Cowboys looking for consistency from pass catchers
Aug. 28—Quarterback Andrew Peasley was the main target for criticism for the University of Wyoming's stale passing offense a season ago.
The Cowboys struggled moving the ball through the air all season, ranking 125th out of 131 FBS teams in total passing offense. While Peasley's play was inconsistent, senior wide receiver Wyatt Wieland believes the blame for UW's passing struggles start with the wide receivers.
Those frustrations from last year have converted to fuel going into Wieland's final season in Laramie this fall.
"I definitely take that upon myself," Wieland said. "With the experience that I have, I feel like it's my time to step up. Our pass game struggled last year, and people blamed the quarterback or the offensive line, but it starts with us. It starts with me stepping up and improving in any way I can to help this team. That's definitely something we, as receivers, know is on our shoulders."
UW returns the bulk of its wide receiver room, with Joshua Cobbs being the only major departure in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason. Cobbs led the Cowboys with 35 catches for 407 yards and two touchdowns.
Cobbs' production will now shift to the returning veterans in the room, including Wieland, Will Pelissier, Ryan Marquez and Gunner Gentry. Wieland was the only receiver in that group to have double-digit catches a year ago, finishing with 23 receptions for 299 yards and one touchdown.
Gentry, who's also going into his final season in Laramie, is coming off two major injuries that forced him to miss the entirety of the past two seasons. Having to sit on the sidelines for that long has Gentry itching to contribute in the passing game this fall.
"We're going to have a good blend of guys with experience, and some of the younger kids are going to have to step up and make plays when they're called upon," Gentry said. "As a unit, our chemistry is really high. We all really get along, and we all enjoy being around each other. That makes it easy to play with each other. We work well together."
The wide receiver room also welcomed in two notable transfers, including Devin Boddie Jr. from Vanderbilt and Ayir Asante from Holy Cross. The pair enrolled at UW this summer, and both have aspirations of carving out a role right away.
A lot of it is going to be confidence," Asante said. "I play my best when I'm confident. I understand what it takes. It's hard sometimes when you're not playing immediately coming from high school, it's a hard transition. I was kind of forced into a role where I had to start (at Holy Cross). I had to grow up quick. There's a lot of talent in this room, and there's a lot of good dudes."
Asante and Boddie Jr. were both surprised with how welcoming the other receivers were to their arrival. While they're competing for reps in practice to eventually see time on the field during games, the competitive nature of the room is fueled by mutual respect, rather than disdain.
"You expect a little bit of push-back," Asante said. "I'm coming in, I have one year left, and everyone knows they're bringing me in to play. There's been none of that. It's been all love. They're trying to help me learn this playbook, and I'm trying to help them."
Other returners who could carve out significant roles are Alex Brown and Jaylen Sargent. Brown's lone touchdown last season came in a critical moment of UW's 14-13 Border War win over CSU, but he finished the year with just six catches for 69 yards.
"This wide receiver room is super talented, and super young," Asante said. "It's a good mixture of seasoned guys, too. You have guys like Wyatt Wieland, and that dude's not phased by anything. He's super calm, cool, collected and the leader of this group. Also, a dude like Gunner, who's dealt with injuries and stuff, but he's hugely important to the group. Ryan Marquez, too, those three are kind of like the staple of the group and leaders of the group.
"There's a lot of talent here. You think about guys like Alex and dudes like Jaylen Sargent — I'm telling you, Jaylen is one of those dudes. Sometimes, you're in there, and you just see some freaky stuff."
While Asante and Boddie Jr. are both new to the program, they have a combined half-decade of college experience coming with them to UW. That experience has allowed the incoming players and the returning players to push each other to get better in fall camp.
"We're going to shock a lot of people," Boddie Jr. said. "I feel like a lot of people are talking about how we need to upgrade the pass game, or we're not passing enough or we're just not getting it done. We're going to get it done. Everybody's going to get better this year.
"We've got a lot of veteran guys who are going to make plays out there. I feel like bringing me and my boy Ayir in, we're going to help. I feel like the passing game is definitely going to improve a lot this year. The room's going to shock a lot of people, for sure."
Alex Taylor is the assistant editor for WyoSports and covers University of Wyoming athletics. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22.
