Reno >> Nevada linebacker and Paradise High product Jordan Dobrich played his last home game on Nov. 14 at Mackay Stadium in Reno.

“As soon as I saw the ball leave Tyler’s (Stewart) hand and glanced at Gip (Jarred Gipson) I had my helmet off and I was running on the field,” Dobrich said.

The 11-yard touchdown from Stewart to Gipson courtesy of a play-action call in overtime led the Wolf Packs to a 37-34 win over San Jose State.

Dobrich, who began his career at Nevada as a simple walk-on after a stellar three-year run as Paradise’s feature running back and starting linebacker under coach Rick Prinz and long-time defensive coordinator Erik King, has since emerged as a leader.

“I was bottom of the barrel (and) a guy that just showed up on the first day of fall camp. No one knew my name, coaches barely knew my name,” said Dobrich, who is currently tops among Wolf Pack active players in career tackles (248). “From there, I had this mentality (that) I was going to work my butt off and see where it was going to take me.”

Dobrich eventually became a three-year captain and starting middle linebacker, as well as a Nevada scholar-athlete up for two national awards in December. The 2011 Paradise grad, who has a 3.85 GPA in mechanical engineering, finds out Dec. 8 if he’s awarded the William V. Campbell trophy from the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class, which would immediately increase his postgraduate scholarship to $25,000.

Moreover, Dobrich is also a finalist for the Brandon Burlsworth honor given to the nation’s best player who began his career as a walk-on. Springdale Rotary Club, based in Springdale, Arkansas, near where the late Burlsworth starred as an All-American offensive lineman at the University of Arkansas, will honor Dobrich and the two other finalists and announce the 2015 winner at a ceremony Dec. 7.

Dobrich, who’ll likely be preparing for his third bowl game as an active participant around that time, said he’s thrilled with how his career has ended at Nevada.

“All that stuff’s icing on the cake,” he said. “We don’t want to look too far to the future, because we look at every week like 1-0.”

Dobrich and Nevada (6-4, 4-2 Mountain West) are in the process of preparing for a final showdown on the road, that will be nationally televised on ESPN2, against conference leader San Diego State (7-3, 6-0) on Nov. 28.

The matchup pits Dobrich against former Paradise teammate Austin Thayer who is currently a backup outside linebacker for Rocky Long and a former All-American at Sierra College (Rocklin).

Against Thayer and the Aztecs, the bulked-up 6-foot-2, 240-pound Dobrich looks to complete what he called an upward climb in college with a victory over perhaps the most balanced team in the Mountain West this year.

“I’m still climbing uphill,” Dobrich said.

Regardless of what happens against San Diego, Nevada coach Brian Polian said his team and the current 12-member senior class will forever be a winner the moment Gipson crossed the end zone last week against San Jose State.

“It was a great way for this class to end their time in Mackay Stadium,” said Polian, the son of ESPN analyst and 2015 NFL Hall of Fame member, Bill Polian.