silver State Part II

So I give you two new pictures. The first is looking N. upon the eastern flank of the Ruby Mountains from Ruby Valley. The second is some graffiti (exhibiting artistic skills better than I have, might I add) found on a rock at Tuscarora, both in Elko County.

The Defense Isn't That Bad

The RGJ's comment section has been frothing at the mouth over this paragraph in Dan Hinxman's Monday Review:

Defense -- C

It was actually pretty good given where it's been, but three big TD plays through three quarters were costly.

Three TD plays through three quarters and the defense gets a "C"? It certainly looks abysmal on paper, especially when you consider that the defense hasn't held an opponent under 30 points all season. So, what gives?

When evaluating the Wolf Pack defense, it's better to trust your eyes than to trust the stat sheet. On paper, pass defense has been terrible over the past two years. We ranked dead last in passing yards allowed last year and, though we're statistically in the middle of the pack this season, we're still giving up big plays. Clearly there's still room for improvement.

What won't show up on paper, however, is how we've started playing defense since Nigel Burton showed up. Think back two years ago - how was man coverage executed back then? How many times were our linebackers and safeties in a position to intercept the ball or otherwise break a passing play? How many yards could opposing receivers expect to get after the catch? Two years ago, our secondary played at least 10 yards off of any receivers - the goal was to execute a "bend but don't break" defense, one that would give up yards but wouldn't give up big plays. Since Burton showed up, however, our defense has been positively aggressive. Pull that Notre Dame game off of your DVR and look at where our defenders were compared to the ball. They were there, ready and in position to break up countless passing plays. They wouldn't have been in the same zip code two years ago.

That's progress.

Hinxman knows this because he watches the games. Yes, giving up three touchdowns in three quarters is bad, but it's all in how you're giving them up. Giving them up while trying for the ball is good - some time, experience, and decent coaching can help you learn when and how to gamble for the ball. You can't learn that playing ten yards away from the receiver, hoping that you can keep him out of the end zone while freely conceding first downs.

Our defense is a bright spot. Our offense, however, is backsliding. Kaepernick is acting like he's shell-shocked; Missouri is not going to help his psyche. Kaep needs to be able to trust the offensive line and trust that the coaches will make proper adjustments if the o-line turns into a sieve (HINT: Screens!). So far, there is no sign - none - that our coaches are capable of working with what we have in the trenches instead of working with what they wish they had.

Have we mentioned that Chris Ault needs to be fired lately?

And we're back!

I'm not delusional.

Let's try that again.

I'm not delusional.

When evaluating a Nevada football coach, it's best to understand what and where the Nevada football program is at. Our budget is about half of Boise's, Fresno State's, or Hawaii's. Ault makes less than New Mexico State's coach. I've told anyone who asked that, for the past couple of years, Ault has done everything that anybody could really expect a football coach to do around here. We've been competing in the top half of the WAC and we're regularly going to bowl games. Compared to the other schools in our budget range, we're on top - we're above Louisiana Tech, we're above New Mexico State, we're above San Jose State, and so on. It's really hard to complain when that's the case... so I didn't. I stepped away from this blog, figuring my silence said it all. No, Ault wasn't perfect, but that wasn't the point - for a while, he was as good as we deserved.

There's nothing wrong with that.

After the past couple of games, though, I'm worried. I watched the Notre Dame game, seeing Ault fail to notice that Notre Dame was blitzing a five man line with six defensive players for over two quarters. I listened to the Colorado State game - a game we had two weeks to prepare for, mind you - and sat there in horror, listening to our team make mistake after mistake, fumbling the ball, throwing the ball into coverage in the end zone, and making basic procedural errors. In short, I sat there and listened to a poorly coached football team just two weeks after I watched one on TV.

Then I read this:

"One (false-start penalty) was the crowd," Ault said. "But our center, Kenny Ackerman, in the first half he just miscalculated some snaps."We were out of sync. Part of that has to do with our quarterback play, calling the right plays and getting things into perspective, and we didn't in the first half. It was as out of sync as we've ever been on offense."

