The week for Nevada athletics, and Reno in general didn’t get off to a good start. Tyrone Hanson, a sophomore forward from New York, was kicked off of the team on Tuesday by Wolf Pack coach Mark Fox, after going to a party last Saturday night/early Sunday morning where he was severely beaten up and knocked unconscious and three people were fatally shot.
His indiscretion wasn’t that he got beaten up or that he broke any laws, but that he had been instructed not to go out that night, but went out anyway. That apparently was the final straw for Fox, who had already held Hanson out of a practice earlier that day due to a violation of team rules.
On the other hand, football coach Chris Ault said he that he would likely not discipline any of his players that attended the party.
One of his football players, however, does have some ties to the events that happened at the party, as the brother of offensive lineman Charles Manu is one of the suspects that have been charged in connection with the three murders that occurred at the Halloween party.
Will the events that occurred in Reno have any affect on the Wolf Pack tonight when they take on New Mexico St. in Las Cruces?
Nevada is 4-4 overall and 2-2 in WAC play, which puts them in a tie for fourth with San Jose St. (3-5, 2-2). But, they’ve won their last two games, and are still in contention for a bowl berth if they finish well. As for New Mexico St., the Aggies are 4-5 overall and 1-3 in WAC play, and will likely need to win out if they are to receive bowl consideration. But, three of those games are at home, starting with tonight’s contest, so it’s possible for Chase Holbrook (2,451 yards, 18 TD, 13 INT) and the Aggies to make a run at the postseason.
This one could pan out to be a pretty high-scoring affair, with Holbrook going up against Nevada’s talented freshman QB, Colin Kaepernick, who had a huge October after he took over the starting role (1,000 yards passing, 10 TD, zero INT, 304 yards rushing, 3 TD in four games) and RB Luke Lippincott (911 yards, 10 TD), the WAC’s #2 rusher.