JUCO players provide instant impact

NICK PUETZ IS ONE OF SIX JC COMMITS

With so many holes to fill on both sides of the ball Coach Christensen and his staff were looking at help on both sides of the ball. The offensive and defensive lines were hurt the hardest by graduation and the wide receivers were unable to stretch the field which severely impacted the offense.

By bringing in six Junior College players the Pokes are able to find players that fit their system and have had a couple of years to develop physically and mentally on the football field. They were certainly help keep the momentum going for the program that could have been decimated with the loss of three starters on the defensive line.

A dozen freshman started for Wyoming last season but you can't count 18 and 19 years old to be impact players in their first year. By bringing in JC players a number of freshman can redshirt this year and spend that time in the weight room and learning the system.

As the 2009 and 2010 classes develop I expect the Cowboys to recruit fewer and fewer players from the JUCO ranks. Hopefully the Pokes won't need to every look for a JUCO QB ever again as Dax Crum was a bust under Glenn and Robert Benjamin has already left Laramie after losing his starting job to Austyn Carta-Samuels.

2010 Player Commitments - Wyoming - Junior College/Transfers
NAME	POS	HT	WT	HOMETOWN	SCHOOL
DeJay Lester	WR	6-1	195	Layton, UT	Snow College
Mazi Ogbonna	WR	6-1	190	Westbury, NY	Snow College
Nick Puetz	OT	6-4	307	Salina, KS	Coffeyville CC
Austin Daniels	CB	5-10	180	Pasadena, CA	Mt. San Antonio College
Kurt Taufaasau	DT	6-2	290	American Samoa, SP	New Mexico Military Int.

Bernard Sumter DT 6-2 310 Roswell, NM New Mexico Military Int.