Laramie – Although Hoost Marsh has made a mark as one of the best punt returners in the Mountain West Conference the past two years, the 5-foot-9, 172-pound speedster signed with Wyoming out of Arvada West to be a wide receiver.
He finally got his chance Saturday in the Cowboys’ 38-7 victory over Utah State. And did he ever make the most of it.
Marsh’s first career catch also became his first career touchdown. He snared a second-quarter pass from Jacob Doss and raced 39 yards for Wyoming’s first touchdown of 2006.
“It felt good,” Marsh said. “They covered us straight up with no safety help, man-to-man basically. It was a matter of getting open.
“It was tough waiting, but you have to do those things,” Marsh said. “You just have to be patient and wait your turn. When you get a chance, you have to make big plays.”
Marsh also scored on a 2-yard touchdown run on a reverse in the fourth quarter.
“Hoost has played a huge role for us on special teams,” defensive tackle Mike Groover, a senior from Boulder who rooms with Marsh. “He’s as humble as they come. And he’s played behind some great receivers here. Now he can unleash his ability.”
Kicking debut
Wyoming is using a true freshman place-kicker this season: Aric Goodman, who earned all-state honors last fall at Cherry Creek.
Goodman had some good moments and, well, some not so good. He split the uprights with his first field-goal attempt, a 33-yarder with 7:53 remaining in the first quarter to get the Cowboys on the board. Goodman also boomed kickoffs into the end zone.
But he missed his field-goal attempts of 37 and 38 yards.
A defensive shutout
Utah State failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time since a 21-0 loss to Middle Tennessee in 2004.
“We don’t want anybody to score on us. That’s a personal insult to us,” Wyoming’s Groover said. “We think we’re good enough to take the field with that mentality.”
Footnotes
As an added bonus, Wyoming got through the game without an injury. The only problem was a case of leg cramps suffered by senior safety John Wendling early in the second half. He returned to the game. … Utah State failed to reach double-figures in first downs (five) for the first time since 1999. … Tyler Holden’s 51-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter was his first TD reception since Wyoming’s victory in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl against UCLA.
