CHEYENNE — Coach Dave Christensen bolstered his offensive and defensive lines and added faster wide receivers to his no-huddle, spread offense in his second recruiting class at Wyoming.
This year’s Wyoming class, announced Wednesday, consists of 17 high school recruits and six junior college transfers. A total of 13 offensive players, nine defensive players and one recruit listed as an “athlete” were added to the Cowboys’ roster.
They include five offensive linemen, five defensive linemen and four wide receivers. Three others played quarterback in high school.
“We added size and strength at both the line positions, offensively and defensively, which we felt we had some needs there,” Christensen said in a telephone interview from Laramie. “Wide receiver, we added speed to that position. It was an area we felt we had some needs.”
With only two quarterbacks on scholarship, including Mountain West Conference freshman of the year Austyn Carta-Samuels, Christensen was happy to add depth.
“Athletically, I think we signed a number of guys that can play different positions,” the coach said. “Right now, we let them start out at the position they want to play and then we take it from there.”
The recruits come from 13 states (one from Wyoming), two foreign countries and American Samoa.
Christensen, who came to Wyoming in late 2008 from an assistant coaching position at Missouri, said he hasn’t had much difficultly recruiting players to Laramie.
“Over the two years that I’ve been here, 80 percent of the kids that have visited us have committed,” he said.
The Cowboys finished 7-6 last season and beat Fresno State 35-28 in the New Mexico Bowl.
While most of the recruits committed before Wyoming received a bowl invitation last year, Christen-sen said the postseason game and victory “helped solidify their feelings toward the program.”
