Cowboy scrimmage

Gipson brothers are together again

Richard Anderson photo
Freshman cornerback Tashaun Gipson, left, is interviewed by older brother, sophomore cornerback Marcell Gipson Friday during Media Day.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Wyoming football fans won’t have double vision this fall. They’ll be seeing the name Gipson twice at the same time.

When the Cowboys open the season against Ohio on Aug. 30, brothers Marcell and Tashaun Gipson will be on the field together at the cornerback position -- Marcell at boundary cornerback and Tashaun at field cornerback.

Although the fall depth chart won’t be released until Friday, they could both very well be in the starting line.

Regardless if they start or not, they’ll be on the field together.

“It means a lot to me,” Marcell said. “We’ve been playing together since we were young. He was always bigger than everybody in Pop Warner, so he got to play on my team. Just having him out here, being able to steer him away from those other schools and bring him here and have a chance to play with him, as early as now, that’s a blessing.”

Marcell, a sophomore, is about three years older than his true freshman little brother. He’ll always be his older brother. He is no longer his bigger brother. Tashaun now has him by an inch and about 12 pounds.

“He got bigger than me when he was around 16 or 17,” Marcell said. “I came back to the house and I was like, ‘dang, he’s taller than me now.’ He was skinny at first, but this past summer I came back and he had picked up some weight. He just got bigger than me now. I want everybody to know that.”

Like most brothers, the Gipsons got into a few scrapes together when they were young.

“When he started growing up, he felt like big brother can’t get me no more. We used to have some fights, but I always won them,” Marcell said. “I had to show him.”

It’s different these days. The Gipson brothers are older and closer -- the entire family is. Marcell and Tashaun are two of six children of Kimberly-Roberson Gibson and Michael Gipson. Now, they save their scrapping for on the field.

Both are known for their physical, aggressive style of play.

“He’s more aggressive as far as a cover, I have more speed. We both can hit, so I guess we pretty much have the same style,” Marcell said.

Said Tashaun: “I feel that I am very physical. I’m not squared to come in and hit,” Tashaun said. “I feel that I can cover as well as come down and make the sure tackle. I feel I bring my aggressiveness as well as my quickness to the game.”

Wyoming coach Joe Glenn knows what he has with the Gipson brothers.

"Marcell is a talent,” Glenn said. “He can hit like a Mack truck. And he can cover. He ran a 40-yard dash for pro scouts on grass in a swirling wind in a time of 4.42. He has some speed.”

Glenn said that Tashaun has been one of the more pleasant surprises of fall drills.

“I would say this that if I were pleased with one individual, not so much surprised, but pleased with what we’ve seen early from one player this fall, it would be Tashaun Gipson,” Glenn said. “He does unbelievable things for a true freshman. What may be surprising is that he has played so well at a position that he doesn’t have that much experience at -- cornerback. He played more as a safety, quarterback and return guy in high school. He’s pretty special.”

When the Gipsons get on the field together for the first time against Ohio, it will be the first time in several years that they have actually played together. Marcell was a senior when Tashaun was a freshman in Dallas.

“This is actually the first time for us since we got older, to be on the field at the same time,” Marcell said. “Just to see him on the other side -- I’m more comfortable with him than any other cornerback on the team because I now what type of player he is. We have different styles, but pretty much the same.”

Marcell originally signed with Wyoming in 2005 as a gray shirt and came to Laramie in the spring of 2006. He then played in five games as a true freshman and was credited with three tackles.

Marcell, however, left Wyoming in the spring of 2007 for family matters. He rejoined the Cowboys in the fall of 2007, paying his own way and earning his eligibility back.

Since then, it has been Tashaun’s goal to join his brother at Wyoming.

“Since the recruiting process started and Marcell turned me on to the University of Wyoming, and they started looking at me, I realized it would be special to play with my brother,” Tashaun said. “I mean, who wouldn’t want to play with their brother? I look up to him and I think it is going to be so special.”

Tashaun said Marcell was the best and the biggest recruiter for the Cowboys.

