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Bo Cassel, a former Nevada Union player, will play football for the University of Nevada, Reno.
The Union file photo
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Wolf Pack welcomes former NU tight end
By Brian Hamilton, brianh@theunion.com
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12:01 a.m. PT Mar 24, 2008
Bo Cassel knew where he wanted to be all along, but the former standout tight end for the Nevada Union football team took somewhat of a detour to get there.
But the 2005 NU grad says he likely wouldn't have been ready to play Division I football for the University of Nevada, had he not first hit the field for Butte Community College. Fresh off a weekend trip to watch the Wolf Pack scrimmage on Saturday, Cassel can't wait to get things in gear with summer workouts.
"Watching (Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick) throw, I just got excited and asked my coach if I could get my cleats and get out there with them," Cassel said, adding that he was allowed to snag a few catches on the sideline instead. "I always thought I could be a Division I player. It's just that I developed late."
Indeed he did. As a senior at NU, Cassel was a 6-foot, 3-inch, 200-pound tight end. As a sophomore at Butte College, Cassel is a 6-foot, 5-inch, 245-pound tight end.
He said he knew he'd likely continue to grow, considering his brothers are also big boys. Coleman, who played at Sierra College and UNR, stands 6 feet, 4 inches and weighs 285 pounds. Brent is 6-4, 240.
"If I'd gone straight to (the Division I level), I'd gotten killed," Cassel said with a short laugh. "Not only am I stronger, but I wasn't used to things like coaches cussing at you, because we didn't have that (at Nevada Union.) It (college) is just a different atmosphere.
"You know, your mom's not around anymore."
This fall he hopes to hit the field as soon as possible to once again prove himself worthy of playing time to a new coaching staff, the same thing he did at both Nevada Union and Butte.
Now, lining up in Nevada coach Chris Ault's "pistol" offense, he's hoping to get more opportunities to showcase his hands, which Cassel said are his best tools as a tight end.
Oddly enough, his final season at both previous stops produced similar statistics.
At NU, he caught 10 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. Last fall at Butte, he caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown.
"We liked to pound the football down their throat, just like at NU," Cassel said of Butte's offensive scheme.
As a member of the Wolf Pack, which has posted 23-15 record and three bowl bids over the past three seasons, Cassel will join Bear River grad Kevin Grimes as a member of the team. Cassel said he recently met Grimes, a sophomore safety who had an interception in Saturday's scrimmage.
He'll also run into former NU teammates through the course of his regular season schedule, with NU grads James Brindley, Brennan McFadden and Chris Ulinski playing in the same conference at Utah State, as well as former Miner Andrew Jackson, a starting guard at Fresno State.
Also on the docket is a trip to the University of Notre Dame for the 2009 season opener, which will pit him against another former Miner in 2007 grad Taylor Dever.
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To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.
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