Nevada will open 2019 season with Carson Strong at quarterback

Nevada will open the 2019 season with redshirt freshman Carson Strong at quarterback.

Wolf Pack head coach Jay Norvell made the announcement at a Wolf Pack function on Saturday.

The timing of the quarterback news was somewhat expected, as Nevada ended its fall camp with a Friday night scrimmage and plans to shift its upcoming practices to specific prep for the season-opener against Purdue.

Strong, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander from Vacaville, Calif., beat out junior transfer Malik Henry for the starting spot. True freshman Austin Kirksey and transfer Hamish McClure have also got reps during fall camp.

Senior Cristian Solano — the only Nevada quarterback with any significant game experience at the Division I level — injured his throwing hand early in camp, turning the battle for the top spot into essentially a two-man race.

“I don't want to say I relate to it (Solano's injury), because everyone goes through their own personal experience,” Strong, who missed his senior season in high school due to injury, said last week. "I can't imagine the pain that he's in, because this is his senior year of college. That pain is something that I don't want to wish on anybody ... I really feel for the guy."

Strong appeared in one game last season for the Pack, then eventually red-shirted the year. He last played full-time as a junior at Wood High, completing nearly 70 percent of his passes.

Strong replaces Ty Gangi, who played in 32 games over two-plus seasons as Nevada’s starting quarterback. Gangi left the school with 7,378 passing yards, eighth on the Pack’s career list.

Strong, who enrolled early at Nevada and has actually been through four training camps, said he is eager to show what both he and the Wolf Pack offense can do.

"I've got the best receiving corps in the conference," he said. "Throwing to these guys is easy; they're just so athletic, so big. Add them to the running backs, and it makes my job easy. I've just got to give them the ball and let them makes plays."

The Wolf Pack opens the season with back-to-back Power 5 opponents for the first time since 2007, hosting Purdue on Aug. 30 and traveling to Oregon on Sept. 7.

For more on the Wolf Pack, college sports, and Reno's baseball and soccer teams, follow the author at @RGJduke. Digital subscriptions to the Reno Gazette Journal begin at as little as $1 a month; click here for details.