Wolf Pack fans have reached a much-needed bye week after a rough 1-3 start to the season (yes, saying a “much-needed bye week” after only four games is pretty sad, but that’s where we’re at now.)
In the
midst of a wild non-conference schedule, head coach Jeff Choate is playing hot potato with his quarterback room. Chubba Purdy got the first two starts of the season, going 1-1 against Penn State and Sacramento State. Then, Choate changed it up against Middle Tennessee, giving both Purdy and AJ Bianco starting reps.
Nevada went back to Purdy against Western Kentucky, but it clearly didn’t work. Choate said before the season that he didn’t want to play musical chairs at the QB position, yet there seems to be no clear answer at the most vital position in football.
So what’s going on? Are both Purdy and Bianco really that bad? Is there something deeper? Whatever it is, Nevada has a free week to regroup, but conference play starts soon, so something has to give.
The case for/against Purdy
The future of the QB room for Nevada looked bleak at the start of last year’s offseason. Brendon Lewis was one foot out the door and soon committed to Memphis (where he’s now 4-0 to start this season.) Purdy, who was part of Nevada’s squad last year, also initially committed to leaving the Pack.
Nevada Sports Net reported that Purdy entered the transfer portal when he thought Lewis would stay, and said if he didn’t receive any interest, he’d retire. But Lewis left, and Choate travelled to Purdy’s home in Arizona to convince him to come back.
Purdy slept on it, but he came back.
Nothing has come easily or consistently for Purdy through his collegiate career. In six seasons, Purdy has had six surgeries and has bounced around from Florida State, Nebraska and Nevada. The most games he’s played in during a season are seven. He hadn’t thrown more than 57 passes until this season (he currently sits at 73.)
The 2025 season was supposed to finally be his moment. The starting job was his, and Choate kept it short and simple when asked before the season if Nevada would use multiple quarterbacks.
“No.”
He also shared his confidence in Purdy’s ability to take Nevada all the way.
“He knows he’s got to compete every day and he’s gotta produce,” Choate told NSN. “But I’m not into playing musical chairs at that position. I think you gotta ride with the guy that got you there, and I feel like he can help us win a championship.”
Yet we are now four games into the season and that commitment seemed to have died out after game two. After the 14-13 loss to Middle Tennessee, Choate said he split reps at the position because of how Purdy felt following the previous game against Sac State.
“I mean, a lot of that had to do with what I felt like was Chubba’s, for lack of a better term, inability to kind of calm down as the game went on last week,” Choate said of why Bianco and Purdy split reps. “We knew we were going to play both of the guys in this game. Both of them had big pieces of the game plan, and the the decision was more about trying to help Chubba kind of come calm down a little bit and get into the flow of the game.”
No offense thrown toward Purdy, Bianco or Choate, but if you’re going to be a starting quarterback, then you have to carry the pressure of being a starting quarterback. Sac State is an FCS program that did not look good in that slim 20-17 victory for Nevada.
And if Choate knew the plan was to play both quarterbacks, why was it stressed at the beginning of the season that there’d be no such thing? I understand things change and game plans are adjusted (we saw Lewis and Purdy share some reps last season), but there was also no question that Lewis was QB1.
Is it fair to say Choate wanted to change it up to wake up the offense, especially the passing game? Absolutely. Purdy is 40-73 with 494 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions. He’s averaging 6.8 yards through the air with that 54.8 percent completion percentage.
His rush attack has been another story, for better or for worse. He leads Nevada with 276 rush yards on 56 carries and two touchdowns. He’s averaging nearly 70 yards a game on the ground, which has opened up a lot of explosive plays for him.
But given his lengthy injury history, it isn’t, nor should it be, sustainable. The last thing anyone wants to see is Purdy go down with another injury because he has 20-plus carries a game on the ground. This isn’t the Baltimore Ravens, it’s the Nevada Wolf Pack, and their weapons are barely being used through the air.
Purdy’s QBR this season would tell you he’s flat-out not good. Sitting at 26.3, he ranks 125 out of 135 eligible quarterbacks. The passing game simply isn’t there and Nevada can’t afford to have Purdy run the ball the entire time.
It’s not like the talent isn’t there, however. While at Perry High School in Arizona, Purdy threw for over 6,800 yards, 69 touchdowns and rushed for over 2,000 yards. This is the same player who, as a true freshman, went 15-of-23 for 181 yards and two touchdowns against North Carolina State, then closed out the 2023 season by completing 30-of-52 passes for 358 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 147 yards and three scores in back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Iowa.
The case for/against Bianco
The 6’3 junior from Hawaii has spent all three seasons with Nevada and has gotten decent starting time. For his career, Bianco is 74-129 with 893 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions in 13 games. He’s been given a few spot starts, but ultimately has sat behind Lewis and Purdy.
Bianco was ranked the ninth-best quarterback prospect when he was at St. Louis High School in Hawaii. He was scouted for having a great arm and the dual threat ability, and our very own Mike Wittmann had this to say about Bianco out of high school:
“AJ was once a Hawaii commit but the new Nevada staff was able to convince him to flip once the previous Rainbow Warrior staff was let go. He is a gamer with a huge arm and no fear when he attempts a pass. Bianco keeps his eyes downfield consistently and displays steady accuracy. He is mobile in the pocket and is able to throw well on the run. AJ is a talented quarterback and is seen by many as the QB of the future for the Wolf Pack.”
In high school, Bianco passed for around 2,660 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 10 games. He also rushed for 490 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He’s no Purdy, however, when it comes to the run game. The turnovers also aren’t a great look (the six career interceptions mentioned above to pair with six passing touchdowns) and has never been given the full reigns to the QB1 position.
That Middle Tennessee game was very odd, and not just because Nevada blew a 13-0 lead in the final six minutes of the game. Bianco played all but two plays in the first half and then also started the third quarter before he was intercepted in the end zone on the third play after halftime. Purdy tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass and ran for seven yards on his lone two plays in the first half. He then played the final five Pack drives of the second half.
Bianco went 9-17 passes for 78 yards with one interception and was sacked twice. He added an eight-yard run, but his other three rushing attempts resulted in a combined loss of nine yards. Purdy, meanwhile, went 5-7 through the air for 88 yards, throwing one touchdown and one interception while taking one sack. He also carried the ball nine times for 46 rushing yards.
What’s the answer?
If Purdy’s nerves were too high after the Sac State game, then I won’t argue with Choate’s comments on that. But, at what point do you look and say, ‘this much non-commitment hurts their confidence?’ If you can’t be an unquestioned starter for a football team that has now lost 34 of its last 42 games, well, it has to make you a bit discouraged.
Does the coaching staff still fully trust Purdy? And when he’s on the field, is he just one bad throw away from being sent back to the sideline?
Then there’s the impact on the quarterbacks themselves. Saturday’s back-and-forth between Purdy and Bianco created the “musical chairs” situation Choate wanted to avoid, leaving both players unsure of where they stand. That kind of uncertainty can lead to hesitation and anxiety, two quarterbacks constantly looking over their shoulders instead of playing freely and confidently.
I understand what Choate is trying to do, but I worry that this much uncertainty so early on could dig a hole rather than propel upward.
Although Purdy had the whole game against Western Kentucky, Choate said before that game that the multi-quarterback idea could stick around.
“I think who we’re gonna be for a while is, ‘Hey, how’s Chubba playing? How’s his psyche?'” Choate said. “I wanna be protective of that because I see him as our long-term answer. That’s why he was named the starter at the beginning of the year. But AJ’s gotta have a role, and so does Carter (Jones). Carter brings some things to the table, too. Part of us finding out who we are and what our identity is, leaning into the strengths of those quarterbacks when you don’t have a veteran quarterback at that position. Even though those guys are older, they haven’t played a ton of football. It takes a while for those guys to find their rhythm.”
Carter Jones, a true freshman, could genuinely become option C for Nevada if both Purdy and Bianco fail to help elevate Nevada’s offense. Nevada had Jones on the field for a few plays as a decoy against Middle Tennessee, and Choate mentioned wanting to see what he has to offer.
As a true freshman, though, Nevada has to be cautious if it wants to retain his redshirt status. He already burned through one of his four games allowed before the redshirt is gone, so if Choate turns the page to Jones, he has to be absolutely certain that it’ll be in the best interest for this season.
Jones is a great athlete, but isn’t a big rush guy, so we’d see a more traditional pass attack as compared to Nevada’s current QB situation.
You can argue that Purdy’s ability to run opens up the offense, and there hasn’t been enough separation in the passing game to separate him and Bianco from each other. But Nevada is 1-3 and isn’t currently favored in any of its remaining games.
Purdy is out of eligibility after this season. Bianco will be a senior next year and who knows if he decides to stay after all of this. The QB situation is a current problem, and dealing with it midseason is even worse. I’m not sure what Choate has up his sleeve and what we’ll be saying when this season is over, but Wolf Pack fans can agree that this is more than unideal and something has to give.