“He sold the deal. That’s all I can say,” Tashaun added. “To tell you the truth, I listened to everything he told me, from the facilities, to the town overall. That was enough.”

Marcell’s first thought on that first play from scrimmage together: It will involve a look and a sign.

“We have a little thing that we do, we cross the hands up (locking down). That’s our way to let each other know we’ll get things going together,” Marcell said.

Little brother will be waiting.

“My first play of the game, I’m going to be nervous,” Tashaun said. “But that’s natural, that’s the type of player that I am. When I look over at the other side, he’ll give me the confidence and let me know that I have a job to do.”

Tashaun joined Marcell in Laramie this summer. It was a chance to work together and do some more family bonding.

“When I first came up here, things were pretty slow, nothing much was happening, so I could focus on football,” Tashaun said. “We were out here every day in the summer. I haven’t had a chance to have fun yet, but I am here to play football and that’s the fun part. My oldest brother and my youngest brother, we all have close relationships. We’re family. We have bonded a little more than we had in the past.”

During Friday’s Media Day, Marcell reveled in the chance to interview Tashaun for a local television station. Maybe another chance to embarrass little brother?

Tashaun wasn't worried. He said he can handle himself just fine.

“I probably won four or five (fights). He might have won two of them and one we might have tied,” Tashaun said, keeping an eye on his brother. “It was a pretty even battle, so I let him think that he beat me all of the time.”

Whoops.

“He’s going to try to get me. I see him over there,” Tashaun said, trying, but failing to hide a wide grin.

First scrimmage set for Wednesday

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming senior running back Wynel Seldon looks to get past senior safety Quincy Rogers Saturday in practice.

By Wyoming Sports.org

A closer look into who will likely land the starting quarterback spot will be showcased in the Cowboys first scrimmage on Wednesday on Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium.

Wednesday’s scrimmage, which begins at 5 p.m., is expected to include 80 to 100 plays. All series will begin at the offense’s own 25-yard line, with the No. 1 offense facing the No. 2 defense and the No. 2 offense versus the No. 1 defense.

“We are going to try and drive the field, which is different from what we’ve done in past scrimmages,” Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn said. “We will incorporate as many PAT and field-goal attempts into the scrimmage as we can. We need lots of kicking in this scrimmage and lots of punting to help determine our starters at both of those positions.”

Glenn said another big part of the scrimmage will be working on the new 40-second play clock to get used to the new timing rules.

“Particularly on long plays, you now have to hustle down field and get your team ready to go because the officials are going to spot the ball as soon as they can and start the 40-second clock,” he said. “It will be a learning process for all teams.”

All eyes, though, will be on the ongoing quarterback battle. The Wyoming coaching staff plans to release an updated depth chart on Friday, which will include naming a starter at the quarterback position.

Glenn has said throughout fall practice that after the first scrimmage the coaching staff will name a starter at quarterback. That competition has been narrowed to junior Karsten Sween and sophomore Dax Crum. Glenn said they want to put both quarterbacks in similar situations in the scrimmage, so that they can best evaluate the two QBs.

“We will give Karsten and Dax equal number of series with the No. 1 offense, and see what they do with the opportunity,” said Glenn. “We want to put them out there with the same offensive players around them, and have them face the same defense so that we can evaluate them equally and make it as fair a competition as we can.”

Just over a week into fall drills, Glenn said that with the number of veteran players returning this year, there haven’t been that many surprises. Glenn, however, is happy with what he has seen.

“Guys have come through that we anticipated would,” he said. “Brandon Stewart (redshirt freshman wide receiver/punt returner) has played very solid and steady. He seems to be a big-play threat for us. Greg Bolling (junior wide receiver) has come back after missing the spring, and has reestablished himself as one of our top receivers. David Leonard (sophomore wide receiver) continues to improve.

