April 8, 2023 — As the second of five weeks of Spring Football practice nears completion for the Wyoming Cowboys, head coach Craig Bohl discussed areas the Cowboys are working on, as well as one significant position move that has been made on the roster.
“Great to be out at practice again today (Thursday). I think we’re making progress,” said Bohl. UW spring sessions will continue on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays until April 29, with the Brown and Gold scrimmage game at War Memorial.
“One of the guys I’ve really been encouraged about is (cornerback) Kolbey Taylor,” said Bohl. “He’s a guy that has a tremendous amount of physical ability. He’s learning how to play football. He’s listening to coaching. It’s hard to coach six foot-four as a corner, so I’m staying the heck away and letting Coach (Benny) Boyd continue to work with him.
Taylor is one of three returning cornerbacks with playing experience for the Cowboys. The other two are graduate Deron Harrell and senior Jakorey Hawkins.
“I don’t know if we have enough depth yet,” said Bohl. “I will say that Jakorey (Hawkins) had surgery on his shoulder, and he’ll miss the rest of spring. Having Kolbey out there has really been encouraging, and it’s been exciting seeing him come along and mature.”
The one big position move that Bohl announced after Thursday’s practice was the move of former Cowboy linebacker Sam Scott to running back. Scott, a 6-2 230-pound sophomore from Omaha, Nebraska, spent his first two seasons at Wyoming playing linebacker. But when the Pokes needed another running back for the Arizona Bowl. Scott, a standout high school running back at Skutt Catholic in Omaha, was asked to step into that role. Bohl announced Thursday that Scott’s move to running back has now been made permanent.
“Sam (Scott) was really a good running back in high school. It’s always been my thought that guys who can play running back can be a good linebacker, which I think he could have been, but he’s just more naturally gifted at running back,” said Bohl. “He’s an excellent pass protector, which is quite important in our league. Along with that is he’s a big strong guy, he’s 230-some pounds.”
Regarding the passing game, Bohl is encouraged about the development of the quarterback position early in spring practice. In addition to returning graduate starter Andrew Peasley, who earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West honors last year, Bohl had good things to say about the other Cowboy quarterbacks competing in spring, including sophomore Evan Svoboda, junior Jayden Clemons, and sophomore Hank Gibbs.
“I think Evan Svoboda is making some real progress at the quarterback position,” commented Bohl. “Andrew Peasley continues to do well. Jayden Clemons has been out there competing. We’re staggering our repetitions, and a lot of that had to do with the number of repetitions Jayden had last year. Evan is a guy who we feel has a real strong arm, but his refinement to play the quarterback position wasn’t there last year. We’re giving him ample opportunity to grow this spring. There’s going to be competition there, but right now, we’re giving quite a bit of work to Andrew. Evan is getting some, and Jayden is getting the rest, and he’s been the ultimate team player along with Hank Gibbs.”
Another offensive position that Bohl was asked about was the fullback position. Gillette, Wyoming junior Caleb Driskill looks to fill the open position.
“We’ve seen really good growth out of Caleb (Driskill),” said Bohl. “When we recruited him out of high school, we knew he was a tough, tough kid out of Gillette, but he’s improved his skill set as far as where he fits as a fullback. He’s been running some pass routes, and he has very capable hands. It’s been fun to see his progress, and we will utilize him extensively this fall.”
Wyoming will return to practice today. The season starts for the Pokes on Saturday, September 2, with UW hosting Texas Tech.
