http://www.trib.com/articles/2009/08/15/sports/uwsports/77411529f037247d87257612007551f9.txt
By AUSTIN WARD
Star-Tribune staff writer
Saturday, August 15, 2009 2:06 AM MDT
Dave Christensen saw almost everything he wants.
The Cowboys operated at the pace the new Wyoming coach wants, they were physical and there was no doubting the toughness.
All that was missing was Chris McNeill getting back up after showing all three traits. Though after giving UW a scare and being taken from practice in an ambulance, the freshman receiver appears to be fine.
And he made the catch as well.
"He's got feeling from head to toe, so he has no permanent loss of feeling," Christensen said. "It was precautionary, put him on the board, take him over to the hospital, get him X-rayed -- I would imagine he'll be in meetings [Friday night]. We feel pretty positive about that.
"It's always scary when a kid goes down and doesn't get right back up, and he took a big hit, got twisted around and bent his neck a little bit, but I think he's going to be fine. It was a heck of an effort, caught the ball, and he'll be good to go."
That was questionable when McNeill was laying motionless on the War Memorial Stadium turf during Friday's first scrimmage of the fall.
The highly-touted newcomer was folded by a hit from the blind side on a ball thrown behind him late in the workout, and after the training staff tended to him for about 10 minutes, an ambulance pulled out to the 25-yard line to take him in for further examination.
Word slowly filtered out to the rest of the roster that McNeill was fine, though it was a scary situation for a player who's already suffered one concussion since camp opened last week.
"I was kind of scared for him," running back Darius Terry said. "When I first saw it, I thought it had to be a neck injury, but he's got feeling in his hands and feet.
"I got everybody together as an offense and we prayed for him. Hopefully, it will be a speedy recovery."
ALL ABOUT THE BALL: A defense starved for takeaways will have plenty to feel good about.
A former offensive coordinator probably won't be as thrilled with the film.
The Cowboys had more than a few highlights offensively in their first significant live work against the defense, but their five turnovers figure to be mentioned prominently in the review sessions leading up to Tuesday's second scrimmage.
"I'm not going to be pleased until we stop turning the football over, because the bottom line is when you turn the ball over, you're not going to have a very good chance of winning," Christensen said. "We need to work on that, obviously a couple fumbles with a young guy [running back Alvester Alexander] and a couple interceptions that you can't have, so we need to work on that."
BUMPS AND BRUISES: John Fletcher's early departure was far less serious than the injury to McNeill, but it was just as frightening for a defense counting on a big senior season from the defensive end.
After intercepting a short pass by Robert Benjamin early in the scrimmage, Fletcher left with a sprained left knee shortly after and didn't return. He's expected back in the next couple days.
The timetable is a bit longer for freshman linebacker Devyn Harris -- who had UW's other interception. Harris will miss a couple weeks with an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament.
By AUSTIN WARD
Star-Tribune staff writer
Saturday, August 15, 2009 2:06 AM MDT
Dave Christensen saw almost everything he wants.
The Cowboys operated at the pace the new Wyoming coach wants, they were physical and there was no doubting the toughness.
All that was missing was Chris McNeill getting back up after showing all three traits. Though after giving UW a scare and being taken from practice in an ambulance, the freshman receiver appears to be fine.
And he made the catch as well.
"He's got feeling from head to toe, so he has no permanent loss of feeling," Christensen said. "It was precautionary, put him on the board, take him over to the hospital, get him X-rayed -- I would imagine he'll be in meetings [Friday night]. We feel pretty positive about that.
"It's always scary when a kid goes down and doesn't get right back up, and he took a big hit, got twisted around and bent his neck a little bit, but I think he's going to be fine. It was a heck of an effort, caught the ball, and he'll be good to go."
That was questionable when McNeill was laying motionless on the War Memorial Stadium turf during Friday's first scrimmage of the fall.
The highly-touted newcomer was folded by a hit from the blind side on a ball thrown behind him late in the workout, and after the training staff tended to him for about 10 minutes, an ambulance pulled out to the 25-yard line to take him in for further examination.
Word slowly filtered out to the rest of the roster that McNeill was fine, though it was a scary situation for a player who's already suffered one concussion since camp opened last week.
"I was kind of scared for him," running back Darius Terry said. "When I first saw it, I thought it had to be a neck injury, but he's got feeling in his hands and feet.
"I got everybody together as an offense and we prayed for him. Hopefully, it will be a speedy recovery."
ALL ABOUT THE BALL: A defense starved for takeaways will have plenty to feel good about.
A former offensive coordinator probably won't be as thrilled with the film.
The Cowboys had more than a few highlights offensively in their first significant live work against the defense, but their five turnovers figure to be mentioned prominently in the review sessions leading up to Tuesday's second scrimmage.
"I'm not going to be pleased until we stop turning the football over, because the bottom line is when you turn the ball over, you're not going to have a very good chance of winning," Christensen said. "We need to work on that, obviously a couple fumbles with a young guy [running back Alvester Alexander] and a couple interceptions that you can't have, so we need to work on that."
BUMPS AND BRUISES: John Fletcher's early departure was far less serious than the injury to McNeill, but it was just as frightening for a defense counting on a big senior season from the defensive end.
After intercepting a short pass by Robert Benjamin early in the scrimmage, Fletcher left with a sprained left knee shortly after and didn't return. He's expected back in the next couple days.
The timetable is a bit longer for freshman linebacker Devyn Harris -- who had UW's other interception. Harris will miss a couple weeks with an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament.
