Wyo4News Staff, [email protected] [PRESS RELEASE]
LARAMIE, WYOMING — Wyoming Football is back in action, kicking off Spring Football this week. The 2023 Cowboys return a team full of veterans from a squad that finished second in the Mountain West Mountain Division in 2022 and earned its fifth bowl-game appearance in the past seven seasons.
Entering 2023 Spring Drills is far from where the Cowboys were a year ago when Wyoming was the fourth least experienced team in the country but exceeded all expectations. Wyoming was the surprise team of the Mountain West, being picked fifth in the Mountain Division in the preseason media poll before finishing second.
A year ago, the Wyoming Cowboys entered Spring Football returning only 10 of 24 starters . A year later, UW enters the first week of spring practice returninig 18 of 24 starters.
“It’s a fun time. It’s great to be out at practice,” said head coach Craig Bohl. “Our football team made some really good gains in the offseason. It’s always interesting when we have a debriefing with our strength and conditioning staff and go through the gains from winter conditioning. But a lot of times there is a difference between what has gone on in the weight room and how our guys translate when they get on the grass.
“I was encouraged by some of the things we saw this week. We’re a little bit thin at some spots. We’re probably not as deep at the offensive line right now because of some off-season surgeries. But we were able to rotate with three quarterbacks working on Tuesday.
In terms of competition for positions this spring, Bohl said that he spoke with the team specifically about what would take place during spring practice this year and what he and his coaching staff would be focused on.
“I talked to our guys today, and I told them, ‘We’re going to teach you, we’re going to train you, we’re going to trust you and then we’re going to evaluate you,’” said Bohl. “All our players need to have a chip on their shoulders.”
Tuesday and Thursday marked the first of two of 15 spring practices for the Pokes. Wyoming will practice on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays over the next five weeks, with the final day being the annual Spring Game on Saturday, April 29 at 2 p.m. in War Memorial Stadium. The Spring Game will be open to the public.
