STEVE KIGGINS Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, April 6, 2005 12:00 am
LARAMIE - After making poor decisions on consecutive plays during Wednesday's practice, Wyoming offensive coordinator Bill Cockhill yanked Jacob Doss from a team drill.
"Don't come in here and play like that!" Cockhill yelled, his voice full of frustration.
In Doss' place, Cockhill summoned Stinson Dean. Two plays later, Dean threw into coverage and was intercepted.
In another display of frustration, Cockhill threw his arms in the air.
"Today, obviously, wasn't a good day," said Doss.
"Today," Dean said, "was hard."
Such is life as a young quarterback.
Struggling to master the many elements of the Cowboys' offensive scheme, Doss and Dean have endured an up-and-down spring football camp and thus left one of UW's most important questions unanswered.
Who will be Corey Bramlet's backup this fall?
"Both kids are getting a lot of snaps, which is great, and I think they've made a lot of strides," Cockhill said following the Cowboys' workout on a sunny afternoon at War Memorial Stadium. "But you can see the days where they're overloaded mentally and make mistakes and they regress a little bit.
"It's like a two steps forward, one step back type of thing. But I'm pleased with where they're at."
For now, UW head coach Joe Glenn said Doss has "graded out a little bit better" than Dean and has a slim edge in the competition for the backup quarterback job. But, Cockhill said, all of that could change depending on their performances in the team's two spring scrimmages.
"The scrimmages mean a lot," Cockhill said. "You're out there on your own, you don't get to see the scripts, you don't know what plays are gonna be run. You just have to say, 'This is the play that's gonna be run and I've gotta go run it against the defense I'm seeing.'
"We'll see how they handle it. There's gonna be two good tests at the end to see where they're at. The scrimmages are gonna be a big part of their grade."
Doss, who enjoyed a record-setting career at Lexington Catholic in Kentucky, has displayed an improved command of UW's offense this spring. Unlike last fall, when Doss sometimes looked lost in the pocket, he's making his reads in a timely manner and throwing the ball to the right spot more times than not.
He's also playing with much more confidence, a sign that he's becoming more comfortable with the offense, Cockhill said.
"Going into today, I felt really good," said Doss, who set a Kentucky high school record by throwing at least one touchdown pass in 39 consecutive games.
"Today wasn't good, but up until today, I felt pretty good and confident. I'm throwing the ball better than I have since I've been here."
He added, "(The game has) slowed down a little mentally.
But this is Division I football and everything is just so fast, so much faster than high school. It has slowed down - to a point."
The game is still moving too fast for Dean, who has struggled time and time again to read defenses and make decisions in the pocket. When he does throw the ball, Dean has displayed more accuracy and crispness on his passes than Doss.
Only some times, Dean zips a pass into the chest of a defender.
"Compared to last spring and fall camp, I'm definitely light years ahead of where I was," said Dean, who threw 41 TDs during two seasons as the starting quarterback at Blue Springs High in Missouri. "But I'm young and I'm still making the mistakes that young people would make. I need to get that cleaned up, because I feel I'm getting more comfortable with it but sometimes it doesn't show on the field.
"I've progressed from a year ago, but I've still got a long ways to go."
Dean used a play from Wednesday's scrimmage as an example.
On the play, Dean said he spotted an open receiver but elected to hold the ball and try to hit his next read. He ran out of time.
"If he's open, you hit it," Dean said. "I almost overthink it sometimes."
Although Doss and Dean have both struggled at times, Cockhill has seen enough improvement to be encouraged. Doss has "taken another step and a half forward from last fall" and Dean is "getting better every day," he said.
Who will back up Bramlet?
Not even Cockhill is sure of the answer. But he expects to get a better idea on Saturday, when the Cowboys scrimmage for the first time.
"Jake has probably still got a little edge on Stinson," Cockhill said. "He's a little more comfortable with the offense, but Stinson's doing well and picking it up.
They're battling hard.
"These scrimmages are gonna be good to see how they play. We'll know more after these two scrimmages."
Senior sports reporter Steve Kiggins can be reached at (307) 266-0596 or steven.kiggins@casperstartribune.net
EXTRA POINTS
- Cornerback Terrance Butler, who led the Cowboys with four interceptions last season, will undergo a minor shoulder operation on Friday. He will not practice again this spring.
- John Flora, one of UW's two starting defensive ends, underwent an emergency appendectomy on Sunday morning and will miss the remainder of spring camp.
- Kyle Howard, a candidate for the starting center job, had a rough day. Five snaps went over the head of the quarterback, including two in a row during the first drill of the day. "Get it back there!" UW head coach Joe Glenn yelled. "Use two hands or something." After practice, Glenn said, "Kyle's shooting the ball too high. He'll just get a million reps until he gets it right."
- Five players achieved Super Iron Cowboy status in the weight room during winter workouts: Defensive lineman Flora and Aaron Robbins, linebacker Jeff Tatnall, quarterback Corey Bramlet and running back Montey Brunk.
- Jim Weatherwax, who won two Super Bowl championships with the Green Bay Packers in the late 1960s, spoke to the team following Wednesday's practice.
- Wide receiver Tyler Holden, who was sidelined with a minor groin injury last week, has returned to practice.
- The Cowboys' first of two scrimmages is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium. The annual Spring Game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, also at The War.