“I would say this that if I were pleased with one individual, not so much surprised, but pleased with what we’ve seen early from one player this fall it would be Tashaun Gipson (freshman cornerback). He does unbelievable things for a true freshman. What may be surprising is that he has played so well at a position that he doesn’t have that much experience at -- cornerback. He played more as a safety, quarterback, and return guy in high school. He’s pretty special.”

Glenn added that a player who has done some special things on the practice field has been junior wide receiver Donate Morgan.

“He’s made some plays inside and deep, and the fly-sweep series seems to fit him well with his speed,” Glenn said. “(Josh) Biezuns and (Greg) Genho aren’t a surprise at fullback, but we’ve been pleased with their play.”

On defense, Glenn said that senior strong safety Derrick McMahen has had a surprisingly good camp. “He’s definitely played himself into the mix,” he said. “When I talk to the defensive coaches, Derrick’s name is one I’ve heard a lot.”

Another battle this fall has been in the kicking game, Glenn said, with Jake Scott separating himself from the other placekickers.

“His kickoffs have been higher and deeper than anyone else,” he said. “The punting job looks like a three-way race between Nick Landess (sophomore), Cody Bousema (sophomore), and the guy who can turn the ball over better than anyone is our true freshman, Austin McCoy. That’s a real horse race there; it could go down to the wire.”

With two senior starters at cornerback graduating a year ago, the cornerback spots are among the most competitive on the defensive side of the ball with brothers Marcell Gipson (sophomore) and Tashaun Gipson (freshman) competing, with juniors T.J. Atwater and Tramaine Brown and sophomore Keith Lewis.

“Several guys are in the mix at corner,” said Glenn. “Keith Lewis has been real physical in fall camp. He’s a different kind of corner because of his size (5-11, 190 pounds) and physical style. T.J. Atwater is miles ahead of where he was a year ago, and Marcell has certainly continued to play like he did in the spring. Tramaine has been consistent, and they’re all trying to hold off Tashaun.”

A few players will miss Wednesday’s scrimmage. Joe Evers (sophomore tight end) reinjured his lower back and will not play in the scrimmage. Marcus Felker (redshirt freshman noseguard) hyper extended his right elbow and sprained his right wrist and will also miss Wednesday’s practice. Levi Salmans (freshman offensive tackle) dislocated his left knee cap and will be held out of the scrimmage, as will Travis Hillen (redshirt freshman center) with a left shoulder sprain. True freshmen Ben Durbin (linebacker) and Nick Williams (offensive lineman) will not participate in the scrimmage -- Durbin due to a left shoulder sprain and Williams because of a left knee sprain.

One Cowboy veteran who has been ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA is senior backup defensive tackle Anthony Wilson. The NCAA denied Wilson’s eligiblity appeal on Tuesday night.

The Wyoming Cowboys will have the second and final scrimmage of the fall on Aug. 20, also at 5 p.m. in War Memorial Stadium.

Glenn gives State of the Cowboys speech

Richard Anderson photo
The Cowboys sing Ragtime Cowboy Joe in recording a video during Media Day Friday at War Memorial Stadium.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

It was a simple revelation by Wyoming head football coach Joe Glenn Friday at the annual Media Day banquet Friday at the Rochelle Athletic Center.

“It’s time,” Glenn quipped.

That’s a motto that Glenn is trying to drill into his team, as they come back from a disappointing 5-7 season that saw Wyoming lose six of its last seven games. Glenn, in his sixth season, said it is time to challenge in the Mountain West Conference and get back in the bowl scene.

Glenn told a story of an encounter he had in Saratoga during a Cowboy Joe Club function this summer with a long-time Cowboy fan,

“He’s getting pretty old and he looks at me and said, ‘Coach Glenn, I’m getting pretty damn old, so get to a bowl game.’ We need a bowl game, so let’s go get it.”

Glenn, a self-professed bad poker player, is always the optimist. He is more than buoyant going into this season. Wyoming opens things up on Aug. 30 at home against Ohio.

“This is always the beginning: High hopes,” Glenn said. “It’s a new season, a new time, a lot of new faces, a lot of old faces.”

