Every year at the end of spring training the coaching staff for the University of Wyoming football team splits the team into two and they go head-to-head in what is known as the annual Spring Game.
With star quarterback Josh Allen no longer on the team, now is the time for players to step up and show their coaches that they can be a leading force for their teammates.
“We have some guys that are able to come back [from injury] now and that are going to be able to practice pretty full on Thursday,” head coach Craig Bohl said. “We’re excited about that, so we’ll need to get some good work in and get ready for our spring game.”
As of now, nobody is quite sure how the teams are going to be divided up and that’s left a lot of the players somewhat uneasy for Saturday’s game.
“It’s a huge mystery that everyone is trying to figure out,” junior wide receiver Austin Conway said. “We have no idea what’s going to happen, but I think we’ll figure that out later in the week. So I think we’re all pretty excited for that.”
As with any team, after practicing together for these last few weeks there are some tensions between players and some rivalries for starting positions, which could make for a rather competitive and intense game on Saturday.
“I expect it to be really competitive from the way that practices have been going,” Conway said. “From the way that we’ve been battling and the way we’ve been competing; I really expect Saturday to be almost like a rivalry game.”
Conway, however, is not the only player who has noticed the competitiveness over these last few weeks of spring training. Junior nickelback Tyler Hall also noticed the intensity stepping up as the Spring Game nears.
“I feel like it should be very competitive. Everyone has been getting chippy for the last couple of practices and we’ve been grinding it out together,” Hall said.
With such strong players and so much depth on both the offense and defense, how the teams are separated will not define a winner from the get go. Both teams will have to exceed expectations to triumph over their opponent.
“I just want to be on the team that doesn’t have to face our number one defense,” Conway said. “I’m really not looking forward to getting hit by those guys.”
For the most part players are not too concerned with who is put on their team, but rather how well they can perform on Saturday.
“It doesn’t matter who’s on my team,” Hall said. “I’ll love to play with whoever is on my team, but it’s important to just go out and have fun and focus on my own game.”
One thing is clear among the entire Cowboys football program, coaches and players alike, the outcome of Saturday’s game means nothing. What matters is how well each individual performs in the situation they’re given.
This leaves a lot of pressure on players to not only work their hardest, but to motivate their teammates to excel. With this being the end of spring training, everyone already knows who is going to be the players to watch and who the players to motivate are going to be.
“I think it’s been good [during spring football] to see the guys who are out there and that are able to compete,” Bohl said. “Nico [Evans] has done some good things, Mike Green has done some good things. We appreciate their efforts and we’ll have two healthy running backs for the spring game.”
While every player is being watched and heavily critiqued, without a starting quarterback selected all eyes will be on Nick Smith and Tyler Vander Waal.
“You definitely got to watch our quarterback battle and figure out who is going to be able to make plays offensively with the receivers,” Conway said.
The Spring Game is set to take place this Saturday, April 21 at 2 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.
