Wyoming receivers ready to take step forward

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - You don't have to look hard into the national media coverage surrounding former Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen to find someone throwing his 2017 supporting cast under the bus. The potential top pick in this month's NFL Draft regressed statistically in his final season as a Cowboy, and many pundits have suggested the offense that surrounded him was to blame.

Of course, on the other end of every such jab is not just a set of hands but a set of ears, too.

"I mean, we don't really talk about it as a group," said receiver James Price, who will be a senior in the fall, "but it's definitely something that bothers me individually. Because I think we have a lot of playmaking ability in our group, especially even with these young guys coming in and the recruits that (head coach Craig) Bohl has brought in.

"We take it day by day, and we definitely see it as a challenge when they say that he doesn't have the best supporting cast, or whatever it may be. And so that's our opportunity to grow and be better wide receivers."

Because the Cowboys' group of receivers was so inexperienced in 2017, no doubt a factor in the passing game's struggles, they all still have remaining eligibility at Wyoming with which to prove critics wrong.

Bohl said he hasn't necessarily noticed the receivers using quotes like, "Those Wyoming receivers were the worst I saw in college football last year and might be the worst I've ever seen," as bulletin board material. But he also points out that the skill players last year's group had to replace - and be compared to, in terms of Allen's two years as a starter - were especially talented.

"What you have to recognize is a lot of those guys that touched the football from the previous year (2016) were from active NFL rosters," Bohl said, referring to receiver Tanner Gentry, tight end Jacob Hollister and running back Brian Hill. "And that's pretty unique for the University of Wyoming. We're in hopes that these guys coming back a la Austin Conway, I know C.J. (Johnson) is not out here, but some of the other fellas recognize that they can improve."

Johnson has been unable to participate in spring camp because of an ACL injury he suffered in Wyoming's Potato Bowl win, Allen's last game as a Cowboy. John Okwoli is also out with an ACL injury suffered late in the season, and Jared Scott, who scored two touchdowns on two receptions last year, suffered a camp-ending broken finger earlier this spring.

Still, the desire to improve as a group remains.

"Part of it, we don't pay attention to it," Wyoming receivers coach Mike Grant said of the national criticism. "But the guys, I think they hear it, and they want to prove and play with a little chip on their shoulder about it and come through. The thing is, you just never want to be a problem on the football team. You want to go out and do your job and be a part of it, be a part of the support system."

Some national media members have come to the defense of Wyoming's receiving corps. They point out, for instance, that the receivers opposite UCLA's Josh Rosen and Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield actually dropped the ball at a higher rate than Allen's receivers last year. But even those points are typically raised more as a dig at Allen than anything else.

"Everyone reacts differently to it," Johnson told the Casper Star-Tribune. "I just kind of sit back, and I just root Josh on. I don't really listen to all the critics. Because, I mean, they roast him more than they roast us. But I'm just hoping that he has a very successful NFL career."

Regardless of what Wyoming's wide receivers achieve in 2018, they will do it on a smaller stage, now that Allen and his NFL potential have left the state. Still, there might be no better way to prove they were getting a bum rap than to have a successful year in spite of the first-rounder's departure.

"I mean, people talk, and that's just how it is," Conway said. "They're outside looking in. We're working. We're getting better. That's just how we have to take it: Don't let anybody say that again about us. That's super motivation."

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