Pack’s returning receivers ‘hold each other up to higher standards’

Nevada had some struggles at the wide receiver spot last season, and then lost two of its top pass catchers from 2023 — Jamaal Bell and John Jackson III.

Coach Jeff Choate added one player, Cortez Braham Jr., who is expected to step in and make an impact there; and he will look to some returners, including Bishop Manogue graduate Marshaun Brown, to step up this fall.

Choate said the team needs depth at receiver and is down two players there, adding that competition will help everyone. He hopes to add to that position after spring practices conclude.

“We can't just have one, two and three guys thinking they have it figured out; they need to be pushed,” Choate said.

Brown ‘boing to be a real threat’

This spring, the coaches are striving to improve the group they have.

Choate said Brown (6-foot-4, 195 pounds) is an athletic freak, but is unpolished at receiver.

“There's a lot of the tactical, technical part of the game he needs to improve on, but he's got all the physical tools,” Choate said of Brown. “And he's a great kid. I talk about selecting them on character first and he fits that model, and he's a guy we can develop into someone who is going to be a real threat in this league.”

Brown is in his second season with the Wolf Pack. He joined the team for fall camp last year and played in four games last year, catching one pass, for 14 yards, so it will count as a redshirt season.

He said the speed of college football is a big adjustment.

“Playing fast and getting adjusted to the speed of the game,” Brown said of adapting to college football. “And also learning your assignments. Once you figure all that out, you can play a lot faster.”

Brown said his confidence is higher now than it was last fall at Nevada since he has a year under his belt.

He said there is a lot of competition