Jay Norvell to coach against UW with heavy heart

LARAMIE -- Jay Norvell is expected to be on the Nevada sideline Saturday when Wyoming comes to town for the season opener.

It will be with a heavy heart.

And unfortunately, this is not a new situation for the head coach of the Wolf Pack.

Norvell lost his father, Merritt Norvell, on Monday. His mother, Cynthia Norvell, passed away before the 2019 season.

"Deeply saddened this morning to get to work … Jay called me into his office and told me the bad news about his father passing away," Nevada offensive coordinator Matt Mumme told the media on Monday. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family, his brother. We held a moment of silence when I told the team this morning, and then we prayed at the end of practice."

Merritt Norvell was one of the first black athletic directors in college football history when he stepped into that role at Michigan State in 1995. While in East Lansing, Norvell led a sports department that featured names like Nick Saban and Tom Izzo.

"We were definitely feeling for him," senior linebacker Lawson Hall said Monday. "We all said that we were going to try to play our best game for him, because we know that’s what he would want. Instead of us (being) down for him, he would want us to go out and play for him and play our best game; the best game we can play."