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Tyler Cox is a sophomore Cowboy wrestler who has competed for the Olympics and knows what it takes to ascend to the top! He began his journey in Gillette, Wyoming where his parents placed him into a program and his skills have grown from there. He says that he learned to set his goals high and to work as hard as he can to get there and it has certainly paid off. Tyler currently is listed in many wrestling resource sites and in all he is in the top twenty wrestlers nationally. This comes even though he did not wrestle for the Pokes this year.

Tyler took what is called a redshirt Year for Olympic competition. The NCAA allows him to not lose a year of competition and allows him to compete in a whole different arena. The competition is tremendous and training is tough. It requires self-discipline and concentration, where he would start running at 6am most days and then onto lifting with his coach and trainer Ethan Kyle for a large part of the day. Later on he would work out with the team and work on Qualifying for trials which eventually qualified him for the Olympic trials in Iowa.

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He goes to a community college I don't know for sure which one. He is a Australian, they have definitely proven they can play at the D-1 level. You can check youtube and there is a pretty good highlight reel of him, he is a good shooter and can take people off the dribble fairly well. Might be a liability on the defensive end didn't show the ability to shut down quick guards.

Santa Monica High's Dylan Muscat talked with the Los Angeles Sports Journal's Ed Gonzalez and Wayne Neal about the reasons he picked Wyoming to continue his football career.

The three-year starter was named on ESPNLA's 2nd-Team All South Bay/Long Beach team and picked as one the the top ten defensive back by the LA Times. That hard work helped lead the Vikings to its first Ocean League title in 10 years as they advance to the CIF-SS Western Division Semifinals were they lost to rival Culver City.

Among the schools that he considered were Penn, Harvard, and Cal Poly.

LINK IS BELOW:

Dylan Muscat talks about why he picked Wyoming

I was just wondering if Wyoming has signed everyone they can this year. I noticed on ESPN two players out of the three from the state of Wyoming that weren't signed yet, and if Wyo had any scholarships left. The players are Nikko Johnson a two star shooting guard and Taylor Millay a one star power forward. If players from Wyo can fill a need iv always thought it puts out a good image about the program.

Its the same old story again. First Wyoming lose Richard Winston a defensive end/outside linebacker, and last week they lose Christian Chamagua. Lets start with Winston he was a huge get for Coach C and his staff he would of brought a lot of athleticism to the defense I projected him to play outside linebacker specialty rusher on the line. Wyoming's linebacking core does not look that promising this next year Nzeacha has not shown he can play at this level of competition. Jones is a strong side linebacker not middle Knight showed some flashes when replacing Hendricks, and Anderson is undersized against the run but was solid in coverage. Winston could of really solidified that position this year. Fortunately they are recruiting a couple more linebackers in this class. Next the lose of Chamagua isn't huge because of the two big junior college commits who will both step in and start right away.

According to Scout.com, Trent Sewell, a 3 star WR from Bothell, WA, has verbally committed to play football for Dave Christensen and the Wyoming Cowboys.

With his commitment, Sewell leaps atop the Cowboy's list of best recruits in 2012. By rankings, Sewell is the 2nd best WR in the state of WA. In my opinion, however, Sewell is the best overall WR in the state. This is a huge recruiting coup for the University of Wyoming.

For those wondering, "Who the heck is this guy?", allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kyle Rancourt, and I'm an editor over at the Washington State Cougar blog, CougCenter. Part of my job at CougCenter is to handle all things recruiting related. We have a Recruiting Central hub that I'm pretty proud of, and I've been linked to by ESPN, Yahoo!, SI, EDSBS, and CBS Sports. I say these things not to brag (ok, to brag a little), but mainly to prove I'm not just some schmuck who doesn't know what he's talking about.

I talked to Matt, expressed my jealously of Sewell choosing Wyoming, and now I'm here to tell you why I like the kid so much.

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I know I ranted about football attendance.

Now on to basketball.

I love Wyoming, I love UW, I love the Cowboys, I love everything from Ragtime Cowboy Joe to the Bronze Boot to the beer song to you name it. So this isn't trying to belittle our fans.. but I have a hard time understanding why (collectively speaking) we demand a good football team, yet when we get one we can barely fill half the stadium. Now that the athletic department has brought back "legendary" Larry Shyatt and our men's team is 8-1 (when is the last time that happened?) our Arena Auditorium looks and feels a lot like a consolation game at state basketball in Casper.

The AA is the third largest basketball venue in the Mountain West with nearly 16,000 seats, most of which are eerily empty during games nowadays. It is early in the season, and I can't say we've played any big shot teams yet, but if we want to look ahead to a conference title and maybe, just maybe going to the Big Tournament, we need to be filling seats. The largest announced attendance for a game thus far was in the 4,500's... that's roughly two thirds of the AA completely empty. During an average game, it is not uncommon for the upper deck to be completely empty. Student sections are mediocre at best but aside from the band, the most intimidating noises to an opponent are squeaky shoes on the court.

