Wyoming Releases First Fall Depth Chart

The Wyoming coaching staff has released their first Fall depth chart on Tuesday and the first thing noticed is the lack of change to that depth chart from Spring.  So no real surprises were sprung to the Wyoming faithful and media.

Defensively, a couple players who missed or were limited in spring football due to injuries rose to earn the No. 1 spots on the fall two deep. Those two individuals were sophomore cornerback Robert Priester and junior strong-side linebacker/nickel back D.J. May. Priester started seven consecutive games as a true freshman in 2014 before suffering a knee injury that caused him to miss the season finale at New Mexico and knocked him out of 2015 spring practice. May also injured his knee in practice in late October of last season, causing him to miss the final five games of the season and limited his participation in 2015 spring drills.  May was a running back for the Cowboys until he made the move to the defensive side of the ball this off-season.

This is what Bohl had to say about May and his transition to defense and what he means for the defense going forth.

“It has been a pretty fast progression for D.J.,” said Bohl. “He was not able to go through spring football because of an ACL reconstruction. He has come back from that surgery as we expected. He does possess great speed. He has good change of direction, and is an aggressive player. In our league, the nickel player is becoming a more common player than the SAM linebacker. In our league, you tend to play more nickel than you do three linebackers, so to have a guy with his ability out there is going to help infuse some speed and athleticism to our defense, which we need.”

Both Priester and May replaced redshirt freshman C.J. Jennings and sophomore Tim Kamana who topped the two starting positions during the Spring.

One glaring aspect of the depth chart on both sides of the ball shows the extreme youth of the Cowboys roster.  That youth on the depth chart shows the Cowboys as a whole may be another year from really truly turning things around but also shows the future definitely looks bright for coach Craig Bohl's team.

Young players who have emerged on defense to earn two deep spots are true freshman Andrew Wingard, who is listed No. 2 at both free safety and strong safety; true freshman defensive end Carl Granderson, who is listed as the backup to senior left end Eddie Yarbrough; redshirt freshman Sidney Malauulu has moved from No. 2 at defensive tackle in the spring to No. 2 at nose tackle on the fall depth chart; redshirt freshman Conner Cain, who is now listed No. 2 at defensive tackle.

Offensively the young players that have earned their way onto the two deep this fall are true freshman wide receiver Joseph Parker, listed No. 2 at one of the wide receiver spots; redshirt freshman Brinkley Jolly at left tackle; sophomore Kurtis Stirneman has moved from the No. 2 spot at right tackle to the No. 2 spot at left guard; true freshman Kaden Jackson is listed No. 2 at right guard; and true freshman Zach Wallace is listed No. 2 at right tackle.

When coach Bohl was asked if there was anyone who had earned their way on to the depth chart that surprised him?

“We are pleasantly surprised with the number of freshman who are integrated in the two-deep,” said Bohl. “We had high expectations of this class coming in. They’ve exceeded our expectations since they’ve come into camp. I think it is a little bit of an indication of being able to go through our first full recruiting cycle. Plus it’s an indication of a lack of depth in our program. Ideally when your program is where you want it to be you’re not playing as many freshmen. But I can also say that some of these young players as we evaluate them are in a position, as we continue to work with them, to give us winning performances.”

When asked to talk about the number of freshmen from this year’s class who may end up playing this season, Bohl had this to say.

“I will tell you this, if we pull a redshirt off a freshman they are going to play. It’s not going to be a situation where we pull a redshirt off someone we see playing only a few reps.”

