Homecoming is a time when alumni return to visit their home of four years or those who currently are students’ families will visit to take part in the festivities culminating in the annual homecoming football game. For two Wyoming football players their families won’t have to travel far as they get to play college football in their hometown of Laramie.
Sophomore safety Taylor Dodd, an accounting major, and freshman offensive linemen Frank Crum both graduated from Laramie high school. Dodd and Crum graduated in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Both decided to play for their hometown team, the same one they watched growing up.
“It has been a dream for me,” said Dodd on playing for Wyoming. “I have always wanted to play here. Growing up here watching the program it is really cool to be apart of it.”
Crum is similar to Dodd in that he also attended games growing up in Laramie. Crum is a third generation Cowboy with his dad playing for Wyoming from 1979-81 and was an all-conference player his senior year. His grandfather also played for Wyoming in 1940.
“My whole life I was looking down on the field from the stands,” said Crum. “Now I am getting to be on the field that I grew up watching is a really cool experience.”
Both Dodd and Crum have been helping the Wyoming football team by playing on the scout team. The biggest difference that they have seen between their high school playing days is the speed of the game. Crum has gotten to see this speed by going against all-conference defensive end Carl Granderson every day in practice.
Granderson was rated as a top NFL prospect at the defensive end position entering the season and can wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
“At the start the speed of the game is something you have never seen before, but you learn to catch up,” said Crum. “Going against Granderson everyday has just made me better. That entire defense is phenomenal.”
The speed of the game is not the only thing the young student athletes had to get used to. Dodd also said he also had to learn to manage his time as school and football are the only things you really have time for, according to the two university athletes.
You can see both Crum and Dodd take the field with the rest of the Wyoming football team this Saturday as the Cowboys will face off against the Utah State Aggies in War Memorial Stadium at 12:30 p.m.
