His breakout season made sure of that. Heading into his first year as a starter, Muma was voted one of Wyoming’s team captains. By the time it was over, he was also UW’s leading tackler with 27 more stops than the next closest Cowboy.

In fact, only two players at the Football Bowl Subdivision level had more tackles on a per-game basis (12) than Muma. He earned first-team all-conference honors at middle linebacker, where his production was eerily similar to that of his predecessor.

Muma had to wait his turn his first two seasons because Logan Wilson was busy becoming one of the Cowboys’ most accomplished players at the position. As Wilson worked his way toward the No. 4 spot on the program’s career tackles list, Muma was largely relegated to special teams in 2018 as a freshman before tallying 51 tackles as Wilson’s primary backup as a sophomore.

With Wilson exhausting his eligibility after the 2019 season, Muma took over in the middle of the Cowboys’ defense last fall and finished the pandemic-abbreviated season with 72 tackles in six games. That put Muma on pace for 144 tackles over the course of a normal 12-game regular season, a number that would’ve eclipsed all of Wilson’s single-season tackle totals during his four years as a starter.

“It definitely boosted (my confidence) a little bit. I’m not going to lie,” Muma said of his performance last season. “But, for me personally, it’s kind of just what I expected to do out there. Run around and make those plays.”

It put Muma squarely on the radar around the Mountain West and beyond. To the point that the Cowboys’ rising junior could eventually follow Wilson’s footsteps in more ways than one.

Wilson just finished his rookie season with the Cincinnati Bengals after being drafted with the first pick of the third round last year, and Muma is already generating some next-level buzz. Tony Pauline, an NFL Draft analyst for Pro Football Network, referred to Muma late last season as “Laramie’s new hidden gem” in assessing Muma’s performance, touting the 6-foot-3, 242-pounder as a linebacker capable of fitting into multiple NFL schemes.

“Junior Chad Muma is an animal and is all over the football field,” part of Pauline’s assessment read. “His instincts, motor and athleticism all make him a prospect to keep an eye on. … He has all the makings of a quality NFL linebacker.”

But Muma said he hasn’t given the NFL much thought at this point. His rise from a relatively unknown commodity to one of the Mountain West’s top defensive players has all happened so fast, and his primary focus is on the tasks at hand, which include helping UW try to get things turned around after that 2-4 showing a season ago and becoming a more complete player in the process.

Muma, who’s added some bulk this offseason after playing last season at 227 pounds, is the first to admit there’s still work to do for him to become the kind of three-down linebacker Wilson (10 interceptions, 24 passes defended) was by the time his UW career was over. Muma has yet to record an interception and has just two pass breakups in 31 career games, but there’s still time for his pass coverage to catch up with his instincts and physicality as a run-stopper and a blitzer, which also helped him lead the Cowboys in sacks (3.0) last season.

“I think I can improve my coverage skills, dropping back against the pass and getting to the right landmarks,” Muma said. “And then definitely going forward really studying the offenses that we’re playing and knowing, hey, if they’re lining up here … just a lot of film study could help me out a lot. Then just some little things with open-field tackling, getting more powerful and driving guys back.”

Muma has two more years to hone his game at UW should he decide to use both. With the NCAA’s decision to give fall-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility in response to the pandemic, Muma will still be a junior during the 2021 college football season.

Should this fall be as productive for him as the last one, though, Muma may have a decision to make sooner rather than later regarding his future. UW coach Craig Bohl, who’s had three linebackers drafted during his seven-year tenure with the Cowboys, said it’s likely a matter of when, not if, Muma graduates to the next level.

“I think he’s got a really good ability to close the field and make explosive plays. He’s an excellent blitzer,” Bohl said. “I think some of the things he’ll need to continue to improve on is some of his plays out in space, on third down and things like that when he’s in pass coverage. He’s picked up some good strength, and he’s picked up some good weight.”

For now, Muma is focused on the present.

“Just kind of play this year and go from there,” Muma said. “Not really thinking about, personally for me, going to the NFL, but kind of thinking more about the team. What can we do for the team right now and kind of get in that position?”