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Wyoming Football: Three Questions For Spring Practice
The Cowboys have had a fair bit of turnover, but don’t count them out if they make progress in addressing their most important concerns.
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A critical spring for Craig Bohl and company.
The Wyoming Cowboys didn’t quite hit their ceiling in 2021, so while Craig Bohl extended the program’s longest string of successful seasons in nearly 30 years, they entered the off-season at something of a crossroads and, after a number of key defections to the professional ranks and the transfer portal, head into spring practice with plenty of puzzle pieces to fit together into a new look.
Is the competitive window as a Mountain division contender still open or are the Pokes rebuilding? What happens in spring could determine the path along which Wyoming is following.
https://twitter.com/WyoFBRecruiting/status/1499889768976424962?s=20&t=3tx_pRJMSyO-xDt0Q2TQgw
Who will get an extended audition at quarterback?
Sean Chambers is now at Montana State and Levi Williams left for Utah State, so Bohl and offensive coordinator Tim Polasek are now on the spot, like many of their peers in the Mountain West, in identifying a reliable replacement. Gavin Beerup saw the field in a pair of games back in 2020, but his experience consists of just 13 career pass attempts.
Luckily, Bohl’s call for reinforcements early in the off-season paid off as he was able to bring in Andrew Peasley from Utah State and Evan Svoboda from Snow College. That trio, at least on paper, seems most likely to share first-team reps at the onset, though the coaching staff will certainly hope that at least one can separate themselves from the pack.
Is anyone ready to step into Chad Muma’s shoes?
Muma made replacing Logan Wilson and Cassh Maluia look easy, which perhaps raises the expectations of who will replace him as Easton Gibbs’s running mate. Gibbs, by the way, had a very good season in his own right (90 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks), so the next great Cowboys linebacker may already be in the starting lineup.
As for the other likely options to see a lot of time with the first-string defense, Shae Suinanoa ended 2021 as Muma’s primary backup while Connor Shay was listed behind Gibbs on the two-deep. Add incoming Michigan State transfer Cole DeMarzo to that duo, and Wyoming should feel plenty confident in their capabilities to determine the most deserving candidate.
Who will help reshape the secondary?
After losing C.J. Coldon, Azizi Hearn, and Keyon Blankenbaker to the transfer portal, there’s plenty of work to be done to shore up this unit’s depth. Keonte Glinton figures to replace Blankenbaker as the defense’s primary nickelback, but transfer corners Jakorey Hawkins and Deron Harrell figure to get equal reps with Cameron Stone, who got plenty of time on the field for the Cowboys last season and did just fine.
At safety, Isaac White finished 2021 with a strong second half and could be in line to solidify a starting spot, as could Miles Williams. Recent history suggests things will work out as spring progresses into fall, but it won’t be easy.
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