Unknowns excite Wyoming coach Craig Bohl heading into 2022 season

Jul. 21—LARAMIE — After being picked to finish second in the Mountain Division in last year's Mountain West preseason poll, outside expectations are significantly lower for the University of Wyoming in 2022.

UW coach Craig Bohl doesn't seem to be bothered by this.

The Cowboys were voted fifth in this year's poll, which was released as Mountain West media days got underway Wednesday, joining New Mexico as the only Mountain Division teams to not receive a first-place vote. This was largely to be expected, with the Pokes losing more than half of their 2021 starters to graduation, the transfer portal or pursuit of professional opportunities.

However, for the same reason UW is being slept on throughout the conference, Bohl feels energized heading into next season.

"The thing that's exciting for me is probably reflected in where we were slotted," he said. "We are so unknown. It doesn't mean we can't be good, though. I see some great promise and some real optimism with some younger players who are unproven."

With several notable newcomers — including Power Five cornerbacks Jakorey Hawkins and Deron Harrell, and former Utah State quarterback Andrew Peasley — and a handful of returners poised to step into more prominent roles, Bohl has hopes that UW can exceed its preseason expectations. He is also expecting big things out of the two players the Cowboys brought to MW media days, running back Titus Swen and linebacker Easton Gibbs.

Swen was named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the top running back in the country, on Wednesday. He rushed for 785 yards and seven touchdowns last year, while ranking second among MW running backs with an average of 5.9 yards per carry.

"He's poised to have a great year," Bohl said. "He's a dynamic player. Typically, we've always had two tailbacks. He was certainly integrated into our offense significantly last year. I think you're going to see his carries be more dominant this next year.

"We're probably going to ride him a little bit more. He's improved, and I've also seen a maturation process for him as a person. We're anticipating great things from him."

As for Gibbs, who moved from weak-side to middle linebacker this offseason, Bohl is confident he will continue the tradition of success in a role previously filled by current NFL players Logan Wilson and Chad Muma.

"We saw this coming about a year ago," Bohl said. "(Gibbs is) somebody that's able to conceptualize all the different things we do within our defense at that position. That's so critical, then also just the physical elements we think he has. We're confident in his skill set, and we're looking forward to seeing him embrace that Mike linebacker spot."

MW's place

With the Big Ten adding USC and UCLA from the Pac-12 in recent weeks, the MW could find itself in a state of transition in the near future, depending on how other moves shake out across the country.

In the event of members exiting the conference, commissioner Craig Thompson suggested three options during his address on Wednesday: to stand pat, to add new members or to form a merger of some sort with another league.

"About a decade ago, we talked about merging with Conference USA," Thompson said. "We had several talks at the board level. We had a consultant and media partners, and we gave it a good look way back when, and it did not go to fruition. Instead, we opted to expand the Mountain West, and Conference USA expanded their membership.

"It's something we talk about constantly. Many things will have to be reactionary that are out of our control. There has always been an inequity financially. There are budgets in Division I athletics that exceed $200-225 million, (and) there are budgets in Division I that are less than $15 million. That's probably a bigger concern on a national scale. We want to play at the highest level that football allows."

Bohl, who is the president of the American Football Coaches Association, did not go into much detail on the topic. However, he did note that recent conference realignment developments have been a bit of a shock.

"I always have a pulse on what's going on nationally, and some of these moves have been somewhat of a surprise to me," Bohl said. "They've kind of come out of nowhere. I think things will distill and calm down here a little bit, but there are certainly a lot of challenges that we haven't seen in a while."

College Football Playoff expansion was another topic of conversation Wednesday, with Thompson reiterating his frustration with a lack of changes to the postseason format.

Eight conferences voted to expand the playoff to 12 teams in February, a move that would've gone into effect beginning with the 2024 season. The proposed change was squashed, however, with the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten — who proceeded to form what they called The Alliance — voting against it.

Thompson's comments on the matter were fairly tame Wednesday, outside of voicing his displeasure with the lack of expansion. At a recent UW board of trustees meeting, though, he had more pointed remarks on the subject.

"It was greatly received," Thompson told the UW trustees of the proposed 12-team format. "Very popular. There were several new commissioners, and they go, 'Let's look at this a little longer, and dissect it and see what else we can come up with.' This is about the time Oklahoma and Texas decided to go to the SEC, and they were fearful of the SEC. Three conferences voted against that playoff format expansion, so here you are with the same four-team format for the next couple years.

"Those three conferences formed what they called an alliance. 'Let's work together. Let's stabilize college athletics. Let's not raid each other's membership. Let's kind of battle, if you will, the SEC and what they might have going on.' It worked so well that six months later, the Big Ten took two schools from alliance member Pac-12. How'd that work out?"

Despite the current status of the College Football Playoff, which has featured just one Group of Five team in its eight years in operation, Bohl expressed hope that changes could be on the way in the future.

"We're optimistic that's going to happen," Bohl said. "To get more of an opportunity to have more of a seat at the table really (would) highlight our league."

Josh Criswell covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at jcriswell@wyosports.net or 307-755-3325. Follow him on Twitter at @criswell_sports.