The Nevada Sagebrush

Junior Corbin Louks transferred to Nevada from the University of Utah and made the move from quarterback to safety. Casey Durkin/Nevada Sagebrush

Nevada safety Corbin Louks wasn’t used to playing defense when he arrived on campus in 2009. He was more used to reading defenses than guarding receivers. Louks played quarterback in high school and at the University of Utah before transferring to Nevada after his sophomore season.

However, when he joined the Wolf Pack, he saw that Nevada’s quarterback position was locked up. Despite this, coaches told Louks the team was in need of some safeties.

So he changed positions and fought for a spot on the opposite side of the ball.

But switching from offense to defense can be difficult. Deciding to switch positions and becoming a potential starter in a year doesn’t come easily.

Louks’ path toward becoming a contributor on the defensive side of the ball wasn’t effortless. Although he admits he had an edge up in terms of being able to read a quarterback pass, it was difficult to learn how to stay with receivers.

“I’m used to throwing the ball to people,” he said. “Then to have to guard the guys — it’s tough. People don’t understand how hard it is to guard man-to-man, especially when they’re so good at disguising their routes.”

Learning the position took time and Louks spent his first season on the practice team without playing time. Fueled by a desire to help the team, he spent the offseason working on improving his skills.

He worked with several players, including safety Duke Williams and cornerback Isaiah Frey, in order to become a more complete player. Louks worked on improving his footwork and learned the ins and outs of the safety position.

“It’s his first year playing safety on defense,” Williams said. “But he’s a smart player. He knows the game. I’m just showing him the little things about the game.”

Now one year after his move to his new position, Louks (who is slated as a starter at safety) is looking to make his mark on the defense.

After training almost every day in the offseason, his work ethic is serving as an example for other teammates and he is now working his way into competing for the starting safety spot.

“Corbin is a lunch pail guy,” defensive coordinator Andy Buh said. “He brings his lunch pail every day and we like him because of that. He’s a worker and he brings that kind of impact to our defense.”

While Louks worked himself into the defensive rotation, he is far from done. Although he’s finally getting down the basics, Louks said he hopes to become a more complete safety. He may be new to the position, but he expects to become one of the defense’s leading playmakers.

“I want to be a consistent tackler and be a playmaker,” Louks said. “I want to help the defense get the ball back for the offense and make sure no big plays happen.”

Both Louks and Williams hope to help a secondary that struggled against the pass last season.

The passing defense gave up almost 300 yards a game and was ranked second-to-last in the nation. After two years of having a bad pass defense, the duo is looking to help the team improve.

Safety Corbin Louks played quarterback in high school and at the University of Utah before transferring to Nevada.

Louks was on the scout team in 2009 but is competing for the starting job.

Louks worked with safety Duke Williams and cornerback Isaiah Frey to learn the saftey position.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at leggen@nevadasagebrush.com.

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