Polian is high on his class

Brian Polian believes his Nevada Wolf Pack football team took a giant step on Wednesday toward reaching its goals.

“I feel like we’re building a real solid foundation,” said the Nevada head football coach as he announced the 15 players who signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Wolf Pack this fall. “I want to compete for a Mountain West Conference championship. We got a little bit better last year but we’re not nearly close enough. We have to build it. It’s a process. You can’t do it overnight. You have to build it with one strong recruiting class after another. And I think we’re doing that.”

Polian’s third recruiting class since he took over the Wolf Pack football program in Jan., 2013 includes players from seven different states and one from Canada. It also includes two northern Nevada players in McQueen High linebacker Ricky Thomas and Bishop Manogue long snapper Wes Farnsworth.

The Wolf Pack also added four grayshirt players they recruited a year ago, increasing the number of players added to the roster since the end of last season to 19. The four players who will take part in spring practices are offensive tackle Clifford Porter, from Hug High, wide receiver Victor Gonzalez of Riverside, Calif., running back Kelton Moore of Arlington, Texas and quarterback Christian Solano of San Fernando, Calif.

“This class is geographically diverse and we’re excited by that,” Polian said.

Polian, who has a 11-14 record as the Pack coach the last two seasons, added the program still has two scholarships to use.

“We’re not done yet,” he said. “We need to add a defensive back and a defensive tackle. And if we can’t find a defensive back, it will be a skill player out on the perimeter. There’s no rule that says you have to use all your scholarships on signing day. We’ll fill those spots sometime in the next two or three weeks.”

Polian said the team’s biggest needs this recruiting season were linebacker, cornerback and tight end.

“We addressed some needs, no doubt,” he said.

The defensive backs signed were E.J. Muhammad of DeSoto, Texas, Cal Kee of Hampton, Va., and Dameon Baber of Palmdale, Calif. The new linebackers are Riley Brand of Anaheim, Calif., Thomas, and Gabe Sewell of St. George, Utah. The Pack also added tight end Evan Faunce of Indianapolis. The need for another tight end came up suddenly after last season when sophomore Patrick Clifford had to retire from the sport because of injuries.

Polian seemed especially pleased with the signing of Sewell.

“He’s going to be a great player,” Polian said. “He has a chance to be impactful early in his career.”

Sewell stands just 6-foot tall and weighs 230 pounds and played two seasons in American Samoa before moving to St. George, Utah.

“This guy is a hell of a football player,” Polian said.

“He’s real physical and can run. So he’s not 6-foot-3. So what?”

Hausia Sekona, a 6-1, 265-pound defensive lineman out of Salt Lake City, also was singled out by Polian.

“I wish he was 6-3 but he’s six foot,” Polian said. “That’s probably why the Pac-12 wasn’t on him immediately. And that’s a mistake. His quickness and power make up for that.”

The majority of the players signed on Wednesday, Polian said, will make their impact somewhere down the road.

“We got a handful of guys who could come in and contribute right away,” Polian said.

“And we have some developmental guys in this class. That’s what the Mountain West Conference is. We are a player developmental school. We’re the kind of place that takes clay and molds it.”