Coach Norvell tweets photo of smoke while heading to Stanford.
Nevada football practices are relocated to Stanford University for the third week due to high smoke conditions in Reno, Nev.
Conditions in Reno have hit highs of 169 on the Air Quality Index, forcing the Wolf Pack to find a new practice field for the time being. The AQI in Stanford, California is ranging from 30 to 90 AQI. When the AQI is higher it becomes more dangerous for a person’s body, especially while doing collegiate training.
“We don’t have an indoor facility here at the University and we just had to really travel to find fresh air that’s safe for our athletes to practice in,” said Nevada head coach Jay Norvell in a press conference “It really has given us an opportunity to prepare for the season. We hadn’t scrimmaged until we went there.”
Stanford University is almost a four hour drive from the University of Nevada, Reno. So far, Norvell says the team has traveled 1,553 miles to get work in.
This week, the team is scheduled to practice at Stanford Wednesday-Friday. The decision to travel to the Bay Area is made in the days leading up to practice each week. Nevada athletics constantly monitor the air quality forecasts.
Norvell likes how the different environment of practices brings a more focused mindset to football.
“I think it’s really good sometimes to change your practice structure up because it keeps everybody on their toes and it keeps guys focused and interested,” Norvell said.
Junior quarterback and captain Carson Strong said that going to Stanford benefited the team.
“It brings the team closer together,” said Strong in a press conference. “You’re playing cards, you’re doing rookie shows, you’re just around each other the whole time and I think it’s been good. There’s no distractions out there. We are just there focusing on football.”
Fifth-year senior and defensive lineman Sam Hammond, redshirt fifth-year linebacker Lawson Hall and fifth-year senior offensive lineman Jermaine Ledbetter are all captains who also said that practicing at Stanford has led to stronger team bonding.
“It was kind of eye opening for us as a team,” Hall said in the Zoom press conference Aug. 30. “Although we spend a lot of time together in camp, you’re not really around each other 24/7. So being around each other, we were able to learn more about each other and pick up on different habits that we had. Just grow closer as a team and kind of create that team chemistry and team bonding.”
Stanford offering its facility to Nevada lets the team acquire the standard amount of practice that all other conference teams get. The Nevada Wolf Pack will compete in their first game of the season Saturday, Sept. 4 against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. pacific.
Kelsey Middleton can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @kelsmiddleunr