If there’s a game within the game at Falcon Stadium on Saturday, it’s probably going to be John Wendling vs. Shaun Carney – again.
Wyoming’s free safety vs. Air Force’s quarterback.
A year ago as a sophomore, Wendling was the most dominant defensive player on the field in the annual Mountain West Conference showdown between the Front Range teams, making 11 tackles (seven solo) and knocking down two passes in a rare 43-26 romp for the Cowboys.
Carney was so ineffective in that matchup in his freshman year, he eventually was replaced by veteran quarterback Adam Fitch.
But that was in Laramie; this is at the Air Force Academy. And it’s a new season.
Air Force is 2-0 and Wyoming is 1-1. Carney, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound sophomore, no longer is in over his head, and he no longer is playing behind an offensive line learning how to pass block.
“That’s the scary part,” Wyoming defensive coordinator Mike Breske said. “Shaun Carney isn’t a kid anymore, and he’s throwing the ball extremely well. John’s going to have his hands full because even though it’s still the same offense, it’s not as one-dimensional anymore.
“If they just ran it, it’d be easy – just use your speed and athleticism on the quarterback-to-pitch concept and believe in your keys. But now it’s a bear for John, because you can’t over- commit to the run at that position, and you can’t be tentative.”
If there’s one thing Wendling is not, it’s tentative.
A 6-1, 209-pounder from Rock Springs, Wyo., Wendling was the Cowboys’ leading tackler (89) as a first- year starter last season and is on everybody’s All-America checklist this year.
“He’s got great size, great vision, great speed (4.4 seconds in the 40- yard dash), great strength, and he’s a sure tackler,” Breske said. “And the way we run our scheme, we’ve got to have a guy back there that can get there. If you can’t get there, you can’t make tackles.”
Oh, yeah, and he also was a triple- option halfback in high school.
“That helped me a lot last year,” Wendling said. “We ran the triple option in high school, so I kind of have a little bit of experience with it. Nothing like Air Force does it, but I know how it’s supposed to work, anyway.”
And judging from some film study, so does Carney.
“You can see he’s gotten a lot more comfortable with it, and now with the way he’s been throwing the ball they’ve got a lot more options,” Wendling said. “We’re just going to have to go down there and do whatever we have to do to keep him off the field. … Execute, execute, execute.
“Defense is a reaction game, not a thinking game, so you have to be in position on every play, especially against these guys.”
Breske became something of an expert on defending the option in his early years as Joe Glenn’s defensive coordinator at Northern Colorado.
“I love going against it,” Breske said. “It’s fun to coach kids because there’s not a lot of scheming. We’re not going to do anything (AFA) Coach (Fisher) DeBerry hasn’t seen. They’re going to know what fronts we’re going to be in. It’s about who’s better, that offensive guy or that defensive guy. It’s about as basic of football as you can get. That’s what I love about it.”
Injury report
Wyoming defensive end Aaron Robbins, a senior from Smoky Hill High School who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in last week’s 38-0 victory over Louisiana-Monroe, will need knee surgery. “I’m guessing he’s lost for the season,” said Glenn, the Cowboys’ coach. Glenn said Robbins likely will be replaced by junior Adam Diehl (6-3, 222) of Douglas County High School or redshirt freshman Mike Juergens (6-4, 227) of Pomona.
Staff writer Joseph Sanchez can
be reached at 303-820-5458 or jsanchez@denverpost.com.
