I'll have a post on fall camp within the next few days, but for now a couple links of interest.
Coach Ault tells media an indoor facility is coming within 5 years.
It's no secret the Wolf Pack desire an indoor practice facility, and being the only cold-weather school in the MWC not to have one puts pressure on them in recruiting. The school seems to be starting to aggressively pursue one. The article gives some clues as to what the school is envisioning with the project:
The athletic department, with the backing of the university, has put the construction of an indoor practice facility high on the list of priorities. The facility would be able to house all sports, not just football. It also would be used by the student body for intramurals and be available to the community.
So it sounds like its will be built with a community and school-wide usage in mind, which helps justify the cost to the school better. Speaking of cost, the estimate on the project is $12-$18 million, a large portion of which will need to come via donation.
Brandon Wimberly to make good on promise of comeback in '12-'13.
The Brandon Wimberly story was well detailed here when it broke, and though there were doubts he would be able to return to the field Brandon is set to do just that for the 2012-2013 season. Really cool article here about his journey back and the attitude he kept through the whole thing. It's lengthy and well worth a full read, but I'll post a few of the more poignant parts after the jump for those with short attention spans like myself.
These are all some pretty cool looks at the kind of guy Wimberly is. He's seen struggle yet kept a positive attitude throughout. Pretty neat guy to have on any football team.
On the experience overall:
"It made me value life a little more," Wimberly said. "I wouldn’t say it made me value football more. I know at some point football will be over. It ends for everybody. I just didn’t want it to end that soon. But it changed the way people viewed you. It brought my family a lot closer. It sucks to say that it takes something like that, but it did. It made me build stronger relationships with my teammates, my coaches, people in the community. It wasn’t all bad. There was some good that came out of this."
On whether he ever thought he'd never play football again:
"Not one time did I think football was over for me," Wimberly said. "I couldn’t give up on my team. They didn’t give up on me. They kept showing up, they kept visiting, they kept me in good spirits. The coaches never said, ‘Well, Wim we don’t know if you’re going to play.’ It was never that. It was always, ‘You better be ready. When the time comes and you’re back healthy, you better be ready to go.’"
On why he chose Nevada as his college:
Part of the reason the 23-year-old Wimberly wanted to play for Nevada was because Reno was safer than Southern California. So, when Wimberly got shot – which happened shortly after a group of Wolf Pack players got in a fight with a second group near the Freight House District – in a city he viewed as his safe haven, he was shocked. "I didn’t think it would happen in Reno," Wimberly said. "There are so many drive-by shootings where I’m from and people get hit all the time. I’m not going to say I always imagined myself getting shot because nobody thinks like that. But for it to happen in Reno blew my mind. In L.A., people get shot every day and it’s not that much of a big deal. Since it happened in Reno, it was that much bigger."
On his leadership role with the team:
"His work ethic separates him," Baumgartner said. "Kids watch him and he’s not going to be denied. He’s going to find a way to get it done or catch a ball or make a play for the team. He’ll be vocal at times, but it’s more about a leader by example and finding a way to get it done. It’s his mental toughness." Said quarterback Cody Fajardo: "When he speaks, everybody listens and that’s a good thing to have in the locker room. When you have a bunch of guys talking who really haven’t established themselves as players, guys don’t listen. When Wimberly speaks, guys listen."
And in closing:
Wimberly, who already has his college degree, said his experiences at Nevada has made him stronger. He said he wouldn’t change anything that’s happened during his time in Reno. And when he steps on the field at Cal’s Memorial Stadium for Nevada’s season opener on Sept. 1, he’ll fell like he’s back home on the football field. A lot of things have changed since he last played a game, but his love of football has been unaltered.
Good luck Wim, we'll be watching.