From the Northern Wyoming Daily News:
Defense pulls for offense to get its act together at UW
LARAMIE (AP) — The tweaking of the offense by new coordinator Bob Cole ... the battle for the starting quarterback spot ... the development of the offensive line ... Donate Morgan and more speed among the wide receivers ... Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon ...
Needless to say, the media’s focus on the University of Wyoming’s spring practice sessions to date has been mainly on the offensive side of the football.
So is the lack of attention on the Cowboy defense antagonizing UW defensive coordinator Mike Breske in any way?
“Heavens no, I hope we get 30 points a game out of the offense,” Breske quipped with a laugh shortly before the Cowboys headed for the Indoor Practice facility and their fourth workout of the spring on Monday afternoon.
While the Wyoming offense needed most of the attention, that’s not to say the defense didn’t have some concerns.
Heading into the spring, Breske needed to find replacements at cornerback for the departed Julius Stinson and Michael Medina, and at linebacker where Sean Claffey, Luke Chase, John Prater and Brandon Haugen have moved on.
Breske, who also doubles as the secondary coach, is currently working four players at the two cornerback positions — junior T.J. Atwater and sophomore Keith Lewis at the boundary and sophomore Marcell Gipson and redshirt junior Tramaine Brown at the field.
“They’re all rotating and getting the same amount of reps,” Breske said. “We’ll continue that throughout the rest of spring ball. If we can’t make any determinations (as to who the starters are) by then, we will take it into two-a-days (in the fall).
“This is where we were two years ago (when we were looking for two cornerbacks), and Julius (Stinson) and Michael (Medina) stepped up. That’s college football ... you get the next guy ready,” he added.
As far as the four linebacker positions are concerned, the only returning starter taking part in spring ball is senior Mike Juergens at the buck. Fellow senior and weakside backer Ward Dobbs is watching spring drills in street clothes while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
In his starting spot is junior Zeb Whipp.
Joining Juergens and Whipp with the No. 1 group is junior Weston Johnson at the strongside and redshirt freshman Gabe Knapton at the mike.
Right behind Juergens is junior Matt Barella and redshirt freshman Bryson Studnicka, while redshirt freshman Mark Oliver is working behind Whipp. Backing up Johnson is redshirt freshman Brian Hendricks, while senior Jake Edmunds is behind Knapton.
“We’ve had some mental mistakes but that is expected,” Breske said. “Again, we have some young guys stepping up and running with the `one’ guys and they’re learning on the run. We have been flying to the football and we just started tackling on Saturday ... the last eight plays of team. I liked what we were doing there.
“The big thing is for the young guys to learn with the minimal amount of mistakes. I like the hustle out there and the enthusiasm has been great.
“Overall, I’m pleased where we are at the corner and linebacker positions and I think we are going to keep getting better. We still have 10 springs practices left and I don’t know how many two-a-days. So, it’s still early yet,” Breske added.
The area of least concern for Breske and his staff is the defensive front where junior starters Mitch Unrein (end), John Fletcher (tackle) and Fred Givens (nose guard) all return.
All three were exceptional last season and figure to be even better this time around. All three are a little bigger and stronger than they were in the fall — Unrein (270), Fletcher (280) and Givens (301).
“Nobody is going to beat those three guys out,” Breske said.
The Cowboys have been among the better defensive teams in the Mountain West Conference the past two years since switching to a 3-4 alignment, and should be once again this fall. “We have a chance to be pretty good but we have to stay healthy. That’s what everyone says,” Breske said. “We can’t afford to lose No. 1 guys because No. 2 guys then go in and they’re No. 2 for a reason. So, we need to keep the No. 1’s healthy and get the No. 2s up to where the No. 1s are.”
Defense pulls for offense to get its act together at UW
LARAMIE (AP) — The tweaking of the offense by new coordinator Bob Cole ... the battle for the starting quarterback spot ... the development of the offensive line ... Donate Morgan and more speed among the wide receivers ... Devin Moore and Wynel Seldon ...
Needless to say, the media’s focus on the University of Wyoming’s spring practice sessions to date has been mainly on the offensive side of the football.
So is the lack of attention on the Cowboy defense antagonizing UW defensive coordinator Mike Breske in any way?
“Heavens no, I hope we get 30 points a game out of the offense,” Breske quipped with a laugh shortly before the Cowboys headed for the Indoor Practice facility and their fourth workout of the spring on Monday afternoon.
While the Wyoming offense needed most of the attention, that’s not to say the defense didn’t have some concerns.
Heading into the spring, Breske needed to find replacements at cornerback for the departed Julius Stinson and Michael Medina, and at linebacker where Sean Claffey, Luke Chase, John Prater and Brandon Haugen have moved on.
Breske, who also doubles as the secondary coach, is currently working four players at the two cornerback positions — junior T.J. Atwater and sophomore Keith Lewis at the boundary and sophomore Marcell Gipson and redshirt junior Tramaine Brown at the field.
“They’re all rotating and getting the same amount of reps,” Breske said. “We’ll continue that throughout the rest of spring ball. If we can’t make any determinations (as to who the starters are) by then, we will take it into two-a-days (in the fall).
“This is where we were two years ago (when we were looking for two cornerbacks), and Julius (Stinson) and Michael (Medina) stepped up. That’s college football ... you get the next guy ready,” he added.
As far as the four linebacker positions are concerned, the only returning starter taking part in spring ball is senior Mike Juergens at the buck. Fellow senior and weakside backer Ward Dobbs is watching spring drills in street clothes while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
In his starting spot is junior Zeb Whipp.
Joining Juergens and Whipp with the No. 1 group is junior Weston Johnson at the strongside and redshirt freshman Gabe Knapton at the mike.
Right behind Juergens is junior Matt Barella and redshirt freshman Bryson Studnicka, while redshirt freshman Mark Oliver is working behind Whipp. Backing up Johnson is redshirt freshman Brian Hendricks, while senior Jake Edmunds is behind Knapton.
“We’ve had some mental mistakes but that is expected,” Breske said. “Again, we have some young guys stepping up and running with the `one’ guys and they’re learning on the run. We have been flying to the football and we just started tackling on Saturday ... the last eight plays of team. I liked what we were doing there.
“The big thing is for the young guys to learn with the minimal amount of mistakes. I like the hustle out there and the enthusiasm has been great.
“Overall, I’m pleased where we are at the corner and linebacker positions and I think we are going to keep getting better. We still have 10 springs practices left and I don’t know how many two-a-days. So, it’s still early yet,” Breske added.
The area of least concern for Breske and his staff is the defensive front where junior starters Mitch Unrein (end), John Fletcher (tackle) and Fred Givens (nose guard) all return.
All three were exceptional last season and figure to be even better this time around. All three are a little bigger and stronger than they were in the fall — Unrein (270), Fletcher (280) and Givens (301).
“Nobody is going to beat those three guys out,” Breske said.
The Cowboys have been among the better defensive teams in the Mountain West Conference the past two years since switching to a 3-4 alignment, and should be once again this fall. “We have a chance to be pretty good but we have to stay healthy. That’s what everyone says,” Breske said. “We can’t afford to lose No. 1 guys because No. 2 guys then go in and they’re No. 2 for a reason. So, we need to keep the No. 1’s healthy and get the No. 2s up to where the No. 1s are.”
