A look at the 2008 Wyoming football season:
Coach: Joe Glenn (6th season)
2007 record: 5-7 (Overall) 2-6 (Mountain West Conference)
What’s new: Bob Cole (Offensive coordinator). After struggling with the stop and go offensive scheme from 2007, the Cowboys will take Cole’s new plan and adapt it to their current personnel.
What to look for: Another sturdy defense. Tough defenses have been a mainstay at Wyoming and with the defensive line returning intact, a veteran group of linebackers and a pair of brothers in the corners, the Cowboys should continue to put pressure on offenses. The defense will be vital to Wyoming wins as the offense gets comfortable with the new offensive set-up.
Prediction for 2008: 7-5, Wyoming has to protect their home field to make up for tough match-ups on the road.
Five players to watch:
Devin Moore — Moore, who was named a co-captain and nicknamed “Lightning”, is a vocal leader and will exceed his successes of 2007 in his senior season. He netted 965 yards on the ground last season.
Ward Dobbs — Dobbs, who was named a co-captain, doesn’t need to speak loud to show his force on the field. He led the team with 98 tackles in 2007.
John Fletcher — Fletcher, who is 6-foot-6-inches, rang up 10.5 sacks in 2007 setting him at No. 11 in the nation. With a successful season behind him, he will continue to scare and pressure quarterbacks into 2008.
Dax Crum — Crum is an unproven quarterback at the Division I level, but his commanding personality in the huddle has his teammates behind him as a leader.
Tashaun Gipson — Gipson will start at cornerback as a true freshman opposite his brother Marcel Gipson. His speed and toughness will most likely make up for any inexperience at the Division I level.
Projected starting lineup:
Offense
Quarterback: Dax Crum
Running Backs: Devin Moore, Wynel Seldon
Fullback: Greg Genho
Wide Receivers: Greg Bolling, Donate Morgan, Brandon Stewart or David Leonard
Tight End/H-Back: Chris Sundberg
Left Tackle: Ryan Otterson
Left Guard: Sam Sterner
Center: Tim Bond
Right Guard: Russ Arnold
Right Tackle: Kyle Howard
Defense
Boundary Cornerback: Marcell Gipson
Free Safety: Chris Prosinski
Strong Safety: Quincy Rogers
Field Cornerback: Tashaun Gipson
SAM Linebacker: Weston Johnson
MIKE Linebacker: Gabe Knapton
WILL Linebacker: Ward Dobbs
BUCK Linebacker: Mike Juergens
Defensive Tackle: John Fletcher
Nose Guard: Fred Givens
Defensive End: Mitch Unrein
Special Teams
Place-kicker (PATs, Field Goals and Kickoffs): Jake Scott
Punter: Nick Landess
Kickoff Returner: Devin Moore, Marcell Gipson
Punt Returner: Brandon Stewart or David Leonard or Taushaun Gipson
Pivotal game: Air Force
The Wyoming and Air Force rivalry has always turned out tight finishes. In 10 of their last 12 games, the scoring deficit has been less than 11 points. With the Air Force game kicking off the conference season for the Cowboys, it could be a definite jump-start for the team.
2008 schedule:
Sat., Aug. 30 Ohio, noon
Sat., Sept. 6 Air Force, 1:30 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 13 North Dakota State, 1 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 20 @ BYU, 1 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 27 Bowling Green, 2 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 4 @ New Mexico, 7:30 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 11 Utah (homecoming), noon
Sat., Oct. 25 @ TCU, 4 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 1 San Diego State, noon
Sat., Nov. 8 @ Tennessee, TBA
Sat., Nov. 13 @ UNLV, 7 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 22 Colorado State, noon
