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2008 CFN Wyoming Preview |
2008 Wyoming
Offense
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2008 Wyoming
Defense |
2008 Wyoming Depth
Chart
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2007 CFN Wyoming Preview |
2006 CFN Wyoming
Preview
What you need to know:
For the third straight year, the
Cowboy defense started strong and died at the end, no thanks to
the offense. There are excellent pieces to work with this season
starting up front with a fantastic threesome for the 3-4. John
Fletcher and Mitch Unrein are tackle-sized ends who should be
among the most disruptive in the Mountain West, and each has
next level potential. The secondary should be great with corner
Marcell Gipson back after missing all of last year due to
personal reasons. Big tackling Ward Dobbs leads a decent group
of linebackers that'll make or break the defense.
Star of the defense: Junior DT John Fletcher Player who has to step up and become a star: Redshirt
freshman LB Gabe Knapton Unsung star on the rise: Sophomore CB Marcell Gipson Best pro prospect: Fletcher Top three all-star candidates: 1) Fletcher, 2) DE Mitch
Unrein, 3) LB Ward Dobbs Strength of the defense: Line, defensive backs Weakness of the defense:
Linebackers other than Dobbs,
takeaways
Defensive Line
Projected Starters: The young line found its star last
season in John Fletcher, a 6-6, 280-pound tackle who plays like
an end. Not only did the junior clog up the inside making 60 tackles,
but he was an unstoppable pass rushing force with 10.5 sacks and 14
tackles for loss on his way to second team All-Mountain West honors.
He's the perfect fit for the 3-4 defense as he plays like a tweener
end/tackle, and he should blossom on a national stage as the pro scouts
start to take notice of his quickness and non-stop motor.
Also shining on the inside is 6-0, 301-pound junior Fred Givens
after anchoring the defense with 45 tackles, a sack, and four tackles
for loss. He's a textbook nose tackle with a great base and excellent
leverage, and he's too quick for most offensive linemen. He doesn't get
much in the way of attention with all the talent around him, but he's
the one everyone works around.
More of a tackle than an end, 6-4, 270-pound junior Mitch Unrein
is coming off a good season making 55 tackles and five sacks with 11
tackles for loss. Now he's about to go nuclear. The star of the last two
spring sessions, he turned out to be more than just a practice player as
he earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors as he cleaned up on
the other side of Fletcher. While Fletcher's better, Unrein isn't a
second fiddle; he's a burgeoning star on his own.
Projected Top Reserves: While he'll have a hard
time seeing much of the field playing behind Fletcher, 6-3, 248-pound
senior Danny Dutmer is a good, quick reserve who can fill in
where needed anywhere on the line. He only made nine tackles last
season, but he's a reliable veteran.
Working in the middle along with Givens is the combination of senior
Rob Hollway and redshirt freshman Marcus Felker. The 6-4,
267-pound Hollway made three tackles and a tackle for loss in a limited
role, and while he's only 6-4 and 267 pounds, he's quick on the nose.
The 6-1, 310-pound Felker provides the bulk and the potential. A quick,
big body who might be too good to keep off the field for long, he'll be
a part of the rotation early on.
6-3, 259-pound junior Mike Neuhaus was a key backup making 16
tackles and 3.5 sacks. He played his biggest role in the win over UNLV
with two sacks and three tackles, and now he's going to get more work
playing behind Unrein.
Watch Out For ... the hype machine to start.
Unrein and Fletcher are well-known commodities by the Mountain West
coaches, but are complete strangers to the rest of the world. If these
two can build on their great sophomore seasons, the publicity will come.
Strength: Experience. This was the problem last season,
but the weakness has become a strength as the front three goes from
promising sophomores to tough, reliable juniors.
Weakness: Backup experience. The starting three was so good that
the backups never saw much in the way of action. The coaching staff
likes the depth, but it's going to take a while for all the young
prospects to jell and there's no one at Fletcher or Unrein's level. Outlook: The front three will be really, really
good, and it could be the strength of the team by a long shot.
