Wyoming LB Logan Wilson proves he belongs on the big stage

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Logan Wilson had a night, and a morning, to remember.

Wyoming's redshirt freshman linebacker finished with nine tackles, including one for a 6-yard loss, in the Cowboys' 40-34 season-opening victory over Northern Illinois that stretched into the wee hours Sunday morning. The Natrona County High School graduate also recovered a fumble at the goal line to stop the Huskies' first drive in overtime.

"The guy (NIU quarterback Drew Hare) was on it and Logan dove in there and literally pulled the ball away from him," UW sophomore safety Andrew Wingard said. "That's the play of the game right there."

Even though the Cowboys failed to capitalize on the play on their first possession of overtime, they eventually won on quarterback Josh Allen's 7-yard touchdown scramble in the third overtime. Without Wilson's fumble recovery, though, Allen might never have had the chance to score the game winner.

"(Hare) bobbled the snap right off of the center and I saw (the ball)," Wilson said. "So I just dove for it and ended up with it. It was kind of like a 50-50 (ball) . I wanted it more than he did."

All in all, it was a solid debut for the only starter from the Cowboy State, although his inexperience also showed at times.

Before the fumble recovery, Wilson appeared to be responsible for NIU's game-tying TD - Hare's 19-yard scoring pass to Shane Wimann with 1 minute, 13 seconds remaining.

However, UW head coach Craig Bohl had nothing but praise for Wilson after the game.

"I want to be real clear on this," Bohl told the Casper Star-Tribune (http://bit.ly/2c8fwqx). "I thought Logan Wilson played really well. His ability to run and tackle (impressed me)."

Bohl cited Wilson's fourth-quarter stop of Northern Illinois running back Joel Bouagnon as a prime example. Trailing 27-20 and facing a fourth-and-3 from its own 43, Hare completed a pass to Bouagnon but Wilson dragged down the all-Mid-American Conference back just short of the first-down marker.

Both those plays were crucial for the Pokes, but for Wilson, it was a play early in the third quarter when he realized he belonged on a Division-I football field.

"It was probably that play where I tackled the quarterback in the backfield for a loss," he said. "I realized I was made for this and I can do this stuff.

"(The game) was a little less nerve-wracking than I thought it was going to be. As a Wyoming kid you feel like you have the entire state behind you."

The 6-foot-2, 225 pounder definitely made an impression on his defensive teammates.

"Logan Wilson, what a crazy night he had," senior linebacker Lucas Wacha said. "(He had) a bunch of third-down stops, a fumble recovery at the goal line. You can't say enough about that kid."

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