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Experienced Priester returns to Wyoming's secondary

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - The most defining characteristic of Wyoming cornerback Robert Priester is that he's simply played more than any other member of the Cowboys' secondary.

"(He's a) guy who's been there, done that," Wyoming cornerbacks coach John Richardson said.

When fall camp began, Priester was able to be there, but not do as much as he'd like.

It didn't sit well with him.

"He didn't like it at all," Richardson said. "He's a competitive kid. He wants to be out there to cover people and compete. The thing is, our group is very competitive. We've got a lot of good players, so for him to just kind of take a back seat and not really be able to go in full tilt was frustrating for him."

Priester, a junior, felt a "strange pain" while running sprints during the penultimate day of pre-camp strength and conditioning work. He had pulled his left hamstring and had to begin camp in a red medical jersey.

"It was very tough," Priester said. "I got to see them go out there in fall camp and see how excited they were to jump around for those first couple days and (have) fresh legs, and I'm just sitting out there in the red jersey like I can't be out there with my team as much as I wanted to be."

He tried to shed the jersey as quickly as possible; he wasn't allowed to run further than 10 yards while in it. The last few days he was limited in practice, the red shirt was hanging at his waistline rather than being worn over his shoulder pads.

"I'm really supposed to have it on," he said. "But I don't really like wearing it, so I just put it in the back of my shorts."

He's lucky he recovered when he did. Safety Andrew Wingard, who has also missed much of camp with a hamstring injury, was back to wearing the red jersey Wednesday after head coach Craig Bohl told him he couldn't simply tuck into his pants.

Priester's red jersey was nowhere to be found.

"Finally," Richardson said. "But it's good to have him back. He's got his legs back underneath him, healthy, 100 percent, so it's good to have his movement out there, (his) skill asset, and what he brings to the group."

Last year Priester was the lone sophomore in a secondary full of freshmen. That extra year of experience means his time at Wyoming aligns with that of the current coaching staff under Bohl.

"I mean, his first game action was against Oregon two years ago with (Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus) Mariota," Richardson said. "So just the experience of being out there, not being afraid of the moment - not saying the other guys are - but he's just seen it all. So that's definitely a plus.

"But also, too, just being through the routine and knowing how to go through day-to-day work (helps). Being in there, going through tough practices and things like that is definitely going to be a benefit."

In 2015, Priester had to take on a leadership role, even though he was still an underclassman himself.

"I felt like I had to bring leadership to the team and just bring everybody in and tell them everything will be OK," he said. "We're going to build together. We're going to come as a family, and later down the line we're going to be great."

Now he's a junior, but he's also not the only defensive back out there with playing experience.

"We have a lot of leaders out there that lead by example," he said.

That's fine with Priester.

"For some reason, I'm the type of guy that I just like to get my job done, let my team get my job done," Priester said. "I try my best to bring more energy, but I've always been a quiet guy."

He still has to be vocal on the field - it's not an option under secondary coach Curt Mallory - but for the most part, the two-year starter can focus on adding to his 89 career tackles, five pass breakups and one interception.

In other words: being there, doing that.

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com

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