Fletcher and Unrein could be the Mountain West's best pair, while Givens
is a nice 301-pound body in the middle. In the past, Wyoming got by with
smallish, quick linemen who tried hard. Not anymore. This group is big
and tough and very good. Rating: 7.5
Linebackers
Projected Starters: Senior Ward Dobbs has led the
team in tackles for the last two years and has come up with 242 stops
and 16 tackles for loss in his three seasons. At 6-0 and 230 pounds,
he's a big weakside defender with fantastic range and sure-tackling
ability coming up with 98 tackles last year and doing even more to get
into the backfield. He has had a problem with a banged up shoulder for
the last few years, but has still produced. He has been an all-star, but
he hasn't grown into a big-time star and he hasn't done enough against
the pass. He might finally get his due this year.
Also returning is 6-4, 230-pound senior Mike Juergens at the Buck
position on the outside after making 46 tackles and three sacks as a
spot starter. With good size and huge hitting ability, he's great at
providing a big pop forcing two fumbles and serving as the intimidating
force in the linebacking corps.
Coming in this off-season was 6-3, 227-pound redshirt freshman Gabe
Knapton, a slightly undersized presence in the middle with excellent
upside. He was a nice recruit for UW, but was overlooked because of his
safety size and lack of defensive back speed. He was all over the place
in spring ball and should be a nice stat-filler in the middle.
Junior Weston Johnson will go from being a reliable backup to the
starter on the strongside after making 26 tackles and two tackles for
loss as a regular in the rotation. The 6-3, 226-pounder is a fantastic
athlete who has the range and ability to become a factor against the
pass and be sent into the backfield on a regular basis. He's an ideal
weakside linebacker, but Dobbs isn't going anywhere.
Projected Top Reserves: Senior Jake Edmunds'
career hasn't taken off. A middle linebacker who made four tackles as a
limited reserve as he tried to return from a torn ACL, he'll see more
time this year behind Knapton, but he could see time on the strongside
if absolutely needed. At 6-2 and 221 pounds, he's not big, but he can
handle himself on the inside.
Mostly a special teamer, 6-1, 235-pound junior Zeb Whipp will
spend the year trying to show he deserves the weakside job in 2009 when
Dobbs is gone. Whipp played in six games making seven tackles, but he
has yet to do anything big on defense.
One of the more interesting prospects in the corps is 6-1, 221-pound
redshirt freshman Brian Hendricks, who'll push Weston Johnson for
time on the strongside. Hendricks was a top running back for Burlington
High in Colorado rushing for 2-132 yards and 29 touchdowns, averaging
nine yards a pop, in his senior season. Not just a great football
player, he was a star wrestler, getting offers from Oklahoma State and
Nebraska, and a state champion-level sprinter. If that wasn't enough, he
had a good enough academic career to get Stanford interested.
Watch Out For ... this group to put up huge stats. The
front three is so good that it'll keep things relatively clean for the
UW linebackers to roam free and make plays. The tackle numbers will be
huge all across the board.
Strength: Tackles. Dobbs doesn't miss, Juergens and
Johnson can hit, and Knapton should be solid. Once these
linebackers get to a ball-carrier, it's over.
Weakness: Pass coverage. They're good, but not fantastic.
Because some of the players are out of position, Dobbs is more of a
strongside linebacker than a weakside defender, there aren't quite
enough big plays when the ball is in the air. Outlook: If UW ran a typical 4-3, it would be
perfect for the personnel. There are good linebackers across the board,
but the unit would be a killer if it only needed to use three instead of
four. There isn't much in the way of depth, and there aren't any starts
outside of Dobbs, but this group will produce. Rating: 5.5
Defensive Backs
Projected Starters: The big question this spring was at
the field corner spot where 5-9, 185-pound junior T.J. Atwater
takes over for Michael Medina. While Medina was decent, Atwater, who
only played half of last year and made five tackles, should turn out to
be an upgrade. Mostly a special teamer so far, he's a very quick, very
athletic defender who stepped up his play this off-season and should
quickly grow into a playmaker.
