Chris Smalley shadows a receiver Friday during the Nevada football team’s scrimmage at Carson High School. Smalley, a 2021 Douglas High graduate, is a senior.
Photo by Ron Harpin.
Jeff Choate made his intentions pretty clear after Friday’s spring scrimmage. He said he hopes to return to Carson High School or somewhere in the region next spring.
Following the Wolf Pack football team’s second consecutive spring scrimmage on the Senators’ turf, the head coach wants to make it an even grander event in 2026.
“I think that we've had a really good working relationship with the folks here at Carson High and so that was part of it,” said Choate. “We had some familiarity, the AD and the football coaches working with us to allow us to come down here and do this. Also, hey, let's do it again and see if we can make it better and I think it was better. So now try to do year three and see where that is and then we blow it out of the water.”
Choate continues to emphasize the Wolf Pack is “Northern Nevada’s team.”
“I think (Chris) Smalley and (Trace) Estes were like, ‘oh, gosh, coach, can you go to Douglas next year? I can't stand this field.’ You know, and it's like OK, I understand that. You know some rivalries from back in the day,” Choate said.
Smalley and Estes are Douglas High graduates.
“I mean, I think someday hopefully the longer we do this; we'll move it around a little bit,” Choate continued. “I think I want to try to gain some traction by … keep coming back and it gets a little bit better and a little bit better. It kind of becomes an event for the community, and that's what I'm hopeful that we can kind of kind of do over time.”
SPRING BATTLES
The second-year head coach wasn’t trying to fool anyone this spring.
For all intents and purposes, Friday was a spring scrimmage rather than a spring game to avoid injuries, avoid giving away any additional scouting tape and keeping everything in line for when the transfer portal re-opens Wednesday.
That’s just collegiate football in 2025.
“We let the kind of the veteran guys go for a very short period of time, about 18 plays. You'll notice Chubba (Purdy) didn't even really take anything besides 7-on-7. Kind of let those guys that are battling it out get some more reps and so that was awesome,” said Choate. “We kind of know who we are right now and what we need to add in terms of pieces as we go into the portal. This is always an interesting time. It's the culmination for spring ball, but it's just started a whole other season in college football now for us because we have exit interviews next week and then the portal opens on Wednesday.”
The Wolf Pack wants to add depth at defensive end and linebacker, according to Choate.
Nevada will look at offensive line, but “everybody in America wants to do the same.”
PACK’S AREA PLAYERS
• DB Elijah Acklin (Reed)
• OL Colin Banning (Spring Creek)
• WR Marcus Bellon (Truckee)
• WR Marshaun Brown (Manogue)
• DB Donoven DiRicco (Manogue)
• TE Carter Eck (Manogue)
• WR Trace Estes (Douglas)
• DL Andoni Fesenmaier (Elko)
• RB Ashton Hayes (McQueen)
• LB Jayden LaGrone (McQueen)
• K/P Tyler Manship (Incline)
• LB Malcolm McClure (Manogue)
• OL Tyler Miller (Galena)
• LB Chris Smalley (Douglas)
(Nevada freshman Trace Estes chats with teammates on the sideline of the Wolf Pack spring scrimmage at Carson High School on Friday. Estes is a 2024 Douglas High graduate. Carter Eckl / Nevada Appeal)