UW fall camp — Day 5

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Robert Gagliardi

Wyoming had its first practice of fall camp in full pads Friday, and third-year coach Craig Bohl liked what he saw — especially from the offense.

Here’s what he said after practice.

If you listened to the entire video you heard Bohl talk about some “soft tissue” issues for UW senior wide receiver Tanner Gentry and sophomore free safety Andrew Wingard. Both have hamstring strains, as does junior cornerback Robert Priester. All three injuries don’t appear to be serious, but hamstrings can be tricky injuries to come back from. UW is being cautious with those three guys. While any kind of injuries are never good, at least through five days of camp UW hasn’t had to deal with any concussions or season-ending injuries.

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Cowboys begin final week of fall camp

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Robert Gagliardi

Wyoming first practice of the final week of fall camp was Monday morning in War Memorial Stadium. The Cowboys will practice twice Monday, with the second one at 3:50 p.m.

Monday is the 14th straight day UW has practiced since the start of fall camp, and Monday afternoon’s work out will be its 20th.

Shaun Wick

The Cowboys had their full collection of running backs. Senior Shaun Wick (concussion), sophomore Josh Tapscott (illness) and redshirt freshman Nico Evans (hamstring) all practiced, as did sophomore Brian Hill, who didn’t play in last Saturday’s scrimmage due to a tight hamstring.

Here are some highlights from the early portions of practice.

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Notes, quotes and video from UW’s first scrimmage of fall camp

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Robert Gagliardi

Normally after Wyoming games I like to post some of my thoughts. Well, it’s kind of hard to post any thoughts from the Cowboys’ 41-play scrimmage Saturday since it was closed to the public and media.

So, I will let second-year coach Craig Bohl tell you what he saw:

No official stats were kept, but I can report that redshirt senior starting quarterback Cameron Coffman was 6 of 9 for 76 yards, and sophomore backup Josh Allen was 5 of 6 for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Allen threw a 20-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman tight end Tyree Mayfield, and a 6-yarder to true freshman tight end Josh Harshman of Casper.

Tyree Mayfield

Coffman hit Mayfield for a 23-yard pass that set up a 3-yard touchdown run by true freshman running back Kellen Overstreet, who finished with 10 carries for 46 yards.

Mayfield also blocked a punt, and he said he expects to not only play a lot this season at tight end but also on several of UW’s special teams.

Here’s what offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brent Vigen said after the scrimmage: “Cam continues to be steady,and also is making plays. He handled himself well. Josh continues to progress. We’re excited to get Cam in a game.”

Vigen also said Coffman remains the starter by a wide margin, followed by Allen and redshirt freshman Nick Smith.

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Some final UW spring football notes, quotes and video

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Robert Gagliardi

Some observations and quotes from Wyoming’s spring football game Saturday in Laramie.

–The hit of the game came in the first half when redshirt freshman free safety Chavez Pownell Jr. drilled junior wide receiver Tanner Gentry over the middle. Pownell was penalized for targeting, which could lead to an ejection in a real game. As a learning lesson, UW coach Craig Bohl had Pownell sit the rest of the game.

Tanner Gentry

“I looked up for the ball and he made a really good hit,” Gentry said. “He put his helmet right in my chest. It didn’t feel too good, but he made a good play on the ball and it was a good hit. There was nothing dirty about it.”

Gentry was shaken up on the play, but he came back and played the second half. He led the Gold team with five catches for 62 yards.

Added Pownell: “The quarterback was looking down Tanner, I knew the post was coming so I ended up breaking on the play and it was just football after that. We did all this hard work during the spring and winter conditioning so I just wanted to play.”

–Gentry was one of only three wide receivers who caught passes in the spring game for either team. Junior Jake Maulhardt sat out with a sprained shoulder. “I feel like we have a lot of work to do, for sure,” Gentry said. “We definitely have to get better. I feel like we progressed pretty well this spring. We have to have a great summer.”

UW has four true freshmen receivers that join the team this summer.

Here is Bohl talking with the media after the spring game.

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3 things to watch for UW’s first spring scrimmage Saturday

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Robert Gagliardi

Wyoming first scrimmage of spring drills is at 11 a.m. Saturday. Unfortunately, it is closed to the public and media so getting a good perspective from it will be based off the statistics afterwards,and what the coaches and players say.

But when those stats come out, here are three things you should look for.

Cameron Coffman

1. Quarterback reps: Earlier this week offensive coordinator Brent Vigen said senior Cameron Coffman is the front-runner to be the starter. Not a surprise there. Not only will it be interesting to see his stats, but how many reps/throws will the other four quarterbacks get? One would think the best of the other four quarterbacks will remain in the mix to compete with Coffman and solidifying their names on the depth chart moving forward. But if we see most quarterbacks get, for instance, 20 throws and one or two get five, one would assume they lower down in the pecking order right now.

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A look at position battles for UW heading into fall camp

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Robert Gagliardi

Fall camp begins Monday for Wyoming football, and a lot needs to be figured out prior to the season-opener Aug. 30 against Montana.

But in terms of position battles, things likely will be relatively quiet.

UW’s depth chart prior to fall camp lists three positions that are “or” in terms of the starter. But no matter who the starter is, let’s make one thing clear: both guys at those positions will play — and need to play. All three are on defense, which is dangerously thin in terms od depth to begin with.

With that said, here is a breakdown of those three spots and who will likely end up as the starter.

Middle linebacker

Candidates: Jordan Stanton, Sr., 6-0, 246; Alex Borgs, Sr., 6-2, 229.

Jordan Stanton

Who will start: Stanton, because he led the team in tackles last season — his first at UW after transferring from junior college — with 134. He also was tied for second with 10 tackles for loss and led the team with two interceptions. He simply is productive, which is what you want from your middle linebacker. Borgs has six career tackles in three seasons. However, he has a want-to that many coaches would like to see from all their players. Borgs is from Germany and has had to deal with numerous defensive schemes and changes over his career. If he picks up where he left off from spring drills, he will be a good backup behind Stanton and can give UW some quality snaps. It is vital that Borgs can, even in a backup role, so Stanton is not on the field so much.

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Thoughts of UW football depth chart entering fall camp

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Robert Gagliardi

Wyoming released its football depth chart prior to the start of fall camp, which begins Monday.

There wasn’t much change from this depth chart compared to the one that was released in April after spring drills.

Dominic Rufran

Senior receiver Dominic Rufran was listed in the most updated depth chart as the starter at one of the two receiver spots. Rufran missed spring drills recovering from a broken foot suffered during winter workouts, and was not listed on the depth chart coming out of spring. But as the team’s leading returning receiver, and with a chance to be among the top five all-time at UW in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns with a solid season in 2014, it is no surprise Rufran is a starter.

There is only one fullback listed in redshirt freshman Drew Van Maanen. Sophomore Brandon Lukenbill, a walk-on, did not return after school ended in May. First-year coach Craig Bohl said some true freshmen walk-ons will get looks at full back in fall camp.

Speaking of true freshmen, none of those guys that came in this summer are listed on the latest depth chart. How many will make it into the two-deep by the time UW hosts Montana Aug. 30 will be interesting.

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