That's right. It wasn't the coaches' fault for failing to prepare their players for a routine Mountain West crowd. It wasn't the coaches' fault for failing to drill timing into the offensive line. Of course, it couldn't be the coaches' fault that a three-year quarterback suddenly doesn't know how to play quarterback anymore. No - it's all the players' faults.

When most coaches run a game like this, they own up. They point the finger at themselves and get to work. Ault has never been good at this, of course, but this is getting out of hand. Ault and his coaches screwed up bad. After three weeks, we have a team that can't handle even a mild crowd, can't hold on to the ball, and can't play offense. If that's not a sign that Ault is losing his touch, I don't know what is.

Groth just got an extension over the weekend. It's a good thing - she's going to need it.

Images from the Silver State Part I

I think I'll start including some pictures I've taken from around our beautiful state (excepting that part that never should have been ceded from Arizona in the first place) for no other reason than I like to remember that there are things out here bigger and better than Ault and the anguish he causes me.


So I'll start.

This one was taken just below (south) of Adobe Summit on the Mountain City Highway.

Notice the fine hues of green from the algae.

Aah...the Desatoya Mountains, my favorite range, viewed from the West along Highway 50, the 'Loneliest Highway in America.'

Who decided that? Ever drive along Highway 6 through Nevada? Think about Warm Springs.




So there it is.

I'm sure that the more I have to drink to wash that man right out of my hair and liver the more of these will come.

And...we're back

It seems sad that we've taken such an extended sabbatical, but with last year being such a draining election year the extended campaign just seemed a little petty...not to mention that neither of us really had the energy to push forward. So I most sincerely apologise to the fans and readers.

Indeed, neither of us really have had the energy or time to press forward, but in two games this season, it is our solemn duty to push forward. So, thus far in 2009, I'll start thisaway:

Although the CSU game is now officially dispatched into the ether, thanks to the marketing genius of the MWC it won't be too fresh in too many minds hereabouts; being unable to actually watch the game is a definite handicap when it comes to these sorts of campaigns. However, being forced to watch the entire game via Gametracker(tm) one gets to watch the stat sheet for 'round about three hours. Stats like:

First Downs- Nev: 23 CSU: 21
Rushing Yards- Nev: 169 CSU: 179
Passing Yards- Nev: 251 CSU: 190
Total Offense- Nev: 420 CSU: 369
Time of Possession- Nev: 30:59 CSU: 29:01
Punts- Nev: 3 CSU: 6 (of course there's a pretty good reason for this)

And stats like:
Interceptions- Nev: 2 CSU 0 (and there it is)
And the ones everyone in Nevadadom will be talking about:
Fumbles/Lost- Nev: 3-3 CSU: 0-0 (and there, too)
Penalties- Nev: 11/64 CSU: 4/36

See:
Nevada-Colorado State Stats
for further details.

Sorry to have to use the red there, but...

Now I am used to watching my beloved team come out of the gate completely unprepared for game one and getting throttled by any opponent outside of the division formerly known as D 1-AA, but watching them commit 11 penalties (most of which were procedural...false starts, &c, including two consecutive) in game two after a bye week leaves me asking: "What the @#%$?"

Ahem, sorry it came to that, too.

Although for me, the "Trojan ENZ Boner of the Week award" goes to:

Play clock at 00:13 in the 2nd. CSU is forced to punt,

giving the Wolf Pack the ball

at their own 26 with five seconds left and...

...run it up the middle...

...for a two-yard loss...

...end of half.

This is a tough schedule, no doubt. And from the completely objective viewpoint that only the computer can give me (hats off to the BCS) we have a pretty good Wolf Pack team this year. But something is holding them back...hmm.

