First Week of Fall Camp is in the Books,
Cowboys Put on Full Pads Friday
Mountain West Conference Announces Game Time Change for Wyoming Road Game at Utah State
Cowboys Put on Full Pads Friday
Mountain West Conference Announces Game Time Change for Wyoming Road Game at Utah State
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Laramie, Wyo. (Aug. 12, 2021) -- The Wyoming Cowboys completed their first week of fall practice on Thursday and will put on full pads for the first time this fall on Friday.
The Pokes concluded their Thursday practice with a two-minute offensive period that saw a real battle between the offensive and defensive units. The offense did score a touchdown on their final possession on a throw from quarterback Levi Williams to tight end Colin O’Brien.
“We worked on two-minute situations today,” said head coach Craig Bohl. “Even though we’re not in full pads yet, we got a lot of good mental work done. We are probably at the installation point where our players’ heads are swimming a little bit.
“I was pleased with the offensive line today. I thought they picked up some twists and pressures (by the defense) well today. Our secondary is moving around well. It was hard to gauge the defensive line since we weren’t in full pads.”
When asked what he saw specifically from the offensive line on Thursday that impressed him, Bohl said, “I like their aggressiveness at the point of attack and being in great body position. They’re a strong group and the number of years of repetitions they’ve been through I think is really starting to show. I think they almost know what their teammates’ movements are going to be before the play starts. We’ve got a lot of experience there and we’ve got a lot of depth at that position. We’ll need to leverage that.”
On Friday, the Cowboys will practice in War Memorial Stadium for the first time this fall. It will be the first full-padded practice and will precede a scrimmage in War Memorial on Saturday. All fall practices and scrimmages are closed to the general public and media.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have a third-down scrimmage and then we’ll have a full-blown scrimmage on Saturday,” said Bohl. “We are also excited to have CFO officials, that are composed of Mountain West and Big 12 officials, here the next two days at practice and meetings and then officiating our scrimmages. It will provide an opportunity for them to talk with our coaches and our players and help educate them on some of the new rules.”
With the Cowboys concluding their first week of fall camp and entering their second week, Bohl has been pleased with how practice has progressed thus far.
“I think we’re a little ahead of where we have typically been after our first week,” said Bohl. “I’m sure that can be credited to the experience we have within our football team, but also I think the focus and resolve to be better has also been a factor and to recognize that each of these practices is important. I think we’re making good progress and we’re on task with our installation (of our playbook).”
Bohl said his team remained healthy for the most part, but he did say that defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole wasn’t at full strength on Thursday with an injured shoulder. Another defensive tackle, Claude Cole, is out with a knee injury.
Asked how beneficial it is for his coaches to be able to evaluate players in full pads for the first time on Friday and Saturday, Bohl responded, “It will have some impact, but a lot of the things we do in half pads gives us a serviceable evaluation.
“Saturday is going to be a really important day to see not so much how we’re running things schematically but in terms of who can make plays, who can go up and get a contested ball, who can tackle somebody in the open field and who can run block. We’ll also integrate some kicking plays into the scrimmage -- field goals, punting and we’ll probably see if we can get some kickoffs in the scrimmage. It is going to be a pretty important next couple of days.”
TJH
