Monday, Sept. 30, 2002 | 10:13 a.m.
NEXT UP
What: UNR at UNLV
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Sam Boyd Stadium
TV: None
Radio: KBAD 920-AM
Line: Pick 'em
Tickets: Order online at unlvtickets.com or call 739-FANS.
Louisville's Dave Ragone may have jumped to near the top of a lot of Heisman Trophy lists after leading the Cardinals to a dramatic 26-20 overtime upset of Florida State last week. But in the opinion of Colorado State cornerback Rhett Nelson, he's only the second best quarterback the Rams have faced this year.
"That was one of the best quarterbacks I've ever seen," Nelson said of Nevada-Reno senior Zack Threadgill after the Rams rallied for a 32-28 victory over the Wolf Pack Saturday afternoon at Mackay Stadium. "Ragone had problems against us but he's still a great athlete. (Saturday) we saw the best quarterback we've seen so far this season."
The 6-foot-2, 211-pound Threadgill, who took over for Nevada-Reno career passing leader David Neill this season, appreciates the compliment but ...
"I'd trade it all for the win," Threadgill said after practice Sunday night. "It's nice to hear that, but winning the game is the most important thing."
Still, thanks to the surprising play of Threadgill, the Wolf Pack (2-2, 1-0 Western Athletic Conference) is off to its best start since 1998 when it finished 6-5 under Jeff Tisdel. And a win Saturday night over UNLV (1-3) in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon at Sam Boyd Stadium would give Nevada-Reno its first winning record at the five-game mark of the season since 1996, when the Wolf Pack finished 9-3 and knocked off Ball State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Threadgill, who backed up Neill since both arrived in Reno in 1998, completed 26-of-44 passes for 341 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Rams. That broke a string of back-to-back 400-yard, four touchdown passing games in victories over BYU and Rice. He was named the WAC's offensive player of the week after both games.
"He just continues to amaze me," Nevada coach Chris Tormey said. "He's got tremendous leadership ability. He's very intelligent. The players really rally around him. He's keeps his eyes down the field to find the open receivers and gets the ball there. I'm really pleased with the way Zack is playing."
Tormey said Threadgill, a former first team all-Arizona pick at Apollo High in Glendale, is like having a coach on the field.
"A lot of it is preparation and he does a tremendous job with prepartion," Tormey said. "He is so intelligent. He understands what the defense gives us. He knows the offense as well as any of our coaches."
Threadgill has had a lot of time to study. He tore knee ligaments in the Wolf Pack's 2000 spring game which sidelined him the entire 2000 season. And then he had to wait his turn behind Neill, who finished his Nevada-Reno career with virtually every school passing record.
"It's been a waiting game," Threadgill said. "I've been through a lot. The knee injury put me back for about nine months and then we had the coaching change (Tormey replaced Tisdel following the 1999 season)."
But Threadgill began to see more action last season thanks in part to injuries to Neill. He started at Boise State and Colorado State and performed well and also played the fourth quarter of UNLV's 27-12 victory over the Wolf Pack in Reno, completing 10 of 15 passes for 66 yards and one interception.
"Getting to play last year really has helped me a lot," Threadgill said. "After missing the entire 2000 season with the knee injury, it was nice to be able to get out there and play in some games."
Threadgill was expected to be a role player to Wolf Pack running back Chance Kretschmer, the nation's leading rusher as a freshman in 2001. But Kretschmer suffered a season-ending knee injury early in the Wolf Pack's 31-28 upset of BYU and Threadgill and the Nevada-Reno passing game had to step up to fill a big void.
And step up he did. Threadgill completed 28-of-37 passes for 410 yards and four touchdowns against the Cougars. He showed that wasn't a fluke a week later by completing 30-of-36 passes for 408 yards and four touchdowns in the Wolf Pack's 31-21 victory over Rice.
For the season, Threadgill has completed 68.7 percent of his passes (101-of-147) for 1,314 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions, which ranks sixth in the nation in passing efficiency. He is fourth in total offense averaging 341.25 yards per game.
"Stats don't mean that much," Threadgill said. "The only one that really is important is how many wins you have. If I throw for 50 yards and we win, that's a great day as far as I'm concerned."
Still, Threadgill figures to have another big game statistically on Saturday night against a UNLV secondary that has had more than its share of problems. The Rebels rank a dismal 83rd among 117 Division 1-A teams in passing defense, allowing an average of 233.5 yards. It wouldn't be surprising to see Threadgill surpass that figure by halftime.
Claridge has spent the last 12 weeks trying to rehab a strained abdominal muscle that has bothered him since last spring. He was expected to possibly return this week.
"Ryan is going to redshirt," Robinson said. "We're not quite sure when he'd be ready to play in a game again. He'll come back next season as a junior with two more years to play. If he was to come back too soon and reinjure himself, it could be an even worse problem."
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