I have seen and heard about the teams of the previous Shyatt period in the late 90's when the place would sell out. It was a tough place to play and we won there. And we got to watch them win. Now when our games are televised it is an embarrassment for Wyoming. If you look at the Spectrum at Utah State or even New Mexico, you are looking at what college basketball fan bases should truly be about (and that's not even getting into the likes of Duke, Kansas, Indiana, etc...)

It seems like there is a bit of a kink in advertising games. Here on campus the only way I even know if there is a game is to look at the schedule, wheras everyone just seems to know when and were a football game is. Perhaps the powers that be should try to get the news out there.

So please, my fellow Wyoming fans, I can understand if our athletics are dismal you'll be less likely to show up (sad but just a fact of life), but when we are actually winning, you need to be doing a better job of not making our university look like it be on Division 2 status.

Thank you.

Greetings Wyomingers (Wyomingians? Wyomites?) ... As part of our question-and-answer agreement prior to the Boise State - Wyoming game and as an extension of the goodwill and warm fuzzies between our two blogs, Cowboy Altitude and OBNUG entered into a friendly wager on the outcome of last Saturday's game. Here I am to collect.

***

Inspired by a true movie story.

***

Location: The Missouri Tigers football offices.

Year: 2008

Scene: Missouri offensive coordinator Dave Christensen is cleaning up his desk after the Tigers' Alamo Bowl win over Northwestern. His LG Chocolate phone rings with Missy Elliott's "Milkshake" as his ringtone. Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman is on the other end.

Christensen: You got the Dave man. Go.

Burman: Mr. Christensen, this is Tom Burman from the University of Wyoming. We are prepared to offer you the head coach position for the Cowboys.

Christensen: But why me? I've never been a head coach before. I don't know the first thing about recruiting Wyoming. Chase Daniel called me a nub not two days ago. Are you sure you have the right guy?

Burman: Mr. Christensen, you are a great head coach with a special purpose. Your powers are greater than even you know.

Christensen: Powers? What kind of powers?

Burman: Look inside yourself Dave Christensen. Embrace the power from within.

Christensen closes his eyes. The room darkens. A window flies open, sending papers into the air. Christensen bends a filing cabinet into a bowtie with his mind and draws up a formation with a center, two quarterbacks, and eight tight ends.

Christensen: Incredible.

Burman: You report to Laramie first thing in the morning.

Burman hangs up. Christense shotguns a Red Bull and mindmelds the can into a Christmas ornament in the shape of Gary Pinkel.

***

Location: Laramie, Wyoming

Year: 2009

Scene: Christensen takes inventory of his new team.

Christensen: Attention, men. My name is Dave Christensen. I will be your head coach and leader starting now. You will respect me because I can control metal with my mind and come up with offenses that are borderline illegal. On a related note, you will find in your locker a 500-page playbook stapled together with parts from a Ford Focus.

Now, introductions.

Austyn Carta-Samuels: My name is Austyn Carta-Samuels. My power is invisibility, including but not limited to big games. I would say my weakness is that I want to be like Jeremiah Masoli.

Brian Hendricks: My name is Brian Hendricks. I can run through brick walls and tackle anything that moves - except hamsters.

Joe Glenn enters.

Glenn: Joe Glenn. Bionic middle finger.

Joe Glenn leaves.

Tashaun Gipson: My name is Tashaun Gipson. I have stretchy arms and oven mitts for hands.

Christensen: I can work with this. The world is mine!

Wyoming goes 6-6 and wins the New Mexico Bowl.

***

Location: Laramie, Wyoming.

Year: 2010

Scene: Boise State plays at Wyoming.

Christensen: An enemy approaches.

Chris Petersen: Hey there. My name is Chris Petersen. I don't think we've met.

Intense staring contest.

Christensen picks up a set of bleachers with his mind and throws them at Petersen.

Petersen responds by reading Christensen's inner most thoughts and bringing up Christensen's embarrassing childhood shortcomings. Petersen engulfs Christensen in a ball of energy. Austin Pettis does the Dougie around the ball. Austyn Carta-Samuels disappears. Boise State wins 51-6.

***

Location: Boise, Idaho.

Year: 2011

Scene: Wyoming visits Bronco Stadium with second place in the Mountain West on the line. Christensen seeks revenge on his enemy.

Christensen: We meet again, Dr. Xavier Chris Petersen.

Petersen: It's just Chris Petersen.

Christensen: Whatever. I know I wasn't strategically or emotionally appeared for our last battle and I let my poor planning carry over into a 3-9 season that I had to work very hard to justify to my employers, but I promise you things will be different this time. For one, I've replaced that Carta-Samuels kid with a new and improved model.

Brett Smith enters.

Smith: My name is Brett Smith. I have golden arms and golden legs and golden peach fuzz. Don't touch me or I'll fumble.

