Season Opens on Sept. 5 at Home Versus North Dakota

LARAMIE — The Wyoming Cowboy Football team will begin preparations for its 2015 season on Monday.

Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl will be entering his second season with the Wyoming Football program.

“It is going to be really important to integrate our systems — offense, defense and kicking — in a way that all of our players can pick up as quickly and comprehensively as possible. That will be particularly important for our younger players,” Bohl said. “Another important part of this fall camp will be identifying which of our freshmen can come in and contribute, because this year, more so than many years, we may have a number of freshmen playing. How we go about determining which freshmen are going to play and what role they are going to play is going to have a significant impact on our football team.”

Bohl said he has some outstanding veterans and areas of strength returning on this year’s Cowboy team.

“Our strength without question is we have a full stable of running backs,” Bohl said. “We also have a number of returners on the defensive line who played a lot of meaningful reps last year, which is going to be important.

“Even though we are going to have a new quarterback this season, I feel good about the quarterback position. I thought that position really made progress in the spring — Cam (Coffman), Josh (Allen) and the other players at that position made good progress.”

Coffman joined the Wyoming Football program in the fall of 2014. He transferred from Indiana University, where he was the Hoosiers’ starting quarterback in 2012. Coffman threw for 2,734 yards in 2012. He ranked second in the Big Ten in passing yards per game, pass completions and pass attempts that season.

Allen transferred to UW in January of 2015 after playing one season at Reedley Community College in California. Allen led Reedley in both passing yards and rushing yards as a freshman. He threw for 2,055 yards, 26 touchdowns and threw only five interceptions in 10 games. Allen also rushed for 660 yards on 120 carries, and scored 10 rushing TDs. He led a Reedley offense that averaged 452.2 yards of total offense per game to rank No. 9 among all California junior college teams.

In addition to identifying young players who may be able to step in and contribute right away, Bohl has some specific position needs he will be looking to fill in the month leading up to Wyoming’s season opener versus North Dakota on Sept. 5.

“We have to identify a kicker, having lost Stu Williams to graduation. That is a major area of focus entering fall camp,” Bohl said. “We have some holes to fill in the offensive line, and our defensive secondary is going to have to have some young players step up and contribute right away.”

Bohl returns 10 starters and 35 lettermen from last year’s team. Among those returning starters is two-time, First Team All-Mountain West Conference performer Eddie Yarbrough at defensive end. Yarbrough, a senior, will be a leading All-America candidate this season.

Senior Shaun Wick also returns for his senior season with the Wyoming career rushing record within reach. Wick has rushed for 2,082 yards over the past three seasons. He needs 882 yards to break the UW record. Wick will be joined in the backfield by sophomore Brian Hill, who was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in a 45-17 win at Fresno State last season. Hill made his first career start in that game after Wick suffered a broken hand the week prior. Hill accounted for 387 all-purpose yards against FSU, including 281 rushing yards and 106 receiving yards.

Other returning starters on offense include: Honorable Mention All-Mountain West selection Chase Roullier, at offensive guard; Ryan Cummings at offensive tackle; Rafe Kiely at center; and Drew Van Maanen at fullback. On defense, the returning starters include: Yarbrough at defensive end; defensive tackle Uso Olive; cornerback Robert Priester; and Tim Kamana, who has moved from a safety position last season to a strong-side linebacker/nickel position in 2015.

A morning practice will begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by Media Day in the afternoon on Monday. Media will be hosted at a luncheon in the Wildcatter Stadium Club & Suites from 1-2 p.m., with interviews of Cowboy players and coaches taking place on Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium from 2-3 p.m.

The first 30 minutes of practices will be open to media and the general public. Student-athletes and coaches will be available for interviews with the media after fall practices. The Cowboys will utilize War Memorial Stadium, the Indoor Practice Facility and the North 40 Practice Fields for fall drills.

The Cowboys are scheduled to hold one fall scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 22. That will be a closed scrimmage.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets to 2015 Wyoming Cowboy Football games may go online at www.GoWyo.com/tickets, may call the UW Athletics Ticket Office at 877-WYO-FAN1 (877-996-3261) or 307-766-4850 or may stop by the ticket office on the west side of UW’s Arena-Auditorium.