Nevada head coach Ken Wilson talks Caleb Williams, USC Trojans

Nevada head coach Ken Wilson will bring his Wolf Pack into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this Saturday for a 3:30 pm kickoff against the No. 6 USC Trojans. He spoke to media earlier this week during his weekly press conference. Here’s what Wilson had to say about the Trojans, with some extensive praise for quarterback Caleb Williams.

Wilson on facing USC quarterback Caleb Williams

“Our first four games have really good quarterbacks in them and obviously we’re going to start out with the top, the best of the best there. We have some quarterbacks in our program that can move aroun, improvise, throw the ball on the move. Obviously, they’re not Heisman Trophy winners, but we have a better chance now to practice those types of plays. And you know, the things that Caleb’s done, we faced him my last year at Oregon in the Alamo bowl, and he had a really good game for Oklahoma. And you know, there’s a lot of similarities to the offenses that we saw in that game. He just does things and sees things and maneuvers in ways that other quarterbacks just don’t see. Saturday night, they had a busted play, dropped a snap, and in that chaos of people trying to go pick up the fumble that was at his feet, he had the presence to pick it up and see an open receiver and throw 70-yard touchdown pass. So that’s hard to prepare for. He’s obviously the Heisman Trophy winner, but you know, we’ve got a plan. And I’m sure a lot of people that go in against him have plans, and we’ve got executed really, really well to keep him, not contained, but keep him in front of us.”

Wilson on what else stood out about USC against San Jose State

“Teams can stay in there a little bit and fight with them a little bit, and then all of a sudden, you get a long punt return or a kickoff return by, you know, a freshman five-star guy who all of a sudden shows up and returns a kickoff for a touchdown, and Caleb drops a snap and throws for a touchdown, all of a sudden, it’s 35-7, you know. To beat a team of that quality, and that character, and with that kind of plan with that coaching staff, you have to be perfect and you have to be right and you can’t make mistakes and you’ve got to get takeaways. There’s a lot of things that we’ve been practicing now for all of our games. But obviously, coming out the gate against a team like this, No. 6 team or better in the country, you’ve got to be really good at a lot of things.”

Wilson on playing in the Coliseum

“We’ve got a lot of players that have played in the Coliseum that we’ve brought in here and we’ve got coaches that have been in the Coliseum. That has to be you somewhat of an advantage to have that. But still, it’s the Coliseum, it’s the first game, it’s this team walking down that ramp and we’re gonna lean on the guys that have been in there. And at the end of the day, you’re gonna go in and you’re going to warm up and you go back to the locker room and you’re going to go out and you’re going to coin flip and the game is going to be played. And our job is to focus in on the game and the plays and each individual play and not all the stuff that’s around it. And that’s easier said than done. But that’s a preparation that we’ve been talking about for you know, some 30 days now. People call it a challenge. We call it an opportunity. Not many people get the opportunity to go into a situation like that. And you know, I just talked to the players the other day about when you were little and you were in your backyard or you were on the playground and you closed your eyes and you wanted to make that play to win the big game or make that tackle or catch that pass. Here’s the opportunity. So dream about it until we get down there Friday night and let’s go out Saturday and play football.”

Wilson on starting Brendon Lewis at quarterback

“We will start Brendon Lewis in the game Saturday. Brendon’s had a really good spring. He came out of spring. He’s a guy that’s started 14 games in the Pac-12 and Autzen Stadium and the Coliseum and Folsom Field. He’s been in those kinds of games and played in bowl games. It was a really good competition. I think a healthy, Shane Illingworth was good and fall camp. And AJ Bianco we think has a bright, bright future. And those three really battled… We just made a staff decision that that practice by practice since the day he’s been here, Brendan has taken a leadership role. He was voted unanimously a team captain by his teammates, and we just think at this moment in time that Brendon gives us the best chance, to win football games.

