The following are excerpts of our interview with Duke Ritenhouse, a Nevada beat writer, who covers the Wolf Pack for the Reno Gazette Journal.

GoldandBlack.com: Talks about what coach Jay Norvell has meant to this Wolf Pack program.

Ritenhouse: Quite a bit actually. It's been a culture transformation. The program, arguably, was underachieving at the end of the Brian Polian era. Norvell’s kind of a no excuses guy and he came in and said ‘Essentially, look, the roster is small. It’s too small, it’s too slow. This roster can’t win Mountain West championships.'

He challenged everyone. He said if you want to play, you’re gonna have get bigger and faster. And it started right away. The results were a little bit slow to come if you look back to 2017 and the 0-6 start, and losing to Idaho State, which was just a nightmare. Then things started to turn around.

Last year’s team definitely had a different identity. Last year’s team was bigger and faster and they expected to, frankly they did, they expected to win every game. That was Nevada’s first eight win season since joining the Mountain West and a bowl win hadn’t happened in quite awhile.

Norvell has challenged everyone from the assistant coaches to the players to the secretaries, we all need to step up. And I think entering his third season we’re really starting to see that.

GoldandBlack.com: What are the fans' expectations for the Wolf Pack as it pertains to the Mountain West? Is this team supposed to contend and get back to a bowl game this year?

Ritenhouse: A bowl game is a minimum for this team. This is a bowl team for sure. And it’s funny because I couldn’t have said that a year ago coming off that bad 2017.

The problem with Mountain West, particularly the West Division, is Fresno State's (performance) lately. Coach Jeff Tedford has just turned them around, speaking of turn arounds. So they’re tough. Nevada has struggled with San Diego State, although Nevada won last year’s game in Reno. So those are your two favorites. And according to the pre-season poll, Fresno State and San Diego State were 1 and 2 and then Nevada.

It seems their goals are pretty clear. To win the West Division, you have to beat Fresno. I think they got over the San Diego State mental block last year. So Fresno is the last block, and that’s a key game. That game will be in Fresno so that will be tough.

But if we can reach Mountain West Championship game, then you’re probably staring right at Boise State, which is kind of a pain because they do a really good job there. Or possibly Utah State if Utah State can beat them behind Jordan Love, who is kind of the darkhorse Heisman candidate of all time.

There are high expectations, the players are openly talking about competing for divisional and conference titles. Again, that’s not something you saw two or three years ago.

GoldandBlack.com: Offensively, what are some of the strengths and what are some of the concerns?

Ritenhouse: The obvious concern is quarterbacks. Ty Gangi started for the better part of three seasons, and he’s gone. Carson Strong, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman won the quarterback competition and he is kind of a pocket passer. He is an Interesting guy, didn’t play as a senior in high school, he was injured. So he’s ready to play a football game.

Strong survived a fairly intense battle between a returning senior named Christian Solano (who was injured this summer), who was the only quarterback who had thrown a pass in a Division 1 game on the roster. And then Malik Henry, who you might know from "Last Chance U" ended up at Nevada, and the competition looks fairly even. Malik has been hampered by a hamstring. They have Henry in limited contact, with no contact practice. So Strong won the job just by attrition. So there’s your main concern.

The offensive line, which is a real source of pride here, is being rebuilt too. At tackle, there’s Jake Nelson who was an all conference pre-season pick, and he’s solid. The center (Nathan Edwards) is actually a local kid.. That’s such a pivotal position for the "Air Raid" with the center calling all the signals. Nate has never been a starter before and while that isn't a huge concern it is a fact.

So Purdue is going to bring Big Ten size to Reno and that makes Nevada's offensive line a bit of a concern. The receivers are great, they should be solid. The running backs, Toa Taua, is the reigning conference freshman of the year. So solid at running backs too.

I’d say the concern is can Strong overcome the butterflies that he’d be certain to have, he will have to overcome that and, start heeding his receivers. if Taua can start gaining some yards, the offense should be fine.

GoldandBlack.com: Who are the top receivers?

