Shadows of a Family's Past (The Coaching Career of Mitchell Hayes)

[Gingerchops]

Quote: Originally Posted by huskerfan01

Love the layout so far. Really excited for this dynasty to get started. The season preview was tremendous and the injury adds a new twist on the season. You're gonna have a great thread man!

Thanks man! That means a lot, with some of the inactivity on the forums the past few days I've been worried that maybe I needed to edit my layout of things a little bit. But I'm super excited to get the season going, just gotta finish up the preseason stuff first!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[huskerfan01]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gingerchops

Thanks man! That means a lot, with some of the inactivity on the forums the past few days I've been worried that maybe I needed to edit my layout of things a little bit. But I'm super excited to get the season going, just gotta finish up the preseason stuff first! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I know. I've been very worried because of the inactivity on most of the dynasty threads. My guess is that most high school kids are starting school and college kids are moving in soon. Don't worry about the inactivity. People are reading them, they may just not comment. Keep up the great work!

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Gingerchops]

2015-2016 Wyoming Team Preview

Team Storylines:

2nd Year Under Craig Bohl

Though the coaching staff hasn’t remained completely intact, Wyoming will look to improve off of a 4-8 2014-15 record under head coach Craig Bohl. After leaving North Dakota State, a perennial FCS championship contender, Bohl took over the job of rebuilding a team void of a conference championship in their program’s history. With a roster that is still mostly in turnover from the last coaching staff, and in desperate need of new players to fit Bohl’s scheme, Wyoming will have to settle for contending for a bowl game at best in this season and the one’s to come. Adding in the fact that first time Offensive Coordinator Mitchell Hayes has replaced Bohl’s close friend Brent Virgen, a slight step back in year two of the Bohl era wouldn’t be surprising.


Cameron Coffman Heads Offensive Attack

With a majority of Bohl’s incoming recruits receiving a redshirt, the only real help Wyoming will be getting this year will be senior transfer Cameron Coffman from Indiana. Coffman played considerable snaps under center in his Sophomore season, but following news that he wouldn’t be the starter his junior season Coffman was recruited by coach Bohl to run the offense in Laramie. Coffman looked exceptional in Wyoming’s spring game back in April and seemed to develop some on-field chemistry will leading receiver Tanner Gentry. Though he’ll be taking the snaps, Coffman will have plenty of help coming out of the backfield with Shaun Wick, although he suffered a significant injury and won’t be available at the beginning of the season, and Brian Hill.


Lack of Depth on Defense

When a new coaching staff arrives, the most notable change usually comes in offensive scheme. Yet the biggest change in Wyoming a year ago came from the defensive side of the ball, where the new scheme instituted by Defensive Coordinator Steve Stanard didn’t quite fit the mold of the players on scholarship from the previous staff. This resulted in a defense that allowed over 30+ PPG and 400 yards nearly every game last season, and unfortunately for the Cowboys a great improvement isn’t coming this season. Several players changed positions in order to just fill the needed spots on defense, and though the group can play together, the roster isn’t right for what Stanard wants to do.


Three Wyoming Players Named to Preseason All-Mountain West Teams

DE Eddie Yarbrough headlined the group of Cowboy players named to the Preseason All-Conference teams, being the only Wyoming player expected to make 1st team. RB Shaun Wick was named to the 2nd team despite suffering an injury in April, and OG Chase Roullier rounded out the crop of players. Some players with an outside chance of appearing on the All-Conference team after the season include RB Brian Hill, TE Jacob Hollister, and S Tim Kamana.

Team Schedule:

Wyoming Cowboys 2015-16 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 5	vs North Dakota
Sep 12	vs Eastern Michigan
Sep 19	vs UNLV*
Sep 26	at Air Force*
Oct 3	at Appalachian State
Oct 17	vs New Mexico*
Oct 24	at Colorado State*
Oct 30	vs BYU
Nov 14	at Fresno State*
Nov 21	vs Boise State*
Nov 28	vs Hawaii*
Dec 5	at Utah State*
Dec 12	vs MWC Chapionship Game

*denotes conference games

Wyoming opens the 2015 season with a very kind schedule of three straight home games against FCS opponent North Dakota, along with two games against teams projected to be among the worst in all of the FBS. A 3-0 record wouldn’t be surprising at all for the Cowboys, but the next three games are likely to decide how the team’s season will go. Road games at Air Force and Appalachian State will be pivotal on whether or not Wyoming could find themselves in a bowl game this year, and a very winnable home game against New Mexico will determine where in the Mountain West they will end up. A home game late in the season with Hawaii is another game where Wyoming will be favored, but the remaining games on their schedule would be very surprising for the Cowboys to come away with a victory. Though the Cowboys will host defending MWC champs Boise State on November 11th with a chance to potentially leave them out of a New Year’s Six Bowl.

