COWBOYS OFFENSE
X—8 Joshua Cobbs 6-4 204 So.
TE—81 Treyton Welch 6-3 242 Jr.
LT—69 Eric Abojei 6-5 330 Sr.
LG—65 Zach Watts 6-5 307 Jr.
C—77 Nofoafia Tulafono 6-2 325 So.
RG—79 Jack Walsh 6-3 302 Fr.
RT—75 Frank Crum 6-7 315 Jr.
Z—11 Wyatt Wieland 6-1 200 Jr.
FB—80 Parker Christensen 6-2 235 So.
QB—6 Andrew Peasley 6-2 210 Jr.
RB—2 Titus Swen 5-11 206 Jr.
In a quarterback exchange that was not a trade — Andrew Peasley went to Wyoming, Levi Williams to Utah State — it appears the Cowboys came out ahead. Peasley, who already has earned a degree, has been a dual threat, with a TD/pick ratio of 9-to-3 and an average of 8.3 yards per non-sack keeper or scramble. Peasley provides a big-play complement to an offense that runs 60.7% of the time, including 64.4% on first down. Of Peasley’s 105 completions, 24 have gone for at least 15 yards. Joshua Cobbs (25 catches on team-high 49 targets) is the go-to receiver. Tight end Treyton Welch is a stick-mover (10 of 14 receptions went for first downs) as a part of the three-receiver set. But for all the spread imagery, the Cowboys are ground-and-pounders. Parker Christensen, a fullback who has no carries, often attaches to Welch to create an overload block. Running back Titus Swen needs only a narrow crease. He rushed for 169 yards and three TDs against Utah State last week. Swen is a forward thinker who has said: “If you’re a running back and you’re going backward, you need to find a different profession.” Da’Qualen “DQ” James, who is 5-7 and 172 pounds, can sprint 100 meters in 10.8 seconds. His motto: “slow feet, don’t eat.” James committed to UH in 2020, but a glitch delayed his signing, and then he flipped his commitment to Wyoming. Right tackle Frank Crum, a third-generation Cowboy, is the leader of the O-line. In 404 snaps, Crum has not allowed a sack or committed a penalty. The Cowboys are 16th nationally in fewest penalties (34 overall, 20 by the offense). “Being at Wyoming, you’ve got to love run blocking,” said the 6-6 Crum, who has learned to lower his strike zone. “As offensive linemen, we don’t get all the credit in the newspaper, which is fine. We get the job started for (the backs), and they do what they’re gifted with.”
COWBOYS DEFENSE
DE—86 Braden Siders 6-3 240 Fr.
NT—90 Gavin Meyer 6-4 279 So.
DT—96 Jordan Bertagnole 6-4 283 So.
DE—93 DeVonne Harris 6-4 225 So.
MLB—28 Easton Gibbs 6-2 230 So.
WLB—43 Shae Suiaunoa 6-3 232 So.
NB—23 Wrook Brown 5-11 185 Fr.
CB—4 Cam Stone 5-10 188 So.
SS—31 Wyett Ekeler 5-11 201 So.
FS—42 Isaac White 6-1 204 So.
CB—5 Deron Harrell 6-2 180 Sr.
Led by four down linemen who are sophomores or younger, the Cowboys are fourth nationally with 25 sacks. The sleeper is defensive end DeVonne Harris, a free spirit who reportedly wore pajamas to a workout session. Nicknamed “Speed Goggles” because he wears protective glasses during games, Harris has tunnel vision in tracking quarterbacks. He leads the league with seven sacks. Braden Siders (7.5 tackles for loss) completes the Cowboys’ rebuild at defensive end after Garrett Crall exhausted his eligibility at the end of the 2021 season and Solomon Byrd (USC) and Jaylen Pate (Northwestern) transferred. Cam Stone is an aggressive corner (one pick-6 and two pass interference penalties). Safety Wyett Ekeler emerged from concussion protocol for an interception last week. Middle linebacker Easton Gibbs has embraced his role as the heart of the 4-2-5 defense. Gibbs was an under-recruited prep quarterback when his athleticism caught the Wyoming coaches’ attention. Gibbs weighed 185 pounds when he first enrolled. While improving his strength, he received mentoring from linebacker Logan Wilson, now with the Cincinnati Bengals. Last year, he was the will linebacker playing in tandem with Chad Muma, now a Jacksonville Jaguars rookie. In the spring, Gibbs, who now weighs 230, moved to the middle. He has a team-high 68 tackles. Against Tulsa, Gibbs recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. “It definitely was a fun experience to (score a TD) again,” he said. “Hopefully, there’s more to come.”
COWBOYS SPECIALISTS
PK/KO—46 John Hoyland 5-10 180 So.
P/H—39 Clayton Stewart 6-1 220 Jr.
LS—85 Carson York 6-1 180 Fr,.
KR/PR—4 Cam Stone 5-10 188 So.
KR/PR—11 Wyatt Wieland 6-1 200 Jr.
John Hoyland is the Steph Curry of college football, leading the nation in 3s made (2.12 per game). The former walk-on has connected on 17 of 19 field-goal attempts, with both his misses coming in Laramie’s 7,165-foot elevation. His 55-yarder against Tulsa is the fourth longest in the program’s history. Clayton Stewart is averaging 44.8 yards per punt, with 14 of 44 traveling at least 50 yards.
RAINBOW WARRIORS OFFENSE
WO—4 Jalen Walthall 6-1 170 Fr.
SB—8 Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala 5-10 180 Jr.
LT—75 Ilm Manning 6-4 295 Sr.
LG—52 Solo Vaipulu 6-2 280 Sr.
C—51 Maurice Ta‘ala 6-1 320 So.
RG—71 Micah Vanterpool 6-6 315 Sr.
RT—77 Austin Hopp 6-6 310 Sr.
TE—85 Caleb Phillips 6-5 230 Sr.
WO—6 Zion Bowens 6-1 185 Sr.
QB—13 Brayden Schager 6-3 215 So.
RB—31 Dedrick Parson 5-8 205 Sr.
Last week, there was the misfire on the hitch, a dropped pass, and a penalty that negated a big gain. But those were physical errors that the coaches believe quarterback Brayden Schager can correct in field work. In the month since being named QB1, Schager has improved his pre- and post-snap reads, synced his decoding with his receivers, and commanded the offense. Schager has meshed past tutorials with former NFL quarterback Babe Laufenberg with daily video-review sessions with head coach Timmy Chang, a former record-setting UH passer, and offensive coordinator Ian Shoemaker. The big-picture plan is Schager can learn from Chang and Shoemaker while backups Joey Yellen and Cammon Cooper learn from watching Schager. It was a formula that proved successful two decades ago when Chang and Nick Rolovich were learning UH’s version of the run-and-shoot offense. Receivers Steven Fiso, Devon Tauaefa and Jonah Panoke are probably a week away from being medically cleared to return. But speedy Zion Bowens and Jalen Walthall provide vertical options, and Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala and Dior Scott are adjusting as slot receivers. While tight end Caleb Phillips is a mismatch as a post-up receiver, he also might need to chip-block Wyoming’s relentless edge rush. Left-handed running back Dedrick Parson has mixed jump cuts with either the double-vise grip or right-handed shield. The Warriors have expanded the rotation in the interior line, and Maurice Ta‘ala is expected to get a shot. Ta‘ala, who set UH’s O-line record with a 680-pound squat, started at center in last year’s 38-14 rout of Wyoming.
RAINBOW WARRIORS DEFENSE
DE—96 Andrew Choi 6-1 250 Sr.
NT—55 Blessman Ta‘ala 6-2 305 Sr.
3T—90 John Tuitupou 6-4 300 Sr.
Dog—42 Jonah Kahahawai-Welch 6-2 230 Sr.
MLB—1 Penei Pavihi 6-3 245 Sr.
WLB—16 Logan Taylor 6-1 215 Sr.
NB—9 Malik Hausman 6-0 180 Sr.
CB—3 Hugh Nelson II 6-2 205 Sr.
S—33 Peter Manuma 6-0 190 Sr.
S—26 Leonard Lee 6-0 190 Sr.
CB—23 Virdel Edwards II 6-2 210 Jr.
Through injuries and circumstances, the Warriors have had to repeatedly shuffle the lineup, In eight games, the Warriors have used six different combinations at safety. If Meki Pei is still slowed by an ailment, Leonard Lee will make his second consecutive start at safety. Since Peter Manuma moved from nickel to safety three weeks ago, opponents’ scoring has dropped from an average of 45.4 points to 16.3. With his 10-yard sprints into the gaps, Manuma has clogged the running arteries. In the first five games, nonconference opponents averaged 266.2 non-sack rushing yards. In three Mountain West games, the average is down to 137.7 yards. Nose tackle Blessman Ta‘ala and 3-technique John Tuitupou have burst through double teams as if blockers were “red rover, red rover” obstacles. D-end Andrew Choi has been fundamentally sound after replacing Mataio Soli, an Arkansas transfer who medically retired after five games. Against Colorado State last week, UH opened with an even front, with Jonah Kahahawai-Welch as the fourth lineman. In the fourth quarter, they went to a 3-3-5 look, with Ta‘ala at nose, Choi as a stand-up end and Ezra Evaimalo or Kolby Wyatt at the other end. Logan Taylor, who started in place of injured linebacker Isaiah Tufaga, made 16 tackles. Taylor, a former safety, can align across the slot or in the middle when Penei Pavihi becomes an edge defender. After a combined 43 defensive snaps in his first five games, Taylor has logged 62 and 67 plays the last two games.
RAINBOW WARRIOR SPECIALISTS
PK/P—2 Matthew Shipley 6-1 180 Jr.
KO—46 Kyler Halvorsen 6-0 175 Fr.
LS—44 Solomon Landrum 5-11 215 Jr.
H—86 Ben Falck 6-6 230 Jr.
KR—22 Jalen Perdue 5-10 170 Sr.
PR—9 Dior Scott 5-9 175 Sr.
After connecting on nine of 10 field-goal attempts, Matthew Shipley is one of 11 kickers to have only one miss out of a minimum 10 tries. Shipley is perfect on 16 PATs. Kyler Halvorsen has been impactful on kickoffs with 68.8% resulting in touchbacks. Opponents have returned only six kickoffs for an average of 17.0 yards. But of the four kickoffs that sailed out of bounds, three were parlayed into touchdowns and a fourth into a game-winning field goal.
