Gabe Knapton's younger brother to walk on at UW

Fri Jun 11, 2010 10:29 am

As a preferred walk-on. Led 4A in tackles last year, and was named the 4A East conference defensive POY.

Listed currently at 6'2" and 180...wait until he adds 40 pounds and another inch or 2!

http://www.laramieboomerang.com/article ... 331295.txt

Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:12 pm

Another Knapton is never a bad thing!

Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:06 pm

He isn't FBS material right now. To be quite honest, I'm not sure he is even FCS material. Glad to see he is getting the chance to prove himself though. That's all anyone can really ask for. UW has had their share of in-state walk-ons make some big noise later in their career. Lets hope we can add the younger Knapton to that list.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:17 pm

You're saying that Knapton isn't even FCS material? That's sad considering that he's better than John Wendling was at this point ( I know, I played football with him in H.S) in his career. And look at what Wendling did at UW!

Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:38 pm

kansasCowboy wrote:You're saying that Knapton isn't even FCS material? That's sad considering that he's better than John Wendling was at this point ( I know, I played football with him in H.S) in his career. And look at what Wendling did at UW!

Yes, that's what I'm saying. When recruiting a kid you can't only look at where he currently is. You have to be able to spot the kids that have the ability to continue to grow. I don't know much about how good John Wendling was in high school, so I can't comment there. I have watched the younger Knapton play, and while he was a good Wyoming high school football player, I just don't see him developing into much on the college level. Of course, I could be dead wrong (and I hope I am). Recruiting is a very inexact science.

One other thing to consider is that the level of Wyoming high school football makes it very difficult to judge a players talents. That is in no way a knock on the state of Wyoming or the high school football played there. Anytime you play in a cold weather state that has the smallest population, the talent pool isn't going to be the deepest. It puts the coaches at UW in a very interesting spot.

If DC and staff thought the younger Knapton were good enough to play FBS football, they would have offered him a scholarship. However, DC realizes that while he has a very intricate system for evaluating recruits, he is still going to miss some players that really will develop into something big. That's why there is a walk-on program and I think it's the perfect spot for the younger Knapton.

Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:40 pm

Hey RealUW, was it you last year that said Bolger wasn't D1 material either? Or, something along the lines of "we are in big trouble if Bolger is one of our WR's"? If it wasn't you, then I apologize. If it was, then I think you're a little off on your evaluation of talent. While he wasn't great, he was definitely servicable.

Peace,

Sat Jun 12, 2010 2:59 am

JimmyDimes wrote:Hey RealUW, was it you last year that said Bolger wasn't D1 material either? Or, something along the lines of "we are in big trouble if Bolger is one of our WR's"? If it wasn't you, then I apologize. If it was, then I think you're a little off on your evaluation of talent. While he wasn't great, he was definitely servicable.

Peace,

That was me. I still stand by my assessment. We are very weak at the WR position. Please feel free to compare UNLV's or SDSU's receivers to Bolger if you wish. I was very impressed with the will last years team showed. They won more games than they should of. Both UNLV and SDSU were faster and more talented than us. We were better coached. That is what won us those games. I still say if Bolger is a starting WR that we are not where we need to be. Just my opinion.

Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:12 am

I'm actually going to agree that, generally speaking, that coming to UW, Bolger was not a D1 receiver. However, I will not argue what he has been able to do. He's been very reliable, and made a lot of big catches. Not to mention he went from NAIA to starting D1 at a skill position, which in and of itself, is nothing to scoff at and very impressive. All the receivers really stepped up last year, but the passing game didn't blow anybody away. It's good that there's more reliability at receiver, but there's not an established playmaker right now. Oh to have a Yarborough, Harris, Bouknight, etc... There needs to be that guy that you can go vertical with, or just has the ability to take it to the house whenever they get the ball, and if that receiver is on Wyoming's roster right now, he has yet to reveal himself. But, there's new recruits, and the guys that are familiar with the offense, so I like the odds of the receivers being solid and more productive this year.

Anyways, in regard to Knapton's brother, only time will tell. He's obviously got potential, or I doubt they let him walk on.

Finally, with all the expansion/realignment talk, recruit talk, scheduling, and everything, the season needs to get here sooner, cause I'm ready to watch some wyoming football.

Sat Jun 12, 2010 8:14 am

All we really need is two reliable guys at WR, Kinda like McGuffey and Floyd were here a few years ago. each reaching about 800 yrds receiving a season. Maybe Leonard and Ogbanna?

Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:54 am

Wait, we're now calling Bolger a good receiver? Does anybody even remember why ACS had to scramble like mad and why we had the worst offense in the MWC? It's because none of our receivers had the speed and/or moves to get open, and half the time they'd drop the easiest of passes. Leonard was the only somewhat reliable guy, and that's only because he created mismatches with his size. A couple of big receptions against questionable defenses with awful secondaries does not make a receiver "good." Get open a couple of times versus Texas, Boise, BYU, and TCU, and maybe then we can make that kind of judgment.

If we don't teach the receivers we have to create separation, ACS better keep improving his scrambling skills. Hopefully a couple of the new guys have what it takes to help him out.

Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:21 am

Asmodeanreborn wrote:Wait, we're now calling Bolger a good receiver? Does anybody even remember why ACS had to scramble like mad and why we had the worst offense in the MWC? It's because none of our receivers had the speed and/or moves to get open, and half the time they'd drop the easiest of passes. Leonard was the only somewhat reliable guy, and that's only because he created mismatches with his size. A couple of big receptions against questionable defenses with awful secondaries does not make a receiver "good." Get open a couple of times versus Texas, Boise, BYU, and TCU, and maybe then we can make that kind of judgment.

If we don't teach the receivers we have to create separation, ACS better keep improving his scrambling skills. Hopefully a couple of the new guys have what it takes to help him out.

ACS was a true freshman QB. Maybe some of his scrambling had to do with OL breakdowns or not being comfortable yet. And, while nobody said Bolger was good, he was decent. He was second on the team in yards and made some big catches down the stretch when we were fighting for a bowl birth. He also made some key plays during the NM Bowl. Let's give the kid a little credit. Afterall, he is a Cowboy.

Hopefull with improved depth we can spread the field more. But, let's not forget what our team was able to accomplish last year with all the youth we had on the field.

Peace,

Mon Jun 14, 2010 2:59 pm

TheRealUW wrote:He isn't FBS material right now. To be quite honest, I'm not sure he is even FCS material.

I think you are absolutely correct. But Luke is quietly following in the "physical" footsteps of Gabe...he is just blooming a bit later. Gabe, after his junior year in HS, was basically the same size as Luke is now...after his senior year in HS. Give Luke a year in the program, as a preferred walk-on, and I bet he will be at least 6'3" and 220 by the end of next summer. Walk-ons don't have to burn redshirts either...right?