New-look Nevada secondary making an attempt to reside as much as ‘Dominate is a way of life’ mantra

Editor’s word: After every Nevada soccer fall camp observe, we are going to put up our interviews with the coaches and gamers plus a brief writeup from the session. Today’s characteristic is on Nevada’s secondary.

Last season, the Nevada teaching employees inherited a secondary with zero return starters and loads of query marks.

The unit ended up taking part in effectively, producing one NFL draft decide (Kitan Crawford); the staff’s lone All-MW honoree (Michael Coats Jr.); and elevating the manufacturing of two gamers who transferred to Power 4 colleges this offseason (Coats, Chad Brown).

Nevada has an identical problem this season because it returns no starters from final yr’s secondary. But Wolf Pack assistant Joey Thomas, who oversees the staff’s secondary, mentioned the texture this yr is not the identical because it was final yr. He really feels extra snug along with his group coming into 2025.

“Truthfully, it feels completely different,” Thomas mentioned. “Last year was last year. You’re taking on a group that you inherited. This year, we’ve recruited, like, 85 percent of the people in the room, so you have a better feel of who they are, how to reach them. Once you go through the recruiting process if you do it the right way, you know who you’re bringing into your building. Last year, we didn’t have that, and it was such a fast turnaround you may have missed some things, and we inherited a lot of people that had been with two staffs. We were their third staff, and not everybody’s bought in. This year, because we recruited them, the buy-in is completely different, and I think that’s the biggest change.”

While Nevada’s secondary is a whole rebuild, the Wolf Pack does have good expertise on the defensive again finish after including eight gamers through switch from the FBS or FCS, together with Murvin Kenion III (Sac State), AJ Odums (UTEP), Edward Rhambo (Bowling Green), DJ Warnell (Indiana), Hayden McDonald (Columbia), Cooper Wilson (Nebraska), Austin Ambush (Jacksonville State) and Zavien Abercrombie (Weber State).

That group has loads of faculty expertise with Kenion, Odums, Rhambo and McDonald starters at their earlier colleges whereas Warnell has performed in 43 video games throughout stints in three Power 4 applications (UCLA, Arizona, Indiana). Those gamers have performed loads of faculty snaps, simply not collectively. Thomas’ problem shall be mixing the group to exceed the extent hit by final yr’s secondary, which performed effectively contemplating Nevada’s largely non-existent cross rush (simply 14 sacks in 13 video games).

“Communication,” Thomas mentioned of the important thing to the new-look unit gelling. “Having a high understanding of the scheme and what’s being asked of you as far as the standard of how we play football, and elite communication. When things don’t go right, it’s usually a communication lapse. As long as we communicate and we play fast, we’ll be okay.”

Kenion has already emerged as not solely a frontrunner of the secondary however of the staff. He was voted one among Nevada’s 4 captains regardless of not having performed a snap for the Wolf Pack after stints at City College of San Francisco, Idaho and Sac State.

“It meant a lot just to earn the trust of the guys on the team and to lead this team is a blessing,” Kenion mentioned. “I’m really a lead-by-example-first guy, but if something needs to be said, I’m going to say it. I know the coaches want me to step up more in that manner, so I’m just continuing to get better on and off the field.”

The projected starters at this level embody Odums, Rhambo and McDonald battling for 2 beginning cornerback jobs with Kenion, Warnell and returners Bishop Turner and Kasen Kinchen vying for 3 beginning security positions. The solely participant from the group with vital reps within the MW is Odums, who began at New Mexico earlier than transferring to UTEP. He’s again within the MW and feeling welcomed since becoming a member of Nevada within the spring.

“I’ve been in three different locker rooms and it’s probably the closest I’ve been with any teammates or team in general,” Odums mentioned. “We do a lot of activities outside of the facility. They’ve been having us do a lot of team bonding, so I think that’s what brought us together.”

Some of these team-bonding occasions have included mountain climbing Mt. Rose, studying how you can fly fish, doing community-service occasions and going bowling (wideout Nate Burleson II acquired excessive marks there). In phrases of on-the-field productiveness, one of many secondary’s objectives this season is extra game-changing performs after Nevada compelled simply 13 takeaways in 2024 with zero returning interceptions from final season.

“I would say takeaways,” Odums mentioned of the highest objective in fall camp. “Those are big game-changing plays right there, so I would just say taking the ball away more efficiently and more often.”

And this yr’s objective, Odums mentioned, is easy.

“Dominate,” Odums mentioned. “We’ve got a phrase in our room, ‘Dominate is a lifestyle.’ So, every play, we want to dominate and we want to win every play.”

You can watch our interviews with secondary coach Joey Thomas and cornerback AJ Odums.