Austin Conway will be making the switch from basketball to football this fall. (Photo via Wyoming Athletics)

Austin Conway will be making the switch from basketball to football this fall. (Photo via Wyoming Athletics)

Wyoming basketball’s loss is Wyoming football’s gain. Redshirt freshman point guard Austin Conway spent the spring playing wide receiver and kick returner for the Cowboy football team looking to fulfill an appetite he’s had since he left high school. Conway came to Craig Bohl before the spring and asked if he could try out with the football team. After getting the blessing from Wyoming basketball coach Allen Edwards the point guard became a wide receiver.

Conway will have four years to play football for the Cowboys. His scholarship will be moved over to the football team and another scholarship will open up for the Cowboy basketball team.

Conway was heavily recruited out of high school, Overland High School in Aurora, CO, for football and basketball. His football offers included Army, Colorado, Colorado State, Montana State, Nebraska, Rice, and Utah State. Wyoming was not among the schools that offered him a football scholarship, however they did offer him a spot to play basketball and he took it, over an offer from Indiana and Rice.

In high school he was named to the Denver Posts’s All-Colorado team as a quarterback. His senior year he accumulated 1849 yards rushing and passing and 18 combined touchdowns. During his junior year he had 1847 yards passing, 1130 rushing and 31 touchdowns. As a basketball player he led his team to the 5A semi-finals during his junior year and led them to a state championship as a senior.

Conway is quoted as saying, “I had nice long talks with Coach Bohl and Coach Edwards at the end of spring football. Both coaches were very supportive.  The biggest thing was I just had to follow my heart.  I felt really comfortable being back out on the football field this spring.  It felt like I was at home back on the field.”

Craig Bohl should be more than excited to have an athlete of this caliber joining the team. Bohl mentioned, “Austin showed us during spring football that he has a passion for the game of football and that he had the skills to benefit our team moving forward. We were aware of Austin’s football accomplishments in high school.  The fact that he has only been away from the game for a year we believe will make his transition a smooth one.  He certainly benefitted from going through spring practice with us and will benefit from having a full summer to work with our strength and conditioning staff.  We are excited to have Austin as a part of our team.”

With having a spring ball under his belt, plus the summer strength and conditioning he should be ahead of the curve when fall camp arrives and a new set of fresh faces arrive in Laramie.