Projected Record:
5-7

At Best:
7-5

At Worst:
3-9

Depth Chart:

Wyoming Cowboys Depth Chart - 2015
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Jake Maulhardt	Trent Sewell	Jacob Hollister
TE	Jacob Hollister	Drew Van Maanen	Brinkley Jolly
LT	Ryan Cummings	Eli Moody	Brinkley Jolly
LG	Chase Roullier	Richard Bettencourt	Cole Turner
C	Rafe Kiely	Charlie Refree	Eli Moody
RG	Troy Boyland	Cole Turner	Richard Bettencourt
RT	Taulor Knestis	Brinkley Jolly	Troy Boyland
WR	Tanner Gentry	Dameko Doodles	Grant Lewis
QB	Cameron Coffman	Josh Allen	Nick Smith
FB	Jacob Hollister	Brinkley Jolly	Shaun Wick
HB	Shaun Wick	Brian Hill	D.J. May	Joshua Tapscott
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Eddie Yarbrough	Daniel Vega	Adam Kinder
LDT	Uso Olive	Dalton Fields	Jacob English	Sidney Malauulu
RDT	Chase Appleby	Jacob English	Sidney Malauulu
RDE	Siaosi Hala'api'api	Adam Kinder	Daniel Vega
WLB	Will Tutein	Eric Nzeocha	Devin McKenna
MLB	Malkaam Muhammad	Eric Nzeocha	Devin McKenna	Tim Hayes
SLB	Lucas Wacha	Eric Nzeocha	Devin McKenna
CB	Robert Priester	Luke Kellum	Marcus Epps
SS	Tim Kamana	Tim Hayes	Luke Kellum
FS	Xavier Lewis	Tim Hayes	Luke Kellum
CB	Tyran Finley	Tim Hayes	Luke Kellum	Marcus Epps

Notably the Wyoming linebacker core is especially weak and very thin. Lucas Wacha, the brother of Cardinal pitcher Michael Wacha, headlines the group with Malkaam Muhammed, though Muhammed is coming off of a torn labrum last season. Will Tutein, a converted safety rounds out the group while converted TE Eric Nezocha and walk-on Devin McKenna are the only reserves at the moment. Injuries at this position could prove to be deadly for the Cowboys.

Few position battles exist heading into fall camp for the Cowboys, the most notable being for the 3rd Wide Receiver position. Trent Sewell currently holds to post, but true freshman Dameko Doodles stood out in spring practices and was the leading receiver during the spring game. Doodles performed well enough to be the only true freshman to not be redshirted for the season. The only other competition will be between Josh Allen and Nick Smith for the backup QB position. Though insignificant for this season, the player who wins the spot will be the frontrunner heading into next season to become the starter. Allen is in the lead heading into camp after Smith looked lost under center all of spring.

Redshirted Players:

HB Kellen Overstreet
WR Justice Murphy
WR C.J. Johnson
C Kaden Jackson
T Zach Wallace
DE Carl Granderson
DE Tavita Faaiu
DT Youhanna Ghaifan
OLB Josh Harshman
CB Christian Irving

Recruiting:

