Early Recruiting: Wyoming Cowboys

Wyoming is in dire need of recruits, because the past  few years the Cowboys have been running a country club style practices.  Once new coach Dave Christensen came in for spring drills, players were out of shape and many were injured.

However the upside for Wyoming is that Christensen is bringing in his spread offense from Missouri, and with that type of offense that features the quarterback and receivers he is bringing in some pretty good players.

The defense is set and Christensen will just try to continue to build off that success by bringing in tough players.

Wyoming currently has three players who committed verbally and they are from across the country and solid defensive players.

Sonny Puletasi	DE	6-3	215	Lawton H.S. (OK)		77	Verbal
Desmond Tautofi	DE	6-3	270	Kaimuki H.S. (HI)		74	Verbal
Ray Stovall Jr.	DE	6-2	182	Booker T. Washington H.S. (OK)		72	Verbal

The players who are currently considering are pretty solid and focus on offense with 13 of the 18 considering are on the offensive side of the ball.

2010 Players Considering – Wyoming
NAME	POS	HT	WT	SCHOOL	RANK	GRADE	STATUS	NOTES
Brandon Beitzel	QB	6-3	195	Geneva H.S. (IL)		40	Undeclared
Bryan Bennett	QB	6-3	185	Crespi Carmelite H.S. (CA)		77	Undeclared
Tyrone Blake	RB	5-10	185	Palo Verde H.S. (NV)		40	Undeclared
Josiah Flack	ILB	5-11	205	D’Evelyn H.S. (CO)		40	Undeclared
Hroniss Grasu	DE	6-3	245	Crespi Carmelite H.S. (CA)		75	Undeclared
Forrest Hightower	RB	5-10	165	Concord H.S. (CA)		76	Undeclared
Jesse Hinz	DT	6-4	250	Beatrice H.S. (NE)		40	Undeclared
Toloa’i Ho Ching	ILB	6-0	220	Alta H.S. (UT)		77	Undeclared
Andrew Hurley	DE	6-2	195	Pinnacle H.S. (AZ)		71	Undeclared
Mister Jones	RB	6-1	195	Littleton H.S. (CO)		40	Undeclared
Hugh Kirwan	QB	6-1	180	Pascack Hills High (NJ)		40	Undeclared
Desmond Martin	S	6-1	177	Stony Point H.S. (TX)		79	Undeclared
Ray Mitchell	WR	6-0	173	MacArthur H.S. (TX)		73	Undeclared
Destin Mosley	ATH	5-8	164	Jefferson H.S. (TX)		74	Undeclared
Brett Nottingham	QB	6-4	208	Monte Vista H.S. (CA)		77	Undeclared
Drew Phillips	RB	5-11	161	Boaz H.S. (AL)		40	Undeclared
Pierce Richardson	TE	6-5	219	Crespi Carmelite H.S. (CA)		68	Undeclared
Cameron Roberson	RB	6-1	215	Newbury Park H.S. (CA)		77	Undeclared
Roman Wilson	WR	5-11	175	Lincoln Christian School (OK)		40	Undeclared

The 2010 class should be solid, because the 2009 class was better then expected with recruits who were considering Missouri decided to bolt to Laramie when Christensen took over the head coaching job.

Spring Recap: Wyoming Cowboys

Wyoming has a brand new coaching staff who takes over for the lazy relaxed and loved coach Joe Glenn, the new staff is former Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen.  Glenn wanted to do impress donors and fans and had a very laid back style, and that is now changing with the new staff.

The big news with Wyoming was the injuries, because in the spring game Wyoming had only  53 players who were able to suit up and play in the spring game and had to use alumni in the game to fill out the rosters.

Quarterback is a concern, because in 2008 three quarterbacks were used with Dax Crum, Karsteen Sweed, and Chris Stutzriem.  The list was narrowed to two when Stutzriem transferred to Indiana State during the fall.

Currently the starter out of camp is Sween, however two recruits that Christensen brought in could unseat Sween.  The two prospects are in coming freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels and junior college transfer Robert Benjamin.  Both were highly regarded from their schools, but the early season nod will go to Sween since he has a leg up from learning the system in the spring.

Offensively the team is learning a spread no-huddle system that propelled Missouri to prominence the past few years, and the way Christensen was able to recruit the success could be sooner then later.  Junior running back Darius Terry is taking over for the recently departed backs – Wynel Seldon and Devin Moore – and will be incorporated in the short passing game as well as the running game.

The defense is staying untouched, because that was the good part of the Wyoming defense.  Wyoming still has a lot of work to do and this spring with hard practices and toughness the Cowboys will soon be back to being competitive in the Mountain West.

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Wyoming Looking to Sling the Ball Much More in 2009

In 2008 Wyoming completed only 71 passes to their wide receivers, because the Cowboys had inconsistencies at quarterback and their offense was more run oriented with Delvin Moore in the backfield.