Wilson on Lewis’ mobility affecting the offense and playcalling

I think that’s part of it, and being able to make the o-line right when something starts to break down. He can get out and get a four-yard gain instead of taking an eight-yard sack. Or he can pull the ball if the read’s there and he can take it for 15 yards. Brendon, he’s got that it. If the B-gap’s open and the pass rush is on him, he can duck out of there and slide down with a five or six-yard gain, get your first down, keep the clock running. And we didn’t have a lot of that last year. If we couldn’t get the first down right away, we were putting the punt team on the field. So you know, he’s got to get the ball out of his hand at times. He’s got to run with it at times. You got to read our zone read stuff. It’s what he did. It’s what he does. It’s how he’s made his living. He would tell you he’s not a running quarterback. But he can run and that’s what I like about him. He also can throw it. So, I think it’ll be a good night for him Saturday to get out there on the field and lead his team.”

Wilson on Game 1 for Nevada vs Game 2 for USC

“When you have Zero Week, you have the advantage of cleaning up mistakes. But on the other side, you also haven’t seen the team that you’re going to play. So it’s kind of, when you’re in these early-season games, there’s all these different scenarios there. What coaching staff has changed? Who’s the who are the new guys? And there’s a little bit of surprise, and then there’s also a little bit of you get a chance to fix the stuff that you messed up in the first game and make a big improvement into your second game. So you’ve got to look at all of that stuff when you’re getting preparation together for your practice week. That’s kind of what we’ve been in.”

Wilson on USC’s prep for the Wolf Pack with no film this year

“I think with what USC does, there’s no surprise. They do what they do and they’re really, really good at it. And from our standpoint, our coordinators are back. They’re the same. So I don’t think they’re probably worried too much about us surprising them with anything. So I think they’re probably cleaning up the little things. They certainly got a chance to look at a lot of different players and make those adjustments. And, you know, we got a chance to look at them and watch the game closely and see a lot of really good players that we didn’t necessarily know about until we saw them on Saturday evening down there. So it’s kind, whichever side you’re on, you can probably turn it into an advantage or disadvantage.

Wilson on USC wide receiver Zachariah Branch

“I remember him and his brother. They were really highly recruited. They’re both there at USC. I think most of the country recruited them when I was up at Oregon, and then just watching them you see all the talent and everything. But obviously, his special teams Saturday night changed that game. Those two punt returns and the kickoff return, which was not blocked correctly, but he just made a play with his feet and made three or four or five guys miss. That’s special. And that’s special when you’re a freshman and you have that big of an impact on a game as a true freshman. That’s a lot of talent right there. There’s so many bodies out there. You know, you can’t, specifically when you got the Heisman Trophy winner, and you’ve got him, and you’ve got Raleek, and you’ve got Singer and you’ve got all the guys that they’ve got. I mean, you certainly can’t pick on one but you better know where number one is, especially on special teams right now because he’s a gamechanger when he gets the ball in his hands. So yeah, we knew about him. We just didn’t expect to see that the first game out.

Wilson on coaching with a number of USC assistant coaches at Washington State, including Alex Grinch

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s any secrets on those two defenses that are gonna play Saturday night. Their D-coordinator and are very, very close friends. We worked together. Their linebacker coach and I worked together at Washington State. Their linebacker quality control guy was my middle linebacker for five years at Washington State. Roy Manning, their outside ‘backer coach is one of my best friends. Their Chief of Staff was with us for seven years at Washington State. So I don’t think there’s a lot of stuff on that side of the ball. And you know, quite frankly on the offense, Dennis Simmons, their wide receiver coach was with us at Washington State. So there’s a lot of bodies on that sideline that I’ve worked with, care a lot about, and it’ll be very, very fun to compete against those guys and see them. But yeah, the defenses, I think probably they’re worried about their signals and all that because we have the same the same signals, or I remember those signals from back in the day.”

Wilson on a position that stands out on the USC roster

“They have so much skill at wide receiver. They bring in so many different guys at wide receiver. They’ve got the three running backs the played the other night, the transfer that came in plus the other two. On the defensive side of the ball, they’ve got some really good edge rushers. And their secondary is a really, really talented group of guys. But I think they’re a little bit more in flux at those positions. They’re still trying to find out. They played so many players that it’s hard to pencil out there. You just keep seeing, you know, who caught that ball? Who made that tackle? Who was that linebacker? I think the two linebackers that they brought in, the young No. 25 [Tackett] Curtis, and in the linebacker they brought him from Oklahoma State are very active guys. They’re one of the best teams in the country. There’s not a position where you’re not looking at it and being impressed by somebody that they have at those positions. So it’ll be quite a challenge to get in there and see them play in person.”