Wyoming Cowboys Recruiting - 2015-16
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Josh DeAngelis	QB	HS	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	6'1"	192
Trey Harrell	MLB	HS	Torrington, WY	6'4"	245
Shaun Sharp	WR	JUCO	Blue Springs, MO	6'1"	198
Corey Robinson	OLB	HS	Green River, WY	5'11"	233
Mike Alexander	MLB	HS	Dana Point, CA	6'1"	237
Jason Brown	WR	HS	Dana Point, CA	6'0"	181
Kerry Anderson	OG	HS	Blue Springs, MO	6'0"	327
Dylan Carroll	QB	HS	La Mirada, CA	6'1"	215
Tyler Massey	FS	HS	West Fargo, ND	6'1'	197
Bill Rushing	OG	HS	Gahanna, OH	6'2"	294
Brandon Matthews	WR	HS	Paramount, CA	6'1"	215
Brent Williams	C	HS	Centerville, OH	6'4"	290
Josh Lawson	OG	HS	Woodinville, WA	6'5"	290
Andre Davis	WR	HS	Gunbarrel, CO	6'3"	195
Walter Waters	FS	JUCO	Farmington, UT	6'0"	170
Byron Tate	OG	JUCO	Oceanside, CA	6'3"	275
Melvin Inman	QB	HS	Riverside, CA	6'1"	195
Reggie Gray	WR	HS	Ken Caryl, CO	6'0"	181
Ben Newby	QB	JUCO	Cheviot, OH	6'5"	201
Frank Joseph	MLB	HS	Henryetta, OH	6'2"	230
Marcus Gaither	C	HS	Palm Springs, CA	6'3"	324
Anthony Golden	OG	HS	Evergreen, MT	6'5"	330
Steve Harvey	FS	HS	Hazelwood, OR	6'2"	182
Matt Brown	MLB	HS	Palo Alto, CA	6'1"	234
Mike Irby	OG	HS	Nampa, ID	6'1"	287

Team Needs:

QB: 1
MLB: 2
FS: 1

Available Scholarships for 2016: 12

Above you can see the Wyoming football top 25 recruiting board for the 2015-2016 preseason. Unsurprisingly a QB and MLB top the list of targets for the Cowboys for next season as they look for longtime leaders on both sides of the ball. Josh DeAngelis, a 3-star QB recruit from California, and Trey Harrell, a 3-star home state MLB recruit are the players most sought after by the Wyoming coaches and will be heavily recruited in the coming season. 3-Star Guard Kerry Anderson from Missouri is a player the coaching staff really likes as well, and in order to keep the pipeline that’s been established in Missouri the Cowboys need to sign at least one recruit from the state. If Anderson signs elsewhere, look for Wyoming to go hard after 1-star Guard Bill Rushing from Ohio, who Mitchell Hayes is apparently very high on. 2-Star recruits OLB Corey Robinson and FS Tyler Massey are two defensive players that are some of the biggest targets of Wyoming, expect the staff to pull out several resources to try and sign the in-state Robinson and Massey from North Dakota. A QB that will likely be overlooked because of his 1-star rating is Riverside, California native Melvin Inman. New Offensive Coordinator reportedly worked with the young man as a freshman in high school before he became coach of the JUCO team Riverside City, and though he’s not a top notch recruit Hayes is very high on him.

[Matt10]

This layout is so old-school, I love it. Love that big font mixed with the big images/logos. Keep up the great work!

[Gingerchops]

Quote: Originally Posted by Matt10

This layout is so old-school, I love it. Love that big font mixed with the big images/logos. Keep up the great work!

Thanks man! I really appreciate that, especially coming from you cause your layouts are awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gingerchops]

Chapter 1

Turning off the car and opening the door, Mitchell grabbed his keys and his cup of coffee as he trudged through the football facility parking lot. He noticed a few of the other coach’s cars were already parked, while a few others were just pulling into the lot. Mitchell walked by the practice field, surprised to see figures of a few players out on the field running routes. He glanced down at this watch, noticing it wasn’t even 7:30 yet. The players were scheduled to meet at 8AM for a morning workout and some meetings before practice at noon, which intrigued Mitchell to see who was out so early. As he made his way around the field towards the building where the coach’s meeting at 8 was scheduled, Mitchell could finally make out Cameron Coffman tossing the ball to Tanner Gentry and Jake Maulhardt.

“Good morning boys!” Mitchell shouted out, raising his hand and smiling in greeting.

“Morning coach!” Cameron yelled back before directing his attention back to Tanner running a comeback route, hitting his turnaround cut perfectly as Cameron delivered the ball right on the money to his chest.

Mitchell stood and watched briefly, watching the three players going through a variety of routes, their timing already looking crisp and game day ready, even though today was the first official practice of the fall. Man, if all these kids work this hard we could really be something, I just know it. Mitchell thought to himself before the booming sound of man’s voice woke him from his thoughts.

“Sure is great to see some devoted guys, huh coach?” It was Byron Thomas, the new offensive line coach that Mitchell had added to the staff back in the winter after Bohl recommended him to Mitchell. He was a huge, dark-skinned man with hands that made a football look like a tennis ball, and his voice was about as loud as he was large. Byron was once a 2nd team All-American at Nebraska as a tackle, where he played with and befriended coach Bohl.

