The Nevada Wolf Pack added the first new player under the new regime of Jay Norvell. The Wolf Pack added quarterback depth when former four-star recruit David Cornwell decided to transfer from Alabama and finish his career in Reno.
Our 1st Commitment is a "Big" one! So proud to welcome graduate transfer QB @DavidCornwell5 from Alabama.Let's Go! #NevadaGrit pic.twitter.com/XBaM1UCEHU
— Jay Norvell (@CoachJayNorvell) January 13, 2017
Cornwell is a graduate transfer and is eligible right away and will have two years of eligibility left.
He is one of many quarterbacks to leave the Crimson Tide once true freshman Jalen Hurts took over the starting job this year. He was in competition for that job in 2016 and also in 2015, but came up short on both attempts.
Nevada already has a starting quarterback in Ty Gangi and he will be a junior next year, and with Cornwel arriving in spring there likely will be a QB battle which could determine the starter for the next two years.
Gangi played well once he took over the starting job when Tyler Stewart suffered a season-ending injury. In four starts, Gangi threw for 1,301 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions; he also ran for 217 yards and three touchdowns.
For Cornwell to make noise in the starting race he needs to learn the offense which will be very different from Alabama as Nevada is going to go with an air-raid style attack. Plus, he has not thrown a competitive pass since 2013.
Cornwell announced he would transfer last month but he stayed with the Crimson Tide through the end of the season which recently concluded by playing in the national title game.
"Some people have asked me if I could do it all over, would I do something different?" Cornwell told AL.com before playing Clemson in the national championship game. "There's no way. We're in our third straight College Football Playoff with a second straight chance at a national title. I wouldn't change anything."
Here is what Cornwell looked like when he was in high school.