Glenn said that this is the most veteran team that he has ever had coming back, led by 40 juniors and 40 seniors.

“We are jacked about that,” he said.

Glenn and his coaching staff are especially excited about the veteran front lone -- both offensively and defensively. On offense, the Cowboys line is led by seniors Kyle Howard and Tim Bond. Defensively, juniors John Fletcher and Mitch Unrein led the way.

“It’s the best line on both sides of the ball that I have had a chance to work with,” Glenn said. “We have everybody back on both sides of the ball. I have to give it up to our weight-room people; they have worked hard all summer. They took our line to a new level.”

The question mark offensively is still at quarterback. Junior returning starter Karsten Sween and sophomore JC transfer Dax Crum are battling it out for the top position. So far in camp, neither has done anything to separate themselves.

“I wish I could tell you who was going to be up there, but I can’t tell you yet,” he said. “One will make a great play and then not so good. The next is just the opposite. We need them to play down a little bit. They are competing really, really hard. But it is that close, they are both fighting. If one wins it, and the other one doesn’t, we’re not going to take the other guy out behind the barn and shoot him. It’s a nice problem to have when you have two really good guys. Either one of them can lead us to a winning season.”

One thing Glenn and new offensive coordinator Bob Cole aren’t undecided about is getting the ball to senior running back Devin Moore.

“You’re going to be treated to maybe one of the best running backs, the fastest running back and the shiftiest running back who has ever played at Wyoming. Devin Moore is unbelievable,” Glenn said. “I stand behind and watch Devin run the football, and a big linebacker comes up to tackle him and D-Mo will put some move on him and they’ll go like this (crossing his arms with a missing motion), wondering, where the hell he went. Devin will put on some kind of kooky move that I have never seen. It happens about once a day in practice.

“The guy is just special. He has to touch the ball more. Coach Cole is on to that. With that said, Wynel (Seldon) won’t probably run the ball as much, so he has worked Wynel into the receiving game; he’s worked Wynel into the fly-sweep game. He’s still going to get a lot of touches because he is a big, tough senior who brings a big heart and toughness to our team. But D-Mo has to touch the ball more; 20, 25 times a game, at least.”

The Cowboys are a little less experienced than last season in the receiving position, but could be more talented with added depth. Junior Greg Bolling, sophomore David Leonard and seniors Chris Johnson and Kyle Jacobo have the most experience, with newcomers Donate Morgan, Travis Burkhalter, Justin Morgan and Brandon Stewart all expected to be in the mix.

Cole has also brought a new wrinkle in the offense with the “fly-sweep.”

“It’s the guy coming into motion, going by the quarterback 90 miles per hour. Sometimes you give him the ball and sometimes you fake it,” Glenn said. “It’s hard to defend, especially when you are pretty darn good at throwing the football and running the power plays. I’m excited with what Bob has brought with him.”

The Cowboys look to be solid again on defense, especially with the return of linebacker Ward Dobbs, who had shoulder surgery in the off-season.

“Ward feels better than he has ever felt. You can see it in his snap, in his blitzes.” Glenn said. “When you put a 6-4, 237-pound freshman next to him who has linebacker written all over him. That’s Gabe Knapton. You then have Mike Juergons and Westin Johnson starting on the outside.”

The D-line is led by Fletcher and Unrein. “You put 6-7, 280-pounds (Fletcher) on one side; 6-4, 270 (Unrein) on the other side and a 300-pound nose guard (Fred Givens) anchoring the middle. I don’t see any way people will run through that bunch.”

Glenn said they might go with a three-player safety rotation, led by Chris Prosinski. “He is what I call a starter and so are Michael Ray and Quincy Rogers,” Glenn said. “We may play all three at the same time, instead of two.”

At cornerback, Glenn likes the looks of freshman brothers Marcell and Tashaun Gipson.

“They are football players. They can hit and they can cover,” he said. “I’m interested in seeing what they can do once you turn on the cameras on game day. They’ll compete with Keith Lewis and TJ Atwater. We have four guys who can hold up.”

