Good things come in pairs

Dave Christensen must have been reading a lot of the Old Testament the past few months because in his recruiting he ended up with three sets of teammates to commit to Wyoming. Last year the Pokes one set of teammates who came in from Booker T Washington HS in Tulsa, OK. Shamiel Gary and Terry Smith started the trend last year and it continues this season.

So who are these peas in a pod?

Crete Monee High School
Crete, IL

Greg Barksdale -LB

Dylan McElveen - DB

Mcelveen commited to the Pokes on October 6th and his teammate Barksdale followed suit just twenty days later. These are the first pair to commit to Wyoming and should provide some much needed speed to Cowboys defense. Barksdale could stay at LB or move to Safety.

Snow College
Ephraim, UT

Mazi Ogbonna - WR

DeJay Lester - WR

These twin wideouts from Snow College in Utah visited in the Fall then both committed on December 17th. A number of other programs were interested in this pair (Utah and Oklahoma) but they came to Laramie. Expect both players to see plenty of plays in the Fall and provide a real spark to Cowboys passing game. Both are already enrolled at Wyoming and will participate in the upcoming Spring Football practices.

New Mexico Military Institute
Roswell, NM

Kurt Taufa'asau - DT

BJ Sumter - NG

The loss of Fred Givens, John Fletcher and Mitch Unrein really hurts the Pokes on the defensive line. Thankfully these two big fellas from NMMI committed in January and have a good chance of starting next season. Sumter is the strongest linemen in the history of the NMMI program and Taufa'asua has a great blend of size and agility. Their military background from NMMI should also be a good sign as these players are used to training and discipline.

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.

Cowboys add two commits over the weekend

Evan Williams and Kurt Taufa'asau are the newest Cowboy commits

According to Rivals.com Wyoming site GoWyoGo the Wyoming Cowboys added two more verbal commits to the 2010 class.

Evan Williams is speedy RB out of De La Salle HS in Minneapolis, MN. Williams also held offers from Minnesota and Northern Iowa. At 6'0 190 Williams has played a number of positions during his high school years. After rushing for 1,700 yards and 26 touchdown as a Junior his coach moved him to QB in order get him the ball even more often. His team runs a no huddle spread offense and Williams was the catalyst. On the other side of the ball Williams played some defensive back. Rivals has Williams listed at 4.43 seconds for the 40 and his combination of speed and agility is impressive. It will be interesting to see how Williams fits into the mix with Alvester Alexander and 2010 commit Nehemie Kankolongo. Could really play a number of positions for the Pokes: running back, qb or even wide receiver.

Kurt Taufa’asau from JUCO New Mexico Military Institute is originally from Pago Pago, American Samoa. A DT listed at 6'4 285 expect Taufa'asau to compete for a starting spot in 2010. He will enroll at Laramie in the Fall. Here is an article about Taufa'asau that appeared in the Samoa News just a week ago. Oregon State was also interested. With the loss of the entire starting defense line the Pokes needed an athlete like Taua'asau who is developed and ready to play right away. He is a long ways from home but it play football for a reason and wants use his education help others when he returns to Samoa.

Here is a lengthy highlight video of Evan Williams that is quite impressive.