The Wyoming Cowboys are at a point of fall camp where they are incorporating a lot of full-contact team work and are refining their offensive and defensive systems as they approach their season opener on Oct. 24 at Nevada. This past Saturday, the Cowboys scrimmaged and they followed that up with a full-padded practice on Monday. Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl liked what he saw in Saturday’s scrimmage, particularly from his offensive line, and he shared his observations with media on a Zoom press conference following Monday’s practice.
“We had a full-padded practice today. I thought our tempo was good,” said Bohl. “We certainly came off what I thought was an effective scrimmage on Saturday. It probably was as good as I’ve seen our offensive line perform. We need to leverage that group. The offensive line did a great job with some movement up front. They established the line of scrimmage, and I’m going to attribute that more to our offensive line than any deficiency on defense. I thought our offensive line played well as a unit.”
Other positions that Bohl singled out from the scrimmage included quarterback, wide receiver and the interior defensive line.
“There was good competition at the quarterback spot. It’s real close,” said Bohl. “I probably felt that maybe Sean (Chambers) performed just a little bit better than Levi (Williams), but both guys really did well.
“We limited the number of reps that X (Xazavian Valladay) had at running back. Both he and Chad Muma (at linebacker) didn’t take a lot of reps in the scrimmage but both did some good things. Isaiah Neyor really had some nice catches Saturday. Isaiah was a young receiver last year, but he’s been emerging in practice and he made three or four big time catches. He has a great catch radius, and so we’re pleased with his progress.
“Victor Jones (defensive tackle) did some good things, as well, and we’re pleased with him. “Cole Godbout (nose tackle) has done some good things. We’re not as deep as what we have been there, so we’re going to search for some combinations during the course of this week.
“We’re fairly healthy overall, and we’re going to need to stay that way.”
Bohl also shared with media what he and his staff’s practice plan will be over the next two weeks.
“This week will be a heavy week,” said Bohl. “Next week, we’re going to pull way back as we get ourselves ready to play the (Nevada) Wolf Pack.”
The Cowboys have been missing 31 players the last couple of weeks due to the freshmen being quarantined after some of them tested positive for the Coronavirus. Bohl said he anticipates the freshmen to be incorporated back into practice this coming Thursday. He also said that the mandatory COVID-19 testing of three times a week established by the Mountain West Conference began on Monday.
A position on the Wyoming offense that has a talented group of returning players is the tight end position. Bohl was asked to evaluate what he saw from that group in Saturday’s scrimmage.
“We’ve got a really deep group there,” said Bohl. “Jackson Marcotte has come out and really come back well from his knee surgery, which was an extensive knee surgery. Nate Weinman has done some good things, and Treyton Welch really stepped to the forefront, and we’re pleased with him. I think we’re going to be as deep there with play-makers and with as a diversified group of players as we’ve had since I’ve been our head coach. I think we’ve really got some good weapons there.”
Quotes from Senior Offensive Guard Logan Harris
How have you seen the development of your offensive line group this fall?
“With a limited number of players (due to freshmen being quarantined) the last two weeks, everybody has gotten a lot of reps with a lot of different guys on the O-Line, so everybody is pretty comfortable playing with each other,” said Harris. “I think that showed on Saturday. Coach (Bart) Miller did quite a bit of rotating on Saturday. Some guys had more limited reps and some guys took a lot more like Latrell Bible. I think he is doing a really good job in there for a younger guy.”
How hard has this fall been for you as a senior?
“When they told us in August that we weren’t having a season and then later we found out we were going to have a shortened season, I talked with Coach Miller a little bit about it,” said Harris. “I told him I didn’t want my senior season to be eight games, but then the NCAA came out and said no one would be punished by losing a year of eligibility if they play this year. That was a big thing for me — heck yeah, I get another year of eligibility. It will be nice if everything is back to normal next year, but right now I’m really excited about the season we have this year. But it’s definitely been a roller coaster since March.”
What were your overall impressions from Saturday’s scrimmage, and what have you seen in the play of the quarterbacks?
“We saw a lot of good things,” said Harris. “We protected really well, and we were able to move the line of scrimmage pretty well too.
“I think they (Sean Chambers and Levi Williams) both do a really good job of playing that role of being a leader, and it makes it a lot easier on the rest of us. There is not a whole lot different between them with their play-calling and their styles of calling the cadence. I think Coach (Brent) Vigen does a good job of having the cadence similar and having the plays similar coming out of the huddle. That takes a lot off us so we don’t have to make a total switch when a new quarterback comes in. Both guys are getting reps with the number ones, so we’re comfortable with either.”
Quotes from Sophomore Linebacker Charles Hicks
Where do you see your role on the team this year?
“I definitely see myself starting for this defense,” said Hicks. “I feel like I’ve matured over my time here, and I’ve gained a lot of experience behind all these guys — Cassh (Maluia), Logan (Wilson) and Chad (Muma) — looking at these guys play the past couple years. I think it’s helped me get to where I’m at to be in a position to play this year. I’ve been repping with Chad every practice, so that is what I’m looking at for my role.”
What do you think about having to face the talented group of Wyoming tight ends each day in practice?
“I think we have one of the best tight end corps in the Mountain West,” said Hicks. “Going against them every day is good competition. Obviously, as linebackers we’ve got to guard them, and I think it will help us when we have to go up against other tight ends this season.”
What has been the biggest change for you heading into the season?
“For me personally, it was taking things more seriously — watching more film, studying the playbook more,” said Hicks. “Even though we have a new defensive coordinator a lot of things are similar. Maturing, realizing I had to up my game and understanding the defense better, I think will help me play faster on the field.”
Who are some of the other young linebackers that you see playing well this fall camp?
“Easton (Gibbs) and Shae (Suiaunoa) — I think those two work really hard,” said Hicks. “Easton competes with me and Shae competes with Chad every day at MIKE too. I feel like we have guys in our (linebacker) room who can step up in any situation and play.”