LAS VEGAS — Marshaun Brown wants the Fremont Cannon painted blue again. Reno has watched UNLV keep it red for four years, but there are 11 games before the Wolf Pack get their next shot. Brown’s prescription for making that trip mean more starts with discipline, work that must survive a new offense and a three-man quarterback competition.
“Just being a disciplined team overall and keying in on the little details,” Brown told The Scarlet Standard during an appearance on Rebel Daily Drive at Mountain West Football Media Days.
“That will ultimately get us to our goal and get us to where we want to be.”
Jeff Choate is entering Year 3 after a 3-10 debut in 2024 and a 3-9 finish in 2025, extending the program’s run to four losing seasons. There has been time to recruit, teach and see where the first attempts fell short. New offensive coordinator Brett Bartolone now has to help turn those lessons into drives that last. Brown wants to be part of the reason those drives keep going.
Brown and offensive lineman Jack Foster know two sides of that problem. Reno needs Brown to become a dependable receiving option. Foster returns from a line that allowed relatively few sacks without seeing that protection turn into a productive passing game.
Brown has given Reno a glimpse. He caught seven passes for 75 yards at New Mexico, both career highs, after scoring his first Wolf Pack touchdown against San Diego State. He finished the year with 16 catches for 164 yards and one touchdown across 10 games and three starts. The Bishop Manogue graduate has had the afternoon that shows what he can do. Reno needs more of them.
Foster is concentrating on the daily work rather than a list of individual goals.
“I’m not really too focused on what I’m going to do this season,” Foster said.
“I’m just focused on being present. I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself. I just want to help the team win.”
That outlook comes from experience inside programs at different stages. Foster started all 12 games for the Wolf Pack in 2025 after spending three seasons at Idaho, where he appeared in 22 games and started all 14 during a 10-4 season that ended in the FCS quarterfinals. The Vandals reached the playoffs in each of his three seasons, giving Foster a reference point for what weekly consistency and a stable program should look like.
Foster spent last season protecting the left side in all 12 games. Across from him, Zach Cochnauer started the 11 games he played, missing one because of injury. Bartolone has two tackles who have already worked through a season together.
Reno allowed 18 sacks last season, fourth fewest in the Mountain West at the end of the regular season. It still averaged only 148.7 passing yards per game. Keeping the quarterback upright did not consistently produce the completions, sustained drives or points the offense needed.
Bartolone’s system is intended to connect those pieces. Brown said learning the new terminology has made the offense simpler, and he expects the change to help the unit improve.
“I feel like it makes it a lot more simple,” Brown said.
“Brett coming in, learning his lingo and what he brings is pretty good. I feel like it’s going to make us excel as an offense.”
The Air Raid label has created attention around the program, but Foster cautioned against assuming the Wolf Pack will abandon the running game or become dependent on throwing the ball every possession.
“I think it’s a great system,” Foster said.
“I guess you could call it Air Raid, but we’re still going to run the ball a lot. We’re going to have to score a lot, so I think we have a very explosive program.”
The running game gives Foster’s caution about the Air Raid a practical basis. Herschel Turner Jr. returns after rushing for 353 yards on 69 carries, an average of 5.1 yards. His 2025 production included a 64-yard run against Middle Tennessee and 77 yards on seven attempts against Boise State. Reno has a back who has already created long gains against conference opponents.
Turner was one of three Wolf Pack ball carriers to reach 300 rushing yards behind that line. Bartolone’s task is to make a defense pay when it crowds that work, then keep the run available when the opponent sends more help toward the receivers.
The quarterback competition will become one of the clearest measurements of whether the rebuild is progressing. Carter Jones enters with the most recent starting experience after appearing in 10 games and starting seven as a freshman. He completed 110 of 171 passes for 1,019 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions, including a 16-for-19, 195-yard performance with two touchdowns in the Wolf Pack’s win over San Jose State.
A.J. Bianco appeared in 10 games with one start last season, completing 27 of 45 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception. UCLA transfer Luke Duncan completed 21 of 34 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in three appearances, including one start, during 2025.
Brown has noticed Jones becoming more vocal in and out of the huddle, even with his job still up for competition.
“He’s becoming more of a vocal leader,” Brown said.
“Making sure he’s able to lead the offense in the huddle and outside the huddle as well, just being there for his teammates. I feel like he’s going to have a big season.”
Brown expects the incoming receivers to contribute both outside and in the slot, giving the offense options alongside him. Asked about his own expectations, he emphasized doing his part each week and carrying the work from practice into games.
“Just being the player that my team needs me to be,” Brown said.
“Doing my job, doing my one-eleventh each and every week. I feel like during practice, that will translate to the game.”
That work continues after practice. Brown said the Wolf Pack hold Friday barbecues after workouts and arrange position-group activities to build relationships among players arriving from different programs.
“Just taking that time to get to know each other and spend time outside of football,” Brown said.
“Learning each other’s personalities and tendencies, and really building that bond beyond football.”
Brown described roster movement as both an opportunity and a challenge. It introduces players to teammates they may never have met otherwise, but it can also separate them shortly after those relationships become meaningful.
“You obviously want to see your brother go and be successful and do what he needs to do to get where he wants to go,” Brown said.
“I keep tabs on everybody that I’ve got relationships with.”
The defense has returning production of its own to support the offense’s transition. Edge player Dylan LaBarbera started all 12 games in 2025, led Reno with 87 tackles and finished with 17 tackles for loss. He earned first-team All-Mountain West recognition and the team’s Chris Ault Award as its most valuable player.
EJ Smith’s 2025 season ended after seven games because of injury. He still made 29 tackles and intercepted two passes. That shorter season leaves a different question from LaBarbera’s: whether Reno can keep its established contributors on the field long enough for their experience to help the new teammates settle into their roles.
Air Force will test the Wolf Pack’s assignment discipline with its option attack, while a trip to North Dakota State will challenge their communication inside one of the conference’s most demanding environments. Brown has heard about the noise inside the Fargodome, and Foster understands the expectations surrounding the Bison after his experience in the FCS.
The finale brings the opponent Reno most wants to beat. UNLV has kept the Fremont Cannon red for four years while contending for Mountain West titles and will try to make it five at Allegiant Stadium.
Brown said returning it to Reno remains one of the Wolf Pack’s central goals.
“It’s big every year,” Brown said. “That’s one of our ultimate goals, to get that Cannon back and paint it blue.”
Brown keeps his attention on the daily work.
“Just making sure each and every day I’m aware of where my feet are,” Brown said.
“Not thinking too much ahead and not thinking about what I did in the past. Just thinking where my feet are and where I need to go for that day.”
The Cannon will be waiting at the end of the schedule. Brown has given the Wolf Pack a place to begin — the practice, assignment and teammate in front of them, before the rivalry gets its turn.
Watch the full Rebel Daily Drive interview with Reno wide receiver Marshaun Brown and offensive lineman Jack Foster: