Coach Bohl for signing day.
This past Wednesday was national signing day, where the Wyoming football team was able to sign 23 recruits. Head coach Craig Bohl, and the other members of his staff were able to put together a very diverse class with ESPN.com giving five Cowboy recruits three stars. There was one feature that stuck out most from this class though; speed.
“I think that we looked at our football team and found that we needed to address our skill, explosion and speed. You saw us [recruit] a little bit heavier on defense than on offense particularly on the back end, secondary and linebackers. Then we signed some great receivers as well,” coach Bohl said.
If speed is what they wanted, then speed is what they got. Of the 23 players that Wyoming signed, five of them were wide receivers and five of them were defensive backs. Five of these ten skill position athletes were given a rating of three stars from ESPN.com or 247Sports.com, and three of these players ran track in high school.
“We think that those players that we brought in can tackle, they can run in space and they can also play ball. It was very beneficial to have guys that have not just played one side of the ball, and the last thing we want on game day is to drop interceptions,” corner back coach John Richardson said of the new defensive signees.
Davion Freeman is cornerback out of Del City, Okla. who was rated three stars by 247Sports.com and he also ran track in high school. Freeman had four picks on defensive his senior year and played offense as well. Antonio Hull was rated a three star recruit by 247Sports.com played both sides of the ball in high school. Hull is projected to be a corner back at UW. Kevin Jackson, Logan Wilson and Andrew Wingard are all safeties that stand at 6-foot or higher and also played offense in high school. Wingard is from Arvada, Colo. where he not only played football, but also ran track too.
These defensive backs all received high praises from their coaches, but will they see any playing time this upcoming season?
“You will see some of these guys because it is a need based position. Without question as we got into the Mountain West conference, we saw the speed and athleticism where we were deficient, and we addressed that in this recruiting class,” coach Bohl said.
Continuing with the defensive trend Wyoming also added five linebackers with two of them receiving a three star ranking or higher. Three of them also played on both sides of the ball as well. Wyoming got four defensive lineman to round out the defensive side of the class. Carl Granderson a defensive end out of California stood out from the four because of his size. He is 6’ 5”, 185 pounds where the rest of the linemen all outweigh him by at least 40 pounds. Bohl said he hopes to see Granderson put on some more weight through offseason training regimen.
Defense was not the only side of the ball that the Pokes focused on for 2015, they also added some power on the offense as well.
Kellen Overstreet is a Parade All-American running back out of Missouri. He the first ever Parade All-American to sign with UW. He ran for the second most yards in the nation his senior year and was rated a three star recruit by ESPN.com. Overstreet will join a crowded backfield that has upcoming sophomore Brian Hill and senior Shaun Wick. The staff is hoping the crowded back field will bring out the best in them.
“I think it was evident this year that we need three guys. We are going to give those guys the ball. We need competition and you want that guys who are not going to shy away from it,” offensive coordinator Brent Vigen said.
Wednesday was a Signing Day that encouraged coach Bohl and the rest of his coaching staff form the new speed that they brought in, to the potential that they all have. Now the coaches and the fans can only wait as they see how quickly this recruiting class pays off.