This year that will change with new head coach Dave Christensen’s spread system has all the receivers excited. The goal set for each receiver is 40 receptions in the 2009 campaign.

Leading returning receiver Greg Bolling had only 26 catches which lead the team and had this to say on the new offense:

“Seventy-one catches in a season at some places where you run the spread offense is for one receiver.”

This offense that Christenson brought over from Missouri will should provide the receivers will plenty of more chances to catch the ball. Look for the new offense to get at least 100 receptions to its wide receivers.

The offense will most likely take a year or two for it to really develop, but there will be significant improvements from last year. Look for a possibility of a jump similar to what Utah did when Urban Meyer came to town and revamped from former coach Ron McBride’s run heavy offense to the spread.

The results most likely will not be the same, but the increased in output could be similar. The goal for each receiver by the coaches is 40 per receiver, pretty bold.

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Spring Football Preview: Wyoming

Spring practice starts: March 24

Spring game: April 25

Three things to watch

1.New head coach Dave Christensen is known for his spread offense, but the players he has at Wyoming do not fit that scheme.  Lets see if he does a Rich Rodriguez and force the offense down the team that does not have the players.  Or will Christensen use a hybrid of his offense and a more traditional set in year one.

2. Wyoming must find a quarterback who is going be able to pick up the new system, and perform well. Chris Stutzriem, Karsten Sween and Dax Crum all played last year and none were all that good. One of these players will have to separate himself before recruits Robert Benjamin and Austyn Carta-Samuels get on campus in the fall.

3.TURNOVERS. The Cowboys were second-to-last in the country in turnover margin and with the offense Christensen is likely to run, holding on to the ball is a must.

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Early Predictions for 2009: Wyoming Cowboys

Wyoming first must find a starting quarterback, and they must find a replacement for running back Devin Moore.  The defense should be solid.  The new staff will slowly implement Dave Christenson’s Mizzou offense to the Cowboys.  This year will be a tough one for the Pokes.

9-5-09	WEBER STATE                           W
9-12-09	TEXAS                                         L
9-19-09	at Colorado                                  L
10-3-09	at Bowling Green                         L
TBA	BRIGHAM YOUNG                       L
TBA	NEW MEXICO                              W
TBA	UNLV                                           L
TBA	TCU                                             L
TBA	at Air Force                                  L
TBA	at Colorado State                         W
TBA	at San Diego State                      W
TBA	at Utah                                         L

Weber State A good warmup game, but the Wildcats are no push over as they made the FCS playoffs.

Texas A rare chance at a top opponent, Texas should be able to smoke the Cowboys en route to a possible BCS title run.

Colorado The Buffs under Coach Hawkins will have their first legitimate chance in winning the Big XII North.

Bowling Green They return Tyler Sheehan who had 20 touchdowns and 2,610 yards.

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On the Recruiting Trail: Wyoming

Signing day is one day away and Wyoming has made some strides with new head coach Dave Christensen who came from Missouri as offensive coordinator has all ready made strides.

A few players who have verbally committed chose Wyoming over Utah and Missouri. It could be from the type of offense that Wyoming will now run which will highlight the passing game and give players good numbers.

Verbal Commits

Luke Ruff	S	5-11	185	Douglas County H.S. (CO)	S #79
T.J. Smith	TE	6-2	215	Booker T. Washington H.S. (OK)	TE #63
Austyn Carta-Samuels	QB	6-1	207	Bellarmine College Prep (CA)	QB #72
Mark Willis	DE	6-4	230	Oak Park-River Forest H.S. (IL)	DE #161
Todd Knight	OLB	6-2	200	Grandview H.S. (CO)	OLB #145
Devyn Harris	S	6-2	200	Fountain-Ft Carson H.S. (CO)	S #189
Scott Criss	DT	6-4	245	Creighton Prep H.S. (NE)	DT #145
Alvester Alexander	RB	5-10	190	C. E. King H.S. (TX)
Kenny Browder	CB	5-11	175	Stony Point H.S. (TX)
Spencer Bruce	DE	6-5	215	Campbell County H.S. (WY)
Shamiel Gary	OLB	6-1	205	Booker T. Washington H.S. (OK)
Rodney Jaynes	WR	6-4	205	Hales Franciscan H.S. (IL)
Trendt Marsom	S	6-0	195	Kaimuki H.S. (HI)
Chris McNeill	WR	6-0	180	Notre Dame H.S. (CA)
Larry Mitchell	S	6-2	184	Crowley H.S. (TX)
Ghaali Muhammad	S	5-11	200	Saint Joseph Central H.S. (MO)
Mike Purcell	DE	6-4	260	Highlands Ranch H.S. (CO)
Jeff Roueche	OLB	6-3	205	Niwot H.S. (CO)
David Tooley	TE	6-5	200	Moberly H.S. (MO)
Thomas Vonashek	OT	6-7	275	Glynn Academy (GA)

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