As always, Glenn has the time marked off on his calendar until the season opener. He can’t wait.

A good friend of Ohio coach Frank Solich, going back to their Nebraska days, Glenn said it will be a tough challenge for Ohio to come to 7,220, flying two-thirds of the country to play a game.

“If they can get it done, then I’ll take my hat off to them,” he said. “But I think that I am coaching a great group of players. With our coaching staff, we’re ready, we’re hungry and we all know that the way it ended last year was just heartbreaking. I feel exactly like you do, like the kids do. We need a win in exactly 21½ days.”

UW football Media Day

Cowboys first day of practice

Cowboys open fall drills

Richard Anderson photo
Wyoming offensive coordinator Bob Cole gives direction during the Cowboys first practice session of the fall.

By Wyoming Sports.org

Phase II began Monday for the Wyoming Cowboys.

Monday‘s first practice for the 103 players who reported Sunday evening is the transition between two different phases in preparation for the 2008 season, an enthusiastic Joe Glenn said after practice.

“It’s the completion of the summer conditioning program for our players and strength and conditioning coaches, who have put their hearts into running, lifting and conditioning throughout the summer,” Glenn said. “Physically, we’re where we need to be heading into fall camp. I take my hat off to the strength coaches and the players. I believe we’re stronger and more physical than we’ve ever been.

“Now, we go on to the next phase of why we work so hard and why we recruit so hard -- it is the phase of starting to reap the benefits of what we’ve sewed in the weight room and on the recruiting trail. It’s a high time for players and coaches.”

Glenn’s reason for optimism: Try the 40 juniors and seniors back from last year’s team.

“Of course I’m buoyed by the fact that this is one of the most experienced teams we’ve had here at Wyoming,” Glenn said. “I think we have the athletes and the experience to have a successful season. We’ve got 26 days and a wakeup until we tee it up against the Ohio Bobcats.”

The first week of 2008 fall drills will feature one afternoon practice per day. Media Day will be Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. Wyoming’s first practice in full pads will follow at 3:15 p.m.

“The first few days are a learning period,” said Glenn. “We can only wear helmets for the first couple of days due to NCAA rules. For the new players, it’s getting used to practice, used to our drills and how we run practice. We start installing offense, defense and special teams right away, but teaching the young guys the basics -- where they line up, where they go for their position meetings, all those things play into the first couple of days.

“In regard to the new players, it’s an exciting time for us as coaches to see what the new kids have ‘under the hood’ so to speak. You get to see the fruits of your labor, and you never know their might be a couple of the newcomers who challenge for some playing time this season.”
Position battles at quarterback, place-kicker and punter will be among the most closely-watched competitions early in fall drills.

Two Wednesday scrimmages are planned during fall practice -- the first on Aug. 13 at 5 p.m. in War Memorial Stadium and the second on Aug. 20, also at 5 p.m. in War Memorial.

“We are, of course, pointing toward the two spring scrimmages,” said Glenn. “We want to try and name a quarterback after that first scrimmage so we can start getting that individual the ‘lion’s share’ of the reps throughout the last two weeks leading up to our home opener.

“The quarterbacks are working hard and they’re very, very competitive. But until we get a game-type scrimmage under their belts with bullets flying and all the factors that make it feel like a game we won’t make an evaluation on who our starting quarterback will be heading into the season. Coming out of spring and entering the fall they were running neck and neck.”

Entering Monday’s practice virtually everyone on the roster was healthy. The few individuals who were limited included sophomore punter Cody Bousema, a junior-college transfer from Ellsworth Community College in Iowa, who was out due to a lower left leg laceration; true freshman offensive lineman Jim Downs from Glenrock, who was limited with a left shoulder injury and true freshman linebacker Ben Durbin from Gilbert, Iowa, who suffered a left shoulder injury in the Iowa High School All-Star game this summer.

One veteran who was not available to practice on Monday was senior defensive tackle Anthony Wilson, who is awaiting an academic eligibility ruling from the NCAA. It is hoped that ruling will come later this week.