Pownell shows 'next man up' mentality for Wyoming

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Chavez Pownell Jr. said it felt natural, even though he hardly practiced it this season.

The Wyoming sophomore strong safety was pressed into duty to play nickel, a hybrid outside linebacker/safety, in the Cowboys' 52-28 home victory over Utah State on Saturday.

Senior starter D.J. May was ejected for a targeting penalty, and junior back-up Jalen Ortiz left the game before May's ejection with an injury. Both occurred in the first half.

"It was an emergency situation, but with all things considered, he did a good job," UW safeties coach and defensive pass game coordinator Curt Mallory said of Pownell.

Pownell had two tackles against Utah State. Prior to that game, most of his playing time came on special teams. Last season, Pownell played in 11 games and had 18 tackles.

Pownell said it's "a lot different" playing strong safety, compared to nickel, because of different gap responsibilities and drops in pass coverage, along with more man-to-man coverage in passing situations.

However, Pownell said it "was pretty natural" to play nickel because he played that at Jefferson High in Tampa, Florida.

Pownell is the latest example of Wyoming's "next man up" mentality, meaning when one player goes down, another steps in and does the job.

Wyoming has dealt with season-ending injuries to two starters - sophomore defensive end Carl Granderson (knee Oct. 8) and junior right tackle Ryan Cummings (foot, prior to the Oct. 29 game with Boise State).

Sophomore Brinkley Jolly has stepped in nicely so far for Cummings, and a host of players have rotated in and out of the lineup to make up for Granderson's loss.

"Chavez is anxious to help the team any way he can," Mallory told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle (http://bit.ly/2fSL0Fv). "His opportunity came, he was excited and took advantage of it. He hustled around and made some plays.

"He's had a great attitude all season. He hasn't been hanging his head because he hasn't been playing (on the defense). He's trying to learn the defense better, and I'm proud of how he's approached things. He's accepted his role on special teams, and he comes to practice every day to get better. The Utah State game was a prime example of that."

May and Ortiz are expected to be back for Wyoming's game Saturday at UNLV. Mallory said it will depend on how practice goes this week to determine if Pownell will play more on defense Saturday, whether at safety or nickel.

No matter his role, Pownell said he'll be ready.

"It's more of a 'keep practicing' thing because you never know when your number will be called," Pownell said.

"I had no idea I would play nickel in a game. When your time comes, you can't let your team down. I knew I had to make something happen."

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Information from: Wyoming Tribune Eagle, http://www.wyomingnews.com