Chase Naccarato adds to Whitworth’s talent-rich receiving corps

Whitworth’s high-octane offense returns all of its receivers this season. The Pirates weren’t looking for another pass catcher, but the program got just that as Chase Naccarato decided to transfer from Montana to return to his hometown to play for the Pirates.

Last year at Montana, the 5-foot-8, 170-pound junior speedster caught 45 passes for 245 yards.

“I left Montana for personal reasons,” said Naccarato, who played high school ball at Mt. Spokane. “My first love was football. I wasn’t ready to be done. I just wanted to come home to finish my career.”

Naccarato joins a deep receiving corps that returns all of its top performers. It also gets the services of Brett Moser, who missed last season as he dealt with cancer.

“We really, really have a very talented and deep receiver corps,” coach Rod Sandberg said. “But with the way we like to throw the ball, we need to bring in a boat load of players every year.”

For Naccarato, 22, he gets to pursue his passion in front of those people he cares about most.

“It’s going to be fun to play in front of my friends and family,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Halfway through training camp, Naccarato had to deal with some nagging injuries. But he said learning Alan Stanfield’s uptempo offense wasn’t a problem at all.

“This is my fourth offense in five years,” he said. “I’m familiar with picking things up. I played at a higher level. I think I bring a lot of experience to the table.”