John Luke Fabian
Jfabian1@uwyo.edu
@HouseFabian
Wyoming concluded spring practices this weekend with their annual spring game, which left some with mixed feelings on the upcoming season.
“It was a good back-and-forth battle,” head coach Craig Bohl said. “For an old defensive coach like me, it was probably more points than I would like, but that makes for an exciting contest.”
The Cowboys were split into two teams, with the Gold Team having the starting defense and the Brown Team having the starting offense. The Gold Team was able to hold on while the Brown team was driving down the field and win 38-35.
The two offenses boomed in the games, each going for over 400 yards. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Josh Allen led the Brown Team, throwing for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Nick Smith also looked promising throwing two touchdowns and rushed for one too.
Although Bohl has not named a full time starter yet, he has got a pretty good idea who it will be come fall.
“Unless I see something on film that would show otherwise, [Josh Allen] is going to be [our starter],” Bohl said. “I’m not going to name him now, but the body of work he did this spring has been nice.”
The quarterbacks also had the luxury of leaning on a dominant running game to move the offense up and down the turf. The two squads combined for over 344 yards rushing and averaged over five yards a carry. All of this occurred without star running back Brian Hill, too.
“It’s really nice being able to lean on that and it kind of gets our offense going,” Nick Smith said. “When you’re able to run the ball it kind of open the defense up too. It allows for more plays to be made.”
Senior Shaun Wick rushed for 126 yards and three touchdowns. It was some of the first action he saw since a lingering concussion cut his season sort last year, leaving his with a medical hardship. The offensive line was able to make big running lanes for the senior to plow through.
“It felt good,” Wick said. “Most times I didn’t even have to think about what was going to happen. I just had to run straight, and just do the rest after I broke through the first line.”
Unfortunately, the high offensive production in the game meant the Cowboy defense was particularly sour. Giving up over 30 points and 400 yards is not the improvement the Pokes are looking for after an awful 2015 campaign.
“At the line of scrimmage, we are a little bit concerned about that,” Bohl said. “We knew we were light in the britches, our defensive line is still light, so we will have to do some things to sure that up.”
Last season, the Cowboy defense gave up 422 yards per game and allowed 34 points per game. When Wyoming opponents ran the ball, they averaged over five yards a carry.
There were some positive moments for the defense, forcing a couple of turnovers. Carl Granderson had a strip sack that was returned for a touchdown, and Andrew Wingard had two interceptions.
This game concluded spring practices and the Cowboys will return to action when they face Northern Illinois in the season opener on Sept. 9.
