Chris Murray

cmurray@rgj.com

As a quarterback, David Cornwell is off limits from being hit during Nevada’s spring practices.

Instead of wearing white jerseys like the rest of the offense or blue like the entire defense, Cornwell and the other Wolf Pack quarterbacks don black non-contact jerseys. They’re precious commodities.

But Cornwell, a ballyhooed transfer from Alabama and the first recruit to commit to Nevada after Jay Norvell was hired as the team’s coach in December, wouldn’t mind shedding his black jersey for a white one.

“I’m sick of being tapped on the back and being called for a sack,” Cornwell said with a smile. “I do want to get hit. I’d like to get hit. Maybe I can persuade the coaches to make me live in one of the scrimmages.”

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It’s been a long while since Cornwell had taken a good thumping, which is one of the reasons he transferred from college football’s crown jewel program to the Wolf Pack between semesters.

The last time Cornwell played a full season was 2012 when he was a junior in high school. His senior season was cut short by a torn ACL and he served as a backup at Alabama the last three seasons after never quite being able to win the Crimson Tide’s starting job.

When Cornwell decided to transfer – a decision he described as difficult but also fairly obvious – Norvell was among the first coaches to call him. Cornwell was having dinner with his family when his phone rang.

“Coach Norvell was very persuasive,” Cornwell said. “He hit me up from the start and he really put all of his chips in. He didn’t hold back. He said, ‘I want you. We want you to come compete for the job.’ That really spoke to me. It wasn’t just another offer. It was, ‘Come in here and compete.’ When he told me about the Air Raid offense, they’re going to give the keys to the quarterback, so I was really excited.”

Cornwell’s skill set, which has major college programs competing for his services out of high school, also has Wolf Pack fans salivating at his potential in Nevada’s new-pass first offense. The 6-foot-5, 228-pounder has NFL size, a rocket arm, displays excellent footwork in the pocket and the intellect to match (he graduated from Alabama in three seasons, which makes him eligible to play for Nevada this year as a grad transfer).

What the 22-year-old Cornwell doesn’t have yet is the Wolf Pack’s starting quarterback job.

He’s battling with incumbent starter Ty Gangi and dark horse Hunter Fralick for that position this spring. Gangi might not have the raw measurables of Cornwell but he showed last season he’s a gamer who can lead a team. In Nevada’s final five games, Gangi accounted for 275 yards per game and 11 touchdowns while guiding the team to 31.2 ppg (it averaged 20.9 ppg before he became the team’s quarterback).

Gangi took the first-team reps during Nevada’s first spring practice Monday and generally looked a little sharper than Cornwell, but that was the first of 15 practices the Wolf Pack gets before entering fall camp in August. Nevada offensive coordinator Matt Mumme, who also serves as the team’s quarterbacks coach, said he would like to have a starter named by the end of spring. Cornwell wants to be that guy.

“My goal this year is to be a great leader,” said Cornwell, who picked Alabama over Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Auburn and Miami, among others. “Stats will take care of itself. First off, it’s focusing on spring. There’s a great quarterback competition going on here, and I don’t think people recognize that. Ty is a great quarterback. Hunter is a great quarterback. We have a great group that’s going at each other in this Air Raid offense. Nothing is given. I’m going out to win the job here and I’ll focus on fall when it gets here.”

Cornwell has had a well-traveled playing career. He grew up in Cornhuskers territory in Omaha, Neb., and played two seasons of high school ball there. His family moved to Florida for Cornwell’s junior season and while he loved Southern living he never played high school ball in The Sunshine State, skipping that year to be with his ailing mother, who was suffering from a serious thyroid condition.

The following year, the family moved to Oklahoma, where Cornwell starred for Jones High, accounting for 3,497 yards and 33 scores. Given an extra year of eligibility because he sat out a season to help his sick mother, Cornwell played for Norman North as a senior, tearing his ACL five games into the season.

His circuitous route to Reno – he’s been at four high schools and two colleges since 2010 – has Norvell comparing Cornwell to Peyton Manning, who Cornwell grew up idolizing after attending the Manning Passing Academy in middle school. Norvell was an assistant with the Colts during Manning’s time there.

“He’s a big ole dude,” Norvell said of Cornwell. “He’s a big quarterback. You can’t coach stature. I was with Peyton Manning for four years and he just had the best seat in the house. He’s 6-5 looking down on top of the lineman. It helps you see the field. He has a great release, he’s a very smart guy and we’re excited about working with him and helping him and we’re excited about working with Ty, too.”

Norvell said there’s no leader for the quarterback job and he brought in Cornwell as well as freshman quarterback Kaymen Cureton, who will arrive in the fall, to increase the competition at the position, which will include six scholarship players once Curteon arrives. None were as decorated in high school as Cornwell, who was an All-American and four-star recruit who ranked among the top-75 prospects in the nation.

After winning a national championship and reaching a second title game at Alabama, Cornwell is determined to get on the field with the Wolf Pack and excited for his journey in Reno. After his first conversation with Norvell, Cornwell did some quick research on Reno.

“I Googled Reno quick and saw Lake Tahoe and saw the mountains and a beautiful campus,” Cornwell said. “I didn’t want to be in a desolate wasteland. It’s cool to be out here in the West Coast and it's a little different, but I’m adjusting well and I really like it out here.”

Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at cmurray@rgj.com or follow him on Twitter @MurrayRGJ.

THE FILE ON DAVID CORNWELL

Born: Oct. 20, 1994

Class: Junior

Position: Quarterback

Height/weight: 6-5/228

Hometown: Jones, Okla.

Last school: Alabama

High school: Selected to play in the 2014 Under Armour All-American Game ... Consensus four-star recruit and the top player in Oklahoma ... No. 57 in the ESPN300 and the No. 4 pocket passer ... Threw for 2,742 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior while rushing for 755 yards and six scores ... Senior season cut short by a torn ACL ... chose Alabama over Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Auburn and Miami.

College: Early enrollee who arrived on campus at Alabama in January of 2014 to participate in spring practice … Appeared in two games but did not attempt a pass … Member of Alabama’s 2015 national championship team … Member of Alabama’s 2016 national runner-up team.