New recruiting director has been hired....

[DamThatRiver22]

https://gowyo.com/news/2023/1/30/kirby-o-meara-hired-as-director-of-player-personnel-for-wyoming-football.aspx

Comes to us from UCF, with previous roles at UF, Arky, and the NFL (Jags). Was the starting long snapper at Central Arkansas for three years (after initially redshirting at TCU).

Bit of an outside the box hire for Bohl, as we know he tends to promote from within or dig into his past ties.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

Very out of the box. The biggest head scratcher is that his recruiting ties and background is pretty much all Florida. Will be interesting to see where we focus our recruiting efforts over the next few years.

 

[LanderPoke]

Welcome to Wyoming, coach!

 

[DamThatRiver22]

Very out of the box. The biggest head scratcher is that his recruiting ties and background is pretty much all Florida. Will be interesting to see where we focus our recruiting efforts over the next few years.

For what it's worth...from what I've gathered from fans of his previous teams, he's absolutely top notch at what he does. So there's that.

Won't fix a lot of our other problems, but it's a start and a change of scenery.

I think Bohl himself will still want to have more of a focus on Wyo/Colorado than his predecessors, and he definitely likes to keep digging in the Cali well. But I can definitely see us shifting from Texas to Florida. I...don't know how much of a difference that in and of itself makes, but the man has an exceptional eye for evaluating talent in general so I guess we'll see.

 

[LawPoke]

Welcome to Wyoming, coach!

Agreed. Now change out the WR coach and take Bohl's headset away when the offense is on the field and we might be on to something.

 

[doreno5]

Very out of the box. The biggest head scratcher is that his recruiting ties and background is pretty much all Florida. Will be interesting to see where we focus our recruiting efforts over the next few years.

My guess is Bohl is now seeing that he can effectively recruit players through the portal Wyoming would never be able to attract out of high school. Players stuck on the 2d or 3d string at Georgia , Florida, Ohio State etc. have the chance to transfer into starting positions at Wyoming. Realistically, if you are not getting playing time at one of those schools and your goal is the NFL, you have a better chance at getting drafted or a free agent invite if scouts can at least see you play. The recruiting coordinator hire is someone who will know some of those players who need to transfer to get noticed.

 

[DamThatRiver22]

Very out of the box. The biggest head scratcher is that his recruiting ties and background is pretty much all Florida. Will be interesting to see where we focus our recruiting efforts over the next few years.

My guess is Bohl is now seeing that he can effectively recruit players through the portal Wyoming would never be able to attract out of high school. Players stuck on the 2d or 3d string at Georgia , Florida, Ohio State etc. have the chance to transfer into starting positions at Wyoming. Realistically, if you are not getting playing time at one of those schools and your goal is the NFL, you have a better chance at getting drafted or a free agent invite if scouts can at least see you play. The recruiting coordinator hire is someone who will know some of those players who need to transfer to get noticed.

Exactly. He was always resistant to the portal because it's been mostly antithetical (in the past) to how he wants to build a program, but I think he's finally coming around to it now...mainly because he no longer really has a choice. This is the way things are now...you're going to lose too much talent to the portal (especially if results don't meet expectations for the players), and recruiting high schools and Jr. Colleges isn't going to be a 1:1 replacement method as far as performance/talent goes. But the portal can also giveth if you're smart and can still vet players.

We just saw a QB transfer from Washington to freaking Cal Poly. A kicker (third string, granted) from a back-to-back national championship Georgia team just entered the portal. An LB from LSU and an OL From Tennessee both just transferred to UAB. One of Colorado's QBs, pushed out for obvious reasons, just transferred to Arkansas State. The list goes on. There is real opportunity these days for some steals...and with Bohl seeming to recognize that, and then hiring what appears to be one of the nation's best recruiters and talent evaluators currently with a ton of SEC/southern ties...it's definitely a step in the right direction.

None of it means a thing for our offense if we continue to employ Mike Grant, continue to run a 1998 version of the pro-style system, and continue to fail at developing the players (specifically WR and QB)...but one thing at a time I suppose. Lol.

 

[PokesArePeopleToo]

What I draw from this is that Bohl has no plans to stop coaching after his current contract expires. I expect an announcement to be forthcoming that they have extended Bohl's deal by another 3-4 seasons.

 

[OrediggerPoke]

What I draw from this is that Bohl has no plans to stop coaching after his current contract expires. I expect an announcement to be forthcoming that they have extended Bohl's deal by another 3-4 seasons.

If anything, I come to the opposite conclusion. Bohl has pretty consistently hired contacts and his own coaching tree over the years. This hire doesn't appear to have any connection to Bohl or his coaching tree whatsoever. Seems to me that a hiring committee may have been involved to bring in the best candidate (not necessarily the most known candidate to Bohl).

 

[OrediggerPoke]

My guess is Bohl is now seeing that he can effectively recruit players through the portal Wyoming would never be able to attract out of high school. Players stuck on the 2d or 3d string at Georgia , Florida, Ohio State etc. have the chance to transfer into starting positions at Wyoming. Realistically, if you are not getting playing time at one of those schools and your goal is the NFL, you have a better chance at getting drafted or a free agent invite if scouts can at least see you play. The recruiting coordinator hire is someone who will know some of those players who need to transfer to get noticed.

Exactly. He was always resistant to the portal because it's been mostly antithetical (in the past) to how he wants to build a program, but I think he's finally coming around to it now...mainly because he no longer really has a choice. This is the way things are now...you're going to lose too much talent to the portal (especially if results don't meet expectations for the players), and recruiting high schools and Jr. Colleges isn't going to be a 1:1 replacement method as far as performance/talent goes. But the portal can also giveth if you're smart and can still vet players.

We just saw a QB transfer from Washington to freaking Cal Poly. A kicker (third string, granted) from a back-to-back national championship Georgia team just entered the portal. An LB from LSU and an OL From Tennessee both just transferred to UAB. One of Colorado's QBs, pushed out for obvious reasons, just transferred to Arkansas State. The list goes on. There is real opportunity these days for some steals...and with Bohl seeming to recognize that, and then hiring what appears to be one of the nation's best recruiters and talent evaluators currently with a ton of SEC/southern ties...it's definitely a step in the right direction.

None of it means a thing for our offense if we continue to employ Mike Grant, continue to run a 1998 version of the pro-style system, and continue to fail at developing the players (specifically WR and QB)...but one thing at a time I suppose. Lol.

Both great points that this could signal a shift from HS recruiting to identifying potential transfer/portal players.

 

[PokesArePeopleToo]

No. This guy isn't coming here for a cup of coffee with the possibility of being replaced by the next head coach. I'm guessing he received assurances that Bohl will be here the next several years ahead.

 

[stymeman]

What I draw from this is that Bohl has no plans to stop coaching after his current contract expires. I expect an announcement to be forthcoming that they have extended Bohl's deal by another 3-4 seasons.

Ohhh heck no, retirement hasta be on the radar as we need to bring our offense into the 21st Century, and its time, isn't it??

 

[PokesArePeopleToo]

What I draw from this is that Bohl has no plans to stop coaching after his current contract expires. I expect an announcement to be forthcoming that they have extended Bohl's deal by another 3-4 seasons.

Ohhh heck no, retirement hasta be on the radar as we need to bring our offense into the 21st Century, and its time, isn't it??

As I mentioned before, I think Bohl will stick around. I'm thinking another 4 years after his current contract expires. Actually I think this is a good thing. Bohl is a good coach despite my and others complaints sometimes. Might help us all out if someone would ask him about how long he wants to coach and then get a response on the record.