Craig Bohl opens 10th fall camp at Wyoming with "more mature" Cowboys

Aug 2, 2023 Updated 9 hrs ago
LARAMIE – Craig Bohl said he can tell right away if the Cowboys put in the work or not during the offseason.
Wyoming’s head coach walked off the field Wednesday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium after the first practice of fall camp feeling even more bullish about the 2023 Pokes.
“Our football team looks more mature, which they are,” Bohl said after officially getting his 10th season at UW underway. “We’ve had a good summer, and many times I’ve always felt like about half your games are decided by how they’ve worked through the summer. That’s not to notch off five or six wins, but I feel pretty good about that.”
Some of Bohl’s Day 1 observations:
Starting quarterback Andrew Peasley’s arm was noticeably stronger, a healthy Dawaiian McNeely appears ready to be the featured running back and the defensive front looks as deep and experienced on the field as it does on paper.
“I don’t follow a script, I watch movement, and I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen,” said Bohl, who typically floats from position group to position group during the course of a practice. “I think our strength and conditioning staff has done a very good job over the course of the summer. Then we’ve added more resources in nutrition. We just look better on the hoof.”
Transfer wide receivers Ayir Asante (Holy Cross) and Devin Boddie (Vanderbilt) also made strong first impressions. Both players add speed to the competition and have a chance to immediately help UW improve its anemic passing attack if they can get on the same page with Peasley over the next three weeks.
“I’m pleased with our two transfer receivers,” Bohl said. “I think they’re going to add some value as we go.”
The Pokes are still going to lean heavily on the run game where McNeely is currently penciled in as the starter with Northern Illinois transfer Harrison Waylee expected to miss the first two games of the season while recovering from knee surgery.
Running back D.Q. James was making cuts again after suffering a torn ACL against Colorado State last November. The speedy sophomore even challenged preseason Mountain West defensive player of the year Easton Gibbs with a second-level burst.
“He and Easton were in a one-on-one situation. I’m not going to say who won there, but it was good to see him out there,” said Bohl, who was pleasantly surprised James was cleared to participate in non-contact drills.
Cornerback Deron Harrell, still listed as a starter on the depth chart, is not at camp. The Denver native is back home going through physical therapy following an offseason hip surgery.
UW is still in good shape at cornerback with Kolbey Taylor, Tyrecus Davis and Jakorey Hawkins returning. Bohl said he will have to watch the tape to see how freshman Naz Hill, a touted member of the 2023 recruiting class, performed but that his 6-foot-3 frame stood out.
Having a defensive front that returns Cole Godbout and Jordan Bertagnole in the interior, DeVonne Harris and Braden Siders on the edges and quality depth with Gavin Meyer and Sabastian Harsh gives Bohl a lot of confidence going into camp.
The offensive line features Frank Crum at left tackle, Nofoafia Tulafono at center and Jack Walsh at right guard. New starting right tackle Caden Barnett performed well in last year’s rotation.
Wes King, a redshirt freshman, is currently holding down the left guard spot that lost some depth when Ethan Drewes decided after spring practice to hang up the pads and focus on UW law school.
“Today we worked (King) some at center, too. That (inexperience) showed,” Bohl said. “But we’re pleased with his progress. If you peg our starters in there, right now he’s pegged as a starting guard.”
UW will conduct the second of its 20 fall camp practices on Thursday as the grind toward the opener against Texas Tech on Sept. 2 at War Memorial Stadium (5:30 p.m., CBS) continues.
It appears having the Red Raiders, Texas and Appalachian State on the schedule, coupled with the sting of a three-game losing streak to end the 2022 campaign, kept the Pokes motivated during winter strength and conditioning sessions and throughout the spring and summer.
“Our players have a great deal of respect for Texas Tech and all of our non-conference opponents,” Bohl said. “We’ve got a bad taste in our mouth. We played some good teams at the end, but we want to finish stronger. A lot of that comes into building more depth and also more of a presence to be able to push. Our conference is a great league, and we’ll need to finish strong at the tail end of this (season) as well.”