UNR Football’s Rebuild Enters a Defining 2026 Season Under Jeff Choate

LAS VEGAS — Marshaun Brown did not point to UNR’s new offense, its incoming transfers or the possibility of reclaiming the Fremont Cannon when asked what must change after another difficult season. He began with discipline, the quality that will determine whether every other part of the rebuild becomes meaningful.

The Wolf Pack enter 2026 after four consecutive losing seasons and back-to-back 3-9 finishes. The program has changed coaches, reconstructed the roster and shown brief signs of progress, but none of those changes have created the consistency required to pull Reno out of its extended downturn.

“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.”

That answer captures the larger question surrounding the Wolf Pack entering Jeff Choate’s third season. The rebuild is no longer in its opening stage. Choate has had time to establish expectations, recruit players who fit the program and evaluate which parts of the roster can become long-term strengths. The Wolf Pack now have to show that the work has created something more substantial than incremental improvement.

Brett Bartolone’s arrival as offensive coordinator is one part of that effort. So are the quarterback competition, the addition of new playmakers and the experience returning along an offensive line that performed better than the offense’s overall production suggested. None of those pieces can carry the rebuild by itself.

Brown and offensive lineman Jack Foster represent two important parts of the process. Brown is entering a season in which the Wolf Pack need him to become a more dependable target and a stronger presence within the receiving room. Foster provides experience along a line that protected the quarterback without seeing that protection consistently become points.

Brown appeared in 10 games with three starts last season and finished with 16 receptions for 164 yards and one touchdown. He showed a larger role could be available when he set career highs with seven catches for 75 yards at New Mexico, but the next step is turning isolated production into something Reno can depend on throughout the season.

Foster is not approaching the season with a public list of statistical or individual goals. He wants to avoid creating unnecessary pressure while focusing on the responsibilities the Wolf Pack need him to handle each day.

“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.

Choate’s program needs him to help establish that consistency in Reno. The Wolf Pack allowed only 18 sacks last season, the fourth-lowest total in the Mountain West, but the passing game remained among the least productive in the conference. Protection existed without consistently becoming explosive plays, extended drives or points.

Bartolone’s system is intended to connect those pieces. Brown said the new terminology has simplified the offense and allowed players to process their responsibilities more quickly, which could help the Wolf Pack play faster and attack more areas of the field.

“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 offense is better understood as one part of Choate’s larger attempt to give the Wolf Pack more ways to win. Reno has spent several seasons operating with little margin for error, allowing one turnover, missed scoring opportunity or defensive breakdown to determine an entire game because the offense was rarely productive enough to recover.

Bartolone’s system could change that dynamic by simplifying decisions and creating more explosive opportunities. It cannot correct penalties, missed assignments or poor communication on its own, which is why Brown returned to discipline before discussing the new offense.

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 brings less game experience but completed 21 of 34 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in two appearances during 2025.

Brown and Foster have nevertheless noticed Jones becoming more vocal and more comfortable taking responsibility inside and outside the huddle. That development matters even with the competition unsettled because the Wolf Pack need stronger leadership throughout the room.

“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.”

Whoever wins the job must communicate what he sees, keep teammates organized and prevent early mistakes from affecting the rest of the offense. A simplified system should allow the starter to play faster, but it does not remove the responsibility of leading when a defense changes the picture or the game moves away from the original plan.

The receiving group must also provide dependable options. Brown believes the Wolf Pack have added players capable of helping immediately, bringing more size and experience into the room while giving Bartolone different types of receivers to use across the formation.

Brown’s role extends beyond improving on last year’s 16 catches. He must help new players understand the system, recognize how the offense responds to coverage changes and establish the preparation required for the unit to operate quickly.

“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.”

Brown represents the production Reno hopes to unlock, while Foster represents the physical and structural foundation required to produce it. Both are also part of a roster that must continue rebuilding its chemistry every offseason.

The transfer portal has made roster reconstruction a permanent part of college football, forcing teams to develop trust among players who may have arrived from different systems and programs only months earlier. Brown said the Wolf Pack have made an intentional effort to build relationships outside football through Friday barbecues after workouts and position-group activities.

“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.”

Those relationships matter because the rebuild depends on players trusting teammates they may have known for only a short period. The quarterback has to believe a receiver will reach the correct area, Foster has to know the lineman beside him will recognize pressure the same way and defenders must trust everyone to maintain an assignment.

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 Wolf Pack cannot control every transfer decision, but they can control how quickly newcomers understand the culture and become part of the program. That process will be tested immediately against a schedule that includes different styles and unfamiliar environments.

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.

Those games will test more than the new offense. They will reveal whether Choate’s team can remain disciplined when the environment becomes difficult and respond when the game moves away from its original plan.

The Wolf Pack have produced encouraging quarters, individual performances and occasional victories during Choate’s first two seasons, but those moments have not become repeatable enough to change the program’s trajectory. The challenge in 2026 is turning isolated progress into something the program can rely on every week.

Bartolone’s offense, better quarterback play and the experience returning along the offensive line can move the rebuild forward, but the program will ultimately be measured by whether those improvements affect the entire team. The Wolf Pack must play complementary football, convert opportunities created by the defense and stop allowing one poor possession to become a larger collapse.

That complete approach will be necessary before Reno reaches the game that still carries the greatest emotional weight. UNLV has kept the Fremont Cannon red for four consecutive years while competing near the top of the Mountain West. After extending the streak in 2025, the Rebels will enter the 2026 finale looking to retain the Cannon for a fifth straight season.

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.”

The Wolf Pack cannot reclaim it through rivalry emotion alone. The work begins with whether they establish an identity during the first 11 games before arriving at Allegiant Stadium for the finale. The Cannon will become a realistic goal only if Choate’s team develops the habits required to compete throughout the season.

Brown’s emphasis on discipline and Foster’s focus on remaining present reveal how the players understand the rebuild. Neither described one dramatic change that will immediately repair the program. They returned instead to daily responsibilities, stronger relationships and the need to avoid becoming distracted by the past or the pressure surrounding the future.

Brown relies on his faith to maintain that perspective.

“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.”

Foster described a similar approach built around trusting God, continuing to work and focusing on what the Wolf Pack need from him in the present. That mindset does not guarantee Reno will complete its turnaround in 2026, but it reflects the patience and consistency required for a rebuild that has already taken longer than anyone inside the program wanted.

Bartolone’s offense gives the Wolf Pack a new mechanism for creating points. The quarterback competition could produce a stronger leader, Brown has an opportunity to expand on the best season of his career and Foster brings experience from an Idaho program that expected to play meaningful postseason football.

Those developments matter, but UNR’s season will not be defined by one coordinator, position or schematic label. It will be defined by whether Choate’s program has finally established enough discipline, leadership and trust to convert progress into victories.

The offense is new, but the larger rebuilding standard is not. The Wolf Pack must prove that the pieces assembled during Choate’s first two seasons are finally capable of moving the entire program forward.

Watch the full Rebel Daily Drive interview with UNR wide receiver Marshaun Brown and offensive lineman Jack Foster: