Numbers not telling true story of progress for UW defense

LARAMIE – The numbers don't indicate it, nor does the team's record.

But University of Wyoming football coaches and players like the direction the defense is heading in as the Cowboys enter the final four games of the season.

"We've played better, and our numbers are trending that way," second-year coach Craig Bohl said. "We're getting more guys around the football; we're tackling better and allowing fewer big plays.

"We're coming around. We've had to adjust some things, but our lineup is more static now, and that's having an impact."

UW (1-7 overall, 1-3 Mountain West) has used seven different starting lineups this season, but it is expected to have the same starters for Friday's game at Utah State (4-3, 3-1) as it did in its 34-14 loss at Boise State last Saturday.

The Cowboys still have plenty to improve upon. They're allowing 32.2 points and 212.8 rushing yards per game. Opponents have converted 47 percent of their third-down attempts. And UW has recorded only five quarterback sacks and forced just five turnovers this season.

The sacks and turnovers are among the lowest totals of the 127 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. UW also has allowed teams to score 22 of 24 times in the red zone (at or inside the 20-yard line), another area where it is near the bottom in the country.

Big plays also have hurt UW. It has allowed 13 touchdowns of 30 yards or more.

While numbers and the team's record are what it is judged by, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Steve Standard sees improvement from a group where 15 of the 22 players listed on this week's two-deep roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

"The freshmen continue to improve, and it's been enjoyable to see them improve from Saturday to Saturday," Stanard said. "We'd like to see the trajectory be quicker, but the progression of a lot of these young players is encouraging.

"We need to take this one game, keep improving and by end of a season have a defense and team that is on a real strong target for years to come. The attitude and work ethic brought to practice each week have been remarkable. Same with our coaches. Everyone is working extremely hard as we develop a lot of young players."

Some of those younger players have developed faster than others.

True freshman free safety Andrew Wingard, a starter since the second game of the season, is ranked first in the MW and 14th nationally with 5.8 solo tackles per game. His 71 total tackles are tied for 39th nationally. Wingard also leads the team with six tackles for loss.

Redshirt freshman walk-on strong safety Marcus Epps leads UW with two interceptions. He's also tied for second with three pass breakups and is fourth in tackles with 43.

Junior outside linebacker D.J. May is in his first year of playing defense, having moved from running back this season. He leads the Cowboys with eight pass breakups and is coming off a career-high 14 tackles at Boise State.

"D.J. has come into his own a little bit," Stanard said. "After our pre-game meal at Boise State, he wanted an extra 15 minutes to go over stuff. He's really taken to playing defense."

UW has only two seniors who start and play a lot in defensive ends Eddie Yarbrough and Siaosi Hala'api'api – both team captains. Despite being double-teamed nearly every snap, Yarbrough leads all defensive linemen on the team with 35 tackles, five tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.

True freshman Carl Granderson was forced into more playing time due to injuries and attrition at defensive end. Despite being undersized at around 200 pounds, the 6-foot-5 Granderson is second among UW defensive linemen with 23 tackles and four tackles for loss.

Tackling has been something Stanard said has improved in recent weeks.

Players are taking better angles to the ball. That's not to say there haven't been missed tackles. Stanard said Boise State did a good job of breaking some tackles last week.

But it's those signs of production and improvement that have kept attitudes and want-to high each week for UW, and it expects it to continue as the season winds down.

"I feel like we've gotten better every week and continue to make strides," said junior middle linebacker Lucas Wacha, who is second in tackles with 60. "With the leadership we have from our seniors, knowing they have only four games left is tough. But they want to send us out on a good note, and we want to do the same thing for them. They get us ready to keep striding to be the best defense in the league and work on being that Mountain West champion in the future.

"Our 1-7 record doesn't show what this team has done. We're better than what the records shows. The team knows that, and a lot of people who watch football know that."

Yarbrough on award watch list

Yarbrough is one of 32 players on the Ted Hendricks Award midseason watch list. The award goes annually to college football's premier defensive end.

This is the second consecutive season Yarbrough has been named to the Hendricks Award watch list. The award is named for former University of Miami defensive end Ted Hendricks, who was college football's first three-time First Team All-American.

Yarbrough ranks third among all Mountain West defensive linemen in tackles, averaging 4.4 tackles per game. He leads the Cowboys in sacks with 3.0. He ranks No. 2 on UW's career tackles-for-loss list, with 33.5 for his career. Y

arbrough has recorded 35 tackles this season, 5.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and one pass breakup.

Criteria for selection to the watch list includes: on-field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities, contributions to school and community and academic preparedness.

The Hendricks Award has been presented annually since 2002. This year's winner will be announced Dec. 9.