Returning on the boundary side will be sophomore Marcell Gipson,
an All-Mountain West star in the making after missing all of last season
with family issues. He was supposed to be the team's top corner going
into last year and showed tremendous talent this spring as a clamp-down
defender who can hit. At 5-10 and 172 pounds, he might not be all that
big, but he can cover.
The safeties are set with the combination of seniors Quincy Rogers
and Michael Ray returning. Ray, the 6-1, 210-pound strong
safety, made 53 tackles with an interception and four broken up passes
as he stepped in and did a respectable job in place of John Wendling.
While he has good all-around skills, he needs to do more against the
run.
The 6-1, 211-pound Rogers has been a regular in the rotation for a few
years finishing third on the team with 85 tackles along with two
interceptions and six broken up passes. He's big for a free safety with
nice range and good hitting ability, and while he's steady, he'll have
to be great to hold off some strong young prospects.
Projected Top Reserves: Pushing hard for the free
safety job will be sophomore Chris Prosinski, a 6-1, 204-pound
star in the making who has the versatility to play just about anywhere
in the secondary and was a top special teamer finishing with 37 tackles
and a broken up pass. With phenomenal speed and good size, he has
limitless upside.
Sophomore Keith Lewis and junior Tramaine Brown are good
enough corners to start if needed, but will start out the year as key
reserves. The 5-11, 190-pound Lewis doesn't have elite speed or
athleticism, but he has decent skills and a little bit of experience
making ten tackles, The 5-9, 175-pound Brown is a former JUCO transfer
who redshirted last year and now will push Atwater on the field side.
He's a sure tackler who'll be ready to step in and produce.
Watch Out For ... Gipson. While he'll be an
unknown commodity and isn't likely to make any preseason noise on the
all-star teams, he could become an All-Mountain West performer at either
corner spot. He could quickly grow into the team's best player.
Strength: Potential. If Gipson is the real deal and the
corner prospects are as good as expected, this should be one of the
Mountain West's better secondaries. The safety tandem of Ray and Rogers
should be fantastic.
Weakness: Interceptions. The defense has to come up with more
big plays, and it'll start with the DBs. Rogers picked off two passes
last year, Ray came up with another. That's it as far as the picks from
returning defensive backs. Even with five from Julius Stinson, the
Cowboys weren't ball hawks. Outlook: The secondary was decent at times
throughout last year, and it should be excellent at times this season
with the return of Gipson and the expected emergence of Atwater. There's
good potential among the reserves, especially at corner, while the
safety tandem of Rogers and Ray will be sneaky good. Rating: 6
Special Teams
Projected Starters: It'll take at least two players to
replace Billy Vinnedge, who hit 13 of 18 field goals and averaged a
solid 42.7 yards per punt and put 26 inside the 20. Junior Jake Scott
is being given the first look as the new placekicker, and he has a
little bit of experience making two of four kicks in 2006, but he was
inconsistent throughout the off-season and will have to fight off true
freshman Austin McCoy this summer.
Sophomore Nick Landess is a promising punter who has been used
mostly on onside kicks so far. The former walk-on might not have a huge
leg, but all he has to be is consistent.
Devin Moore was fantastic when he had the chance to
return kicks averaging 27.1 yards on ten tries. He'll get the
full-time duty now, while redshirt freshman Brandon Stewart
will take over the punt return duties from Hoost Marsh, who
averaged a mere 6.7 yards per try.
Watch Out For ... a battle for the kicking duties.
Scott has the experience, but the team needs McCoy to produce.
Scott isn't the answer.
Strength: The return game. Moore will be an
all-conference performer and will take at least one kickoff back
for a score, while Stewart will be a big upgrade.
Weakness: Coverage teams. The Cowboys were abysmal, beyond
abysmal, on kickoff coverage allowing a whopping 27.8 yards per
return. The punt return team wasn't much better allowing 10.7
yards per attempt. Outlook: The kicking game will be a work in
progress throughout the summer and possibly way too deep into
the fall. While the coverage teams need work, the return game
should be among the best in the Mountain West. Rating: 6