“It sure is!” Mitchell responded, opening the door to the building and letting Byron walk in front of him, “Let’s just hope we’ve got 67 other guys just like them.”

“Now that’d make for something special” Byron laughed, showing off his huge bright smile.

As the two men entered the meeting room only a handful of other coaches were there, most sitting down going over their laptops or cell phones. Mitchell strolled over and set his things down to the seat to the left of the end chair, where he assumed coach Bohl would be sitting.

As he made himself comfortable, a tall, skinny light-haired man entered the room, his coffee and breakfast nearly falling all over him as he carried several folders of papers. His smooth face made him appear young, and his demeanor made him look much like one of the college players. With a loud thud he dropped the folders to the table next to Mitchell and set his things down, letting out a long sigh of relief as he sat down. The man’s name was Kyle Haas, he was the quarterback’s coach that Mitchell opted to hire to fill out his offensive staff. The two’s relationship went way back, when Mitchell had his first true coaching job at a high school in Southern California. Kyle was a senior then, and the starting quarterback in Mitchell’s offense. After graduating he came back and was an assistant for Mitchell, and eventually worked as an assistant coach under Mitchell at Riverside City Junior College. Though Kyle was very young, being only 25, Mitchell believed he could handle his new position and thrive at it, even though he wasn’t so confident in himself.

“Kyle, I know you’re nervous but you’ve gotta come across as a little more sure of yourself, these are some grown men you’re working with now. The other coaches have got to respect you.” Mitchell whispered to him, swiveling his chair to talk to the young coach.

“You think I don’t know that? I want them to know I’m serious about this job, I’ve been working myself to death on these scouting reports for Coffman and the other quarterbacks to go over, I have one for every single game this season.” He responded, opening the folders filled with paper after paper.

“It will take a lot more than scouting work to impress these guys. Just know I’ve got your back alright? You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in you, and if Bohl didn’t trust my trust in you.” Mitchell replied calmly, “We got this.”

8AM rolled by and all the coaches filled their seats in the meeting room. For a while the room was filled with quiet conversations and greetings between the staff, until finally Craig Bohl called the meeting to order. “Good morning and welcome to the 2015 season men, I’d usually say I’m happy to see all of you but I’ve got to say I’m tired as hell.” The entire room let out a soft laugh as Bohl cracked a smile, “I don’t know about all of you but I’m more than ready for this year.” Bohl’s tone became more serious, “I don’t like to read things the media puts out often, especially when it’s about me and my work. But this year they’ve given me, and all of you, an early Christmas present. The present of promising that come Christmas time we’ll have nothing better to do than sit at home and be with our families. Now I love my family, but right now, that’s the last thing I want. The media has given us zero expectations, if we fail, good we were supposed to. That leaves room for us to put our own expectations on ourselves, and just because other people don’t have them doesn’t mean I don’t. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t, or our players shouldn’t. Come Christmas time I want to be here at 8AM again, tired as hell with all of you men around me, working our asses off to try and go win a bowl game for the University of Wyoming. So let’s do it.”

[thesportsguru11]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gingerchops

Thanks man! That means a lot, with some of the inactivity on the forums the past few days I've been worried that maybe I needed to edit my layout of things a little bit. But I'm super excited to get the season going, just gotta finish up the preseason stuff first! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, don't ever worry about this. Once Madden drops (next week?) the forums will be hopping again. Even if no one is following, if you keep at it folks will find reason to read.

For me, I badly need to get caught up on a lot of threads this weekend, as school is indeed right around the corner and once these new Madden 'chises start appearing, I can't fall behind completely.

With that said, good luck. I'll get caught up quickly on this one, at least.

[Gingerchops]

Quote: Originally Posted by thesportsguru11

Yeah, don't ever worry about this. Once Madden drops (next week?) the forums will be hopping again. Even if no one is following, if you keep at it folks will find reason to read. For me, I badly need to get caught up on a lot of threads this weekend, as school is indeed right around the corner and once these new Madden 'chises start appearing, I can't fall behind completely. With that said, good luck. I'll get caught up quickly on this one, at least.

Yeah I guess I didn't consider that really, I'm not really that into madden so I actually forgot about it completely haha. But thanks for the reassurance and for taking a look! Once you get a chance let me know what you think of it so far!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk