New Wyoming defensive coach likes what he sees

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - On the one hand, not much changes for the Wyoming defense under Scottie Hazelton this year. On the other hand, a whole lot changes.

The first-year Wyoming defensive coordinator takes over for Steve Stanard, the defensive coordinator in Craig Bohl's first three seasons with the Cowboys whose contract was not renewed after the 2016 season.

Because Hazelton worked with Bohl previously at North Dakota State, there will not be a huge shift in the style of defense Wyoming plays. But at linebacker, Hazelton's position group, there's quite a bit of change going on.

Logan Wilson, coming off a freshman all-American season, is the Cowboys' only returning starting linebacker, and he will be making the transition from weak-side to middle linebacker. The other two spots have been voided by departed seniors Lucas Wacha and D.J. May.

As far as the changes that Hazelton is implementing, now is the time for installation. The Cowboys are in their second of five weeks of spring football this week.

"It's laying the foundation, really, for the next season," said Hazelton, previously an assistant linebackers coach with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. "That's really what we've got to teach our guys to do is say, 'Listen, here's the concepts we're going to play. These are the adjustments we make and the things that we do.'

"And our offense does a good job kind of giving us everything that you can see. So it's really helpful for us on defense. We can even ask them, 'Hey, can we see this? Can we see this?' And they can run some of that stuff for us. So it's really laying the foundation for next year and just kind of the basics of what we're going to do."

While Wilson has his own transition to make, he said the change in defense hasn't been too overwhelming.

"It's going to be the same type of coverages, but we're going to run them differently," Wilson told the Casper Star-Tribune (http://bit.ly/2nrqLim).

The Natrona County grad has enjoyed working with Hazelton so far.

"He knows a lot of football, and it's really nice working with him," Wilson said. "He instills confidence in us all the time. Especially right now when we're trying to learn everything. We've got so much stuff going through our minds. He's a good coach, and I'm glad he's here."

The Tampa 2 style developed by longtime defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin remains in name under Hazelton.

"It's mostly similar," Hazelton said of his defense's terminology. "We changed a couple things. Because Kiff and the guys made it up years ago, so sometimes (players) say, 'Hey, we call this this,' and it doesn't make any sense, so we've tweaked a couple of terminology things to make them easier. So for the most part the guys, especially guys who have been here, coaches, for a couple years, they already know all the defenses that we're running. It's good that we have those guys."

Expected to take Wilson's spot at Will linebacker is rising sophomore Cassh Maluia.

"He's a good football player," Hazelton said. "He's a good, solid football player, who can run around and make some plays."

The strong-side role is being filled by a hodge-podge of players, including Jalen Ortiz, Chavez Pownell, Tim Kamana, Drew Harvey and Christian Irving. Ideally, the Cowboys could use the position as they did last season, when May played both Sam linebacker and nickel back for the defense.

"If you can get away with doing that, that makes your job a lot easier," Hazelton said. "Especially with the no-huddle, fast teams that run guys on and off the sideline late. So we're trying to build that spot kind of like that.

"... I think if we limit what we ask that position to do a little bit, and we're trying to right now, I think a smaller guy could play it."

However it shakes out, Hazelton is happy with the guys he has to work with.

"As you watch these guys, I'm really impressed with this: they are a mature group, even though they're young," he said. "The defense overall has no effort problems. They have that bred into them from a long time ago, from the coaches that were here in the past. They did a great job building the effort and the attention to detail.

"And the strength staff did a great job getting them in shape, because you can coach them on play No. 42 of the day, and they're still able to focus on what you're saying and make that adjustment, which is a tribute to everything they do. Because they're still running. They're working hard and all that stuff. It's awesome to see that they have already."

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