Christensen: And you remember Brian Hendricks and Tashaun Gipson.

Hendricks and Gipson enter.

Petersen: I brought some friends with me, too. B-men team, assemble.

The B-men enter.

Kellen Moore: My name is Kellen Moore, and I can see the future, walk on water, peel an orange in one contiguous piece, speak to animals, and kill at Pictionary. I have no weaknesses, except loving too much.

Tyrone Crawford: Tyrone Crawford. I have retractable claws and am the man at eight-pin bowling.

Ian Johnson enters.

Johnson: Ian Johnson. Proposals and beanies.

Ian Johnson leaves.

Matt Miller: My name is Matt Miller, and I am human glue. Also, I am incapable of emotion, like Data from Star Trek.

Doug Martin: My name is Doug Martin, and I have muscles on top of muscles.

OBNUG: My name is OBNUG, and I own the Walk to Remember soundtrack. I am allergic to gluten.

Petersen: I don't know who you are.

OBNUG: I have a blog?

Petersen: Yeah, still nothing.

Christensen: Enough with the pleasantries. Let's do this. For the future of mankind! And that Mountain West thing!

The two sides lock into a fierce battle. Martin and Hendricks fight back and forth while OBNUG tries to get everyone's autograph. When Brett Smith isn't looking, Tyrone Crawford touches him and he fumbles. Tashaun Gipson knocks Matt Miller to the ground. Kellen Moore throws a vial of Super Mario Bros invincibility stars high into the air toward Miller. Gipson goes to catch it, but it bounces off his oven mitt hands and right into Matt Miller's lap. The battle turns. OBNUG has found the tee-retrieving dog and is getting nose grundles. Petersen and the B-Men go in for the final blow. Boise State wins 36-14.

The University of Kansas offers Christensen a job.

Christensen: I'll see you in an Insight Bowl, Dr. Petersen. This isn't over!

End scene.

Wyoming is 7-3 (4-1), bowl eligible, and led by the conference's top freshman Brett Smith to become one of the nation's most improved teams. Pokes fans screamed and moaned wanting a winning team, and now the Cowboy posse has put one together. Yet...

When TCU rolled into Laramie thee weeks ago to play Wyoming in possibly the Cowboys' most important conference game of 2011, barely 17,000 fans showed up. Snow was in the forecast but it didn't happen. Wyoming wrestled around with the Frogs tying 17-17 at halftime and taking a 20-17 third quarter lead. The Pokes lost 20-31 after some questionable aggression on our quarterback but that's beside the point.

On senior day last week against New Mexico (who they beat), the game for which Wyoming could become bowl eligible, 14,000 fans showed up... not to mention that is total attendance; many people left at half time. That is the lowest attendance of a game at the War in the entire decade; in fact, I could not find an attendance below 15,000 in any number of years. What makes this so pathetic is it falls short of the required 15,000 average attendance mandated by the NCAA-Division 1-A. Fortunately Wyoming is still slightly above 20,000 for the yearly average, but 14,000 for the last game? Was it the cold front?

Not only was this pathetic turnout a blow to the seniors who have overcome previously adverse seasons (save the 2009 6-6- record and NM Bowl victory) to bring the state a winning team, it was a blow to the entire university. War Memorial Stadium is not that big, but it can be one intimidating place if more than half the seats are filled. Not being able to fill half the seats of a 30,000 capacity venue just makes one think UW is a cupcake institution since most D1-FCS (formerly AA) schools have better turnouts.

Now I know there are some quality fans out there and the Cowboys have the backing of most of the state. But I think it's shameful that the only times the War can be filled to capacity are when big shot teams like Texas or Nebraska come to Laramie. Do fans really have so little faith in their team that they only think they're worth watching when a team with a name comes in? Seats in the War need to be filled...additionally, crowds in the AA for basketball have been very skeletal.. but I'll save that for another day.

I know there are legitimate reasons for people not to come to games. Wyoming is a huge state with few people. But weather was not the factor people thought it would be this year. Laramie and the UW student population combined is about 45,000; Cheyenne with 60,000 is a quick hop on I-80 to the east, Casper with 53,000 is less than three hours to the northwest; much of Wyoming's population is within reasonable driving distance of Laramie. When it's in the heat of conference play and our stadium looks like a high school field, there is no excuse.

Fairly new to the front-range and haven't been to a football game in person since moving from California. Kind of getting an affinity for the Cowboys (helps how bad the Buffs and Rams look). Was thinking of heading up to Laramie to catch a game with the girls (wife and daughter). And would love to see city and campus anyway. Buddy at work said I don't need to prepay tickets, but can save money by just driving up and they should be easy to get. Considering the 2hr drive was a little rulucatant... What do you guys say? And finally is there a place you'd recommend we can't miss after the game? Now the question is how to convince SoCal girls to watch a football game outside in the snow?