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The Wyoming Cowboys quarterback situation just got a little more dicey. First it was Brett Smith leaving early for the NFL Draft, and now backup Jason Thompson is following former Wyoming head Dave Christensen to Utah, who is now the Utes offensive coordinator.
Thompson would have been a redshirt sophomore for Wyoming in 2014, and while he was not guaranteed the starting job from new head coach Craig Bohl he had the most experience. 2013 saw Thompson redshirt but in 2012 he saw time in six games.
Thompson going to Utah is no surprise since he was coached by Christensen, but what is odd is that Utah reached out to Wyoming for the permission to speak to Thompson. The Utes have had their quarterback issues with injuries over the past few years to Jordan Wynn and more recently Travis Wilson, but Thompson was just a two-star recruit coming out of high school and his only other offer came from Washington.
Thompson sent out a pair of thank you tweets about his time at Wyoming.
I'd like to thank the University of Wyoming for all that it has done. A lot of great men I will miss as well as memories. But I thank God
— Jason Thompson 17 (@JThompson_425) January 8, 2014
for every last one of them. I will no longer be attending the great University of Wyoming. I thank you and good luck Poke Nation.
— Jason Thompson 17 (@JThompson_425) January 8, 2014
The Wyoming quarterback situation going forward becomes much more interesting. The only scholarship quarterback left on the roster is true freshman Tommy Thornton who was a two-star recruit out of Tempe, Ariz. The only other quarterback at all is walk-on freshman walk-on T.J. Patterson.
The battle to be the starting in 2014 is going to be between Thornton and incoming freshman Austin Fort. Fort has stayed true to his commitment with the arrival of Craig Bohl as the new head coach, and it is a good thing he is doing so because now he has a chance to start.
Fort also knows that he is not going to be handed the starting job:
"I'm definitely excited about the opportunity to come in and start, but I have to earn it," Fort said. "It's not just going to be given to me. There is still going to be other quarterbacks that are there when I get there. My focus is just on being the best quarterback that I can be and working hard every day until I move down to Laramie so I put myself in position to compete for that spot."