Ritenhouse: Along with Cole Turner, Kaleb Fossum is in the slot. He’s the smallest of the receivers, but he’s the first down guy, knows where all the sticks are. The most explosive receiver is Romeo Doubs. He was a very quiet sophomore, kind of lets his play do the talking. He’s one of those rare guys that if he touches it, because he returns kicks sometimes too, he can score. He’s just explosive. He is being moved into a starting role basically for the first time.

They rotate a lot at the position, and the third starter that they named is Elijah Cooks. He’s solid too, and getting his first chance to shine. Those are the three big guys. After that the experience, in terms of playing time, drops down a bit. But from what I’ve seen in spring and fall camps, they’re pretty capable.

GoldandBlack.com: Will Nevada play two quarterbacks?

Ritenhouse: Absolutely not. Not without injury (or a blowout), no. Norvell is not a two quarterback guy. You know, last year with Portland State (season opener), Nevada scored 72 and everyone got in the game. So no, but Malik Henry is not scheduled to play. If it’s a close game and Carson’s doing okay, he’s not going anywhere. Based on what was said at this week's press conference, Carson Strong can throw an interception and he’s not coming out.

GoldandBlack.com: What about the defense? What are some of the areas of concern there for the Wolf Pack?

Ritenhouse: I think you’ve gotta start with the linebackers. For a strongpoint, (they are) all seniors, and a couple interesting stories. One guy went into the transfer portal, but decided to stay at school. One guy (Lucas Weber) was granted a sixth year of eligibility. So all of a sudden the linebackers, which were not going be a strength are a strength.

Nevada plays a base 3-3-5, so the linebackers have to be mobile and make a lot of plays. Gabriel Sewell, who you’ll recognize, number 7, he’s got hair down to basically the belt of his uniform. He's in the middle. Maliek Broady, who’s really getting his first chance to shine as a senior, is on the outside. As a unit they practice well.

I think the first third of this season especially, they’re going to have to really lead.

The secondary is the question mark especially when a guy like Rondale Moore comes to town. Daniel Brown is the most experienced cornerback. I expect to see him line up opposite Moore. Brown is great. After that there is the secondary, which again it’s five-man unit ...the experience level, the big game experience especially, really drops off at that point.

I have written that the secondary needs to mature fairly quickly or Nevada can’t hope to repeat eight wins again. I mean, a guy like Moore is going to get a lot of catches but you can’t let him singlehandedly win the game. I think they know that.

Up front they’re solid. It will likely be a game time decision on whether Dom Peterson plays. He is a 300-pounder, good player, very enthusiastic. Gets others fired up. Peterson tweaked his knee on the second play of the first scrimmage. It’s not an ACL thing, just very tender. Hausia Sekona is the nose tackle and he needs to make a lot happen for obvious reasons, because if they only bring three (in the pass rush), they’re not putting a ton of pressure there, but they’ve got three pretty big guys. But, you know, Purdue has seen bigger guys out in Big Ten country.

Peterson goes 300, that’s fairly big for (a team like) Nevada. These guys need to bring some pressure. And they can, they’re capable players. (In summation) So from front to back, the line is fine, the linebackers are great, the secondaries got questions.

GoldandBlack.com: Special teams: What do you expect there?

Ritenhouse: The kicker (Spencer Pettit) is and interesting story. He was the kicker in 2017 and he lost the job last year to a kid who hadn’t really played football before. I believe Pettit only appeared in one game as a backup. He decided to stay with the program, this is his senior year. He’s back at full-time kicker, in fact the depth chart doesn’t even list a backup. I don’t know what that means, I don’t know if they ran out of room on the sheet or whatever. Pettit has been here before and there should be some hunger there.

The punter (Quinton Conaway) is solid. He’s kind of a college football nomad. Before he got to Nevada, he had appeared on Oregon, Oklahoma State, and Kansas in a junior college as he tried to find his place. He’s really found a home here. He has a 40-yard average and has gotten better. There was one blocked punt last season, and actually that was some poor blocking I think. Both guys I mentioned are seniors, have been with the program, and at this point know exactly what’s expected of them.

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