We're home next week, and I can't wait to get out there and be the best damn Pack backer I can be. Graças a Deus! And, of course, the following week we have the big one, the king father of dirty games...the U dash dash DASH game. I wish every Pack fan would take one, just one Wolf Pack sign, like the "Stay True" signs they had a couple of years ago, and put them out along Highway 95 the week prior; mark our territory, if you will.

In the mean time, I'm going to settle for putting down the better part of a bottle of Laphroaig and convincing myself that I'm at Disneyland.

Special thanks to David S. Ward, et al for that 'Trojan ENZ' gag from Major League 2.

The latest round of scholarships are in...

2008's recruits, according to the RGJ:

2008 Nevada football recruits
Name, Pos., Ht., Wt., Cl.-Exp., Hometown (High school)
High School signees
*Brandon Wimberly, WR, 6-3, 195, Fr.-HS, Los Angeles (Gardena HS)
Michael Ball, RB, 5-10, 225, Fr.-HS, Las Vegas (Desert Pines HS)
*Zack Sudfeld, TE, 6-7, 230, Fr.-Nevada, Modesto Calif. (Modesto Christian HS)
Christian Barker, OL, 6-4, 315, Fr.-HS, Fontana, Calif. (Etiwanda HS)
Aaron Huck, OL, 6-3, 295, Fr.-HS, San Jose (Oak Grove HS)
Jeff Nady, OL, 6-7, 255, Fr.-HS Minden (Douglas HS)
Steve Werner, OL, 6-5, 310, Fr.-HS, Tulare, Calif. (Tulare West HS)
Mark Forrest, DE, 6-7, 210, Fr.-HS, San Jose (Oak Grove HS)
Jon Rabe, DT, 6-5, 285, Fr.-HS, Upland, Calif. (Damian HS)
*Mark Avery, DT, 6-4, 270, Fr.-HS, Stockton, Calif. (Amos Alonzo Stagg HS)
Jack Reynoso, DT, 6-3, 260, Fr.-HS, Loomis, Calif. (Del Oro HS)
*Albert Rosette, LB, 6-2, 225, Fr.-HS, Concord, Calif. (De La Salle HS)
*Brett Roy, LB, 6-4, 240, Fr.-Nevada, Yucaipa, Calif. (Yucaipa HS)
Thaddeus Brown, DB, 5-11, 177, Fr.-HS, Pasadena, Calif. (Notre Dame HS)
Isaiah Frey, DB, 6-0, 190, Fr.-HS, Olivehurst, Calif. (Jesuit HS)
Khalid Wooten, DB, 6-0, 195, Fr.-HS, Rialto, Calif. (Carter HS)
Marlon Johnson, S, 5-11, 185, Fr.-HS, Ingelwood, Calif. (Ingelwood HS)
Ahmad Wood, Ath, 5-11, 185, Fr.-HS, San Pedro, Calif. (San Pedro HS)
Junior College signees
Michael Andrews, DT, 6-3, 275, So.-JC, Kailua, Hawaii (Arizona Western College)
Antoine Thompson, DB, 6-1, 195, Jr.-JC, Norfolk, Va. (Reedley College)
Maurice Harvey, S, 6-4, 215, Jr.-JC, Titusville, Fla. (Reedley College)
Dayton Guillory, Ath, 6-0, 180, Jr.-JC, Bossier City, La. (Yuba CC)
* - already enrolled at Nevada

As usual, it would seem special teams is going to be left out - I don't see a single kicker on the list here, at least. I'm sure some of these guys are going to get some time on special teams while they wait for their starting positions to open up, and getting more speed on that side of the ball would be excellent, but it won't matter if we can't get a kicker that can keep the ball on the field on kickoffs. Letting our opponents repeatedly start on the 35 yard line is not exactly encouraging to me.

That said, it would seem our program is going in the right direction here. We definitely needed some more depth on defense, and it looks like we're going to get it. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I'm much less concerned about Ault and much more concerned about our program. If Ault can reinvent himself the way Tom Coughlin and countless others have reinvented themselves, we'll be the ones that benefit from that.