UW Cowboys expect junior Andrew Wingard to play at lot at both safety spots this season
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COURTESY/ WyoSports
Wyoming linebacker Ben Wisdorf (bottom) and Wyoming safety Andrew Wingard (top) tackles UC Davis running back Joshua Kelley during the game September 17, 2016 at the War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.
LARAMIE – Andrew Wingard is on the move.
No, the University of Wyoming junior safety isn't leaving school. Nor is he switching to a completely new position.
But to better utilize his skills and abilities, defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton and safeties coach Jake Dickert – both in their first season with UW – have Wingard playing both free and strong safety this spring.
Wingard has played mostly free safety during his first two seasons, and he has played it well. He was a first team All-Mountain West selection last season, and a second team All-MW pick in 2015 as a true freshman. Wingard led UW in tackles each of the last two seasons, and over that time has 253 tackles.
"He's been doing really good," Hazelton said. "He's a guy that has a lot of experience, and with that experience comes a good foundation of football.
"And he's a guy that makes plays. That combination is always helpful."
Unfortunately, Wingard broke his left hand in Thursday's practice and will watch the rest of spring drills from the sidelines.
Even with that, Hazelton sees a positive.
"We have most of the defensive concepts in now, so he knows what to do," he said. "Andrew was playing at a pretty high level at both spots. It will be good for two young guys. They will get more reps, and we will force-feed them to see what they can do."
Those young guys are sophomore Alijah Halliburton and redshirt freshman Josh Boyd.
Prior to the injury, Wingard said he would get reps at free safety, some at strong safety, take a couple of plays off and then repeat.
"Going from free safety to strong is a completely different thing," Wingard said. "Fatigue sets in a little bit, but it's been a good challenge for me, and I've enjoyed all the reps.
"Learning both spots and being more diverse is good. Coach Dickert said (all of the safeties) are freshmen this spring, but it's been fun not just sitting and watching the new guys. We're all out there learning."
Wingard and junior strong safety Marcus Epps anchor the back end of UW's defense. Epps hasn't spent as much time playing both spots, but there could be times this season – depending on the down-and-distance scenario – where Epps could play closer to the line of scrimmage or also get more involved in pass coverage.
That's a big change from UW's defense the last couple of years where it mostly played all man-to-man coverage and put a lot of pressure on the cornerbacks.
Both UW safeties are expected to be more involved in pass coverage, and the Cowboys look to mix up their coverages between man and zone.
Wingard and Epps have proven their effectiveness as tacklers. Epps was second on the team last season with 111, and the two have combined for 447 tackles in two seasons.
However, they only have eight interceptions over that time period.
"There should be more opportunities to make more plays on the ball," Wingard said. "There will be times I play 15 yards deep, read the quarterback's eyes and have a chance to get more picks. We should be able to move more guys around.
"This is more NFL coverage-type stuff, and I'm excited for that."
