Nevada QB Carson Strong entering 2022 NFL draft

Nevada QB Carson Strong is officially entering the 2022 NFL draft.

The junior announced Tuesday night that he would be heading to the NFL. The 6-foot-4 QB could be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the draft.

"It is my hope over these next few months that there is at least one NFL team that believes in me the same way that coach [Jay] Norvell, coach [Matt] Mumme and the entire Nevada coaching staff did back in 2018," Strong wrote.

While Strong didn't explicitly say that he will be skipping Nevada's Dec. 27 Quick Lane Bowl matchup with Western Michigan, it's highly unlikely he'll play in the game given the timing of his announcement. The Wolf Pack are already without Norvell for the game after he became Colorado State's new coach. Former Oregon co-defensive coordinator and longtime Nevada assistant Ken Wilson has been named the team's new head coach.

Strong is a three-year starter for the Wolf Pack. He was 367-of-523 passing for 4,186 yards with 36 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2021. He averaged eight yards an attempt in 2021 and his completion percentage has increased in each season as a starter.

Nevada finished the season 8-4 and beat Cal to open the season. The Wolf Pack lost by 21 to Kansas State in Week 3, however, in a game that was one of Strong’s worst of the season.

Strong threw for multiple touchdowns in nine of Nevada’s 12 games of the season. He ended the season with 11 TDs and one interception in Nevada’s final three games of the season, though two of those games were losses to San Diego State and Air Force.

While things have changed over the course of the second half of the college football season, Yahoo Sports NFL draft analyst Eric Edholm mentioned Strong as a potential late first-round pick in his October mock draft. Strong could be a consideration for teams at the back of the first round or early on the second day at the draft if he has strong workouts throughout the draft process.