Their quarterback was a rocky roller coaster in Nevada’s loss to inter-conference rival, Boise State. Senior Cody Fajardo made some exciting plays, but made several alarmingly bad decisions. Four interceptions put Fajardo in a hole he struggled to get out of.
Fajardo’s second pass resulted in the inaugural interception of the night. He tried to force things, and paid the price. However, things afterwards were a good sign, at least for a while. Fajardo let the mistake go and was dealing afterwards. He took in a rushing touchdown on his next time out. On the drive at end of first and beginning of second quarter, Fajardo was just surgical. He finished that drive with a touchdown, and another just after that.
Things fell apart after that drive.
By: Matt Harmon
Fajardo threw an interception into coverage that was returned for a score. On the next drive, Fajardo reacted poorly to pressure and misread a hot route that was well covered, and was intercepted again. He took a bad sack to take Nevada out of field goal range right before the half, and threw his fourth interception to start the third quarter.
Fajardo did bounce back (including a 56-yard touchdown run) after those bungles, and kept Nevada in the game. The full spectrum was on display for the Senior quarterback. Fajardo is a very talented player, with great natural arm strength and exciting mobility. He looks as natural a runner at quarterback you’ll see. However, mechanically he’s extremely raw. He throws off bases, with a poor trajectory far too often. The natural talent makes him a prospect worth following, but Fajardo still has a long way to go in improving his standings amongst senior signal callers.
Other Notes:
–Robert Waterman is the best offensive line prospect you’ve never heard of. This guys moves so well, and uses his hands pretty effectively too. I didn’t see him get beat once on Saturday. Look for Waterman to get some attention as more draft evaluators check him out.
–Vince Bughier showed some nice awareness and athletic ability in making decisions on option plays. He changed directions well.
-I’ve been pretty critical of Travis Raciti up to this point. So, it’s worth noting that he knifed into the backfield on several occasions on Saturday.
–Grant Hendrick bounced back and played a very clean game against Nevada. He even made a few plays on the ground. Hendrick is still a ways away from being a prospect, however.
-One fun player to watch in the Mountain West is Nevade corner, Charles Garrett. He laid a huge hit on Ajayi on one of the first plays, and many more followed that. Garrett plays has size with quickness, and uses it in playing with some fire and tenacity at the position. He’s a name worth monitoring.
–Jay Ajayi just keeps going, despite a slow start to the game. He really sustained the Boise State offense in the second half. It was good to see him break out of a small funk, because that dragged him down earlier in the year against UCONN If Ajayi keeps improving throughout the season, and we may start to talk about him right after the Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon’s of the world.
– The Mountain West was missing two of their best receivers, Devante Davis and Matt Miller. Let’s hope both, especially Davis, can get back on the field soon so they can impress scouts.
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