Defense

Boundary Cornerbacks

35 Robert Priester (5-9, 180, So., Tampa, Fla.)

26 C.J. Jennings (5-10, 180, RFr., Orlando, Fla.)

Free Safeties

22 Marcus Epps (6-0, 190, RFr., Los Angeles, Calif.)

28 Andrew Wingard (6-0, 194, Fr., Arvada, Colo.)

Strong Safeties

31 Chavez Pownell Jr. (5-11, 192, RFr., Tampa,Fla.)

28 Andrew Wingard (6-0, 194, Fr., Arvada, Colo.)

Field Cornerbacks

19 Anthony Makransky (5-10, 177, RFr., Friendswood, Texas)

5 Tyran Finley (5-9, 175, Sr., Birmingham, Ala.)

Strong-Side (SAM) Linebackers/Nickel Backs

7 D.J. May (5-11, 198, Jr., Federal Way, Wash.)

23 Tim Kamana (5-11, 206, So., Honolulu, Hawai’i)

Middle (MIKE) Linebackers

11 Eric Nzeocha (6-3, 218, Jr., Neusitz, Germany)

44 Devin McKenna (6-2, 225, Jr., Millstone, N.J.)

Weak-Side (WILL) Linebackers

45 Lucas Wacha (6-1, 214, Jr., Texarkana, Texas)

36 Will Tutein (6-2, 212, Jr., St. Croix, Virgin Islands)

Left Ends

55 Eddie Yarbrough (6-3, 251, Sr., Aurora, Colo.)

91 Carl Granderson (6-5, 200, Fr., Sacramento, Calif.)

Nose Tackles

57 Chase Appleby (6-0, 255, Jr., Frisco, Texas)

96 Sidney Malauulu (6-3, 300, RFr., Seoul, South Korea)

Defensive Tackles

90 Uso Olive (6-1, 305, Jr., Federal Way, Wash.)

70 Conner Cain (6-4, 256, RFr., Littleton, Colo.)

Right Ends

34 Siaosi Hala’api’api (6-2, 250, Sr., Honolulu, Hawai’i)

47 Tavita Faaiu (6-3, 250, Jr., San Francisco, Calif.)

Specialists

Punters

41 Ethan Wood (6-3, 176, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.)

39 Justin Martin (5-10, 187, RJr., Oakdale, Calif.)

Long Snappers

94 Brendan Turelli (6-2, 216, Jr., Phoenix, Ariz.)

36 Drew Van Maanen (6-1, 226, So., Parker, Colo.)

Holders

12 Aaron Young (6-2, 198, Jr., Sacramento, Calif.)

41 Ethan Wood (6-3, 176, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Offense

Quarterbacks

2 Cameron Coffman (6-2, 198, RSr., Peculiar, Mo.)

17 Josh Allen (6-5, 216, So., Firebaugh, Calif)

Running Backs

21 Shaun Wick (5-10, 215, Sr., Oxnard, Calif.)

8 Brian Hill (6-1, 211, So., Belleville, Ill.)

Fullbacks

36 Drew Van Maanen (6-1, 226, So., Parker, Colo.)

48 Jordan Ellis (6-2, 239, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Wide Receivers (X)

83 Jake Maulhardt (6-6, 216, Jr., Camarillo, Calif.)

13 Tom Thornton (6-1, 201, Jr., Tempe, Ariz.)

Wide Receivers (Z)

4 Tanner Gentry (6-2, 201, Jr., Aurora, Colo.)

3 Joseph Parker (5-10, 182, Fr., Castle Rock, Colo.)

Tight Ends (Y)

88 Jacob Hollister (6-4, 230, Jr., Bend, Ore.)

85 Tyree Mayfield (6-3, 223, RFr., St. Joseph, Mo.)

Left Tackles

59 Ryan Cummings (6-6, 314, So., Littleton, Colo.)

74 Brinkley Jolly (6-5, 282, RFr., Liberty, Mo.)

Left Guards

73 Chase Roullier (6-4, 293, Jr., Savage, Minn.)

75 Kurtis Stirneman (6-5, 281, So., Lakewood, Ill.)

Centers

64 Charlie Renfree (6-3, 260, So., Scottsdale, Ariz.)

63 Rafe Kiely (6-3, 304, Sr., Wheaton, Ill.)

Right Guards

51 Troy Boyland (6-2, 302, Sr., Palo Alto, Calif.)

61 Kaden Jackson (6-2, 277, Fr., Kingfisher, Okla.)

Right Tackles

58 Taylor Knestis (6-5, 299, So., Lakewood, Colo.)

72 Zach Wallace (6-7, 265, Fr., Lake Zurich, Ill.)

Specialists

Place-kickers

TBA

Kickoff Returners

TBA

Punt Returners

TBA