Claffey Believes Best is Yet to Come (Denver Post)

[MrTitleist]

From the Denver Post

By Adrian Dater
Denver Post Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 08/18/2007 11:26:13 PM MDT

Wyoming LB Sean Claffey finished in the top 20 last season in Mountain West tackles for losses and quarterback sacks. (Special / Aaron Voos)

Laramie - His uniform always has been Cowboy brown, but Sean Claffey couldn't believe how recently it seemed when he was just another green freshman hoping to impress at Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium.

"Seems like just yesterday," said Claffey, Wyoming's standout senior outside linebacker, "when we walked in here as freshmen. Just like I see the freshmen here, with a kind of deer-in-the-headlight look. I remember feeling the same way not too long ago."

Claffey has grown into a leader on a defense that was ranked ninth in the nation last season. The former Fruita Monument star enters his senior season not with a sense of foreboding nostalgia but one of high expectation.

"We've been building up to this moment," he said. "We're very excited. This (incoming) class this year is unreal, in my mind. I'm excited to come back and watch these guys play when I'm done."

Claffey is part of a linebacking corps that is 75 percent Coloradans - senior Luke Chase is from Windsor and junior Mike Juergens played at Pomona. While Colorado's big football schools struggled last season defensively, the Cowboys have found success with imports from the south.

"It's fun to talk about, our high school days, because we're all from Colorado," Claffey said. "It's fun to joke around about the old days."

Mostly, Chase said, the talk is about the future.

"One of our goals this year is to be No. 1 in the (Mountain West) conference defensively, and maybe, if possible, be up there toward No. 1 in the nation," said Chase, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound inside linebacker. "I don't think it's out of our hands. Our linebacker corps looks pretty solid right now, and our defensive line - they may be young, but they're pretty good."

Claffey and Chase believe the defense might be better because it is in its second year of a 3-4 scheme.

"It really plays to our strengths. It just gives us more speed on the field," said Claffey, who was in the top 20 last season in Mountain West tackles for losses and quarterback sacks. "We take pride in being the hardest-working position on the field. I think it's started carrying over to the rest of the team."

Juergens, a 6-4, 240-pound outside linebacker, suffered an ankle injury in Wednesday's intrasquad scrimmage, but hopes to be ready for the season opener Sept. 1 against Virginia.

Claffey said another reason the Cowboys might improve upon last season's 6-6 record is new strength coach Brian Herzog.

"He changed things up a little bit. It's nice to get a fresh look on things. I think we feel like we're in the best shape we've been in, since I've been here," Claffey said. "There's a lot more football-specific training."

Chase, who graduates in December and might go into his family's Denver sheet metal business, believes his final few college months will be filled with great football memories.

"We've just got a lot of good leadership, especially defensively," he said. "It's just a great atmosphere here. Everybody's real friendly in the town, and the coaches are awesome. I came up here on my recruiting trip, and right off the bat I knew I was going to be here."