LARAMIE -- Miles Williams wasn't losing sleep over the fact he had yet to pick off a pass in his college career.

But, it was a feather he was hoping to one day stick in his cap.

That day was last Saturday.

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With Northern Illinois in the midst of a nine-play, 47-yard drive that had the Huskies just outside the Cowboys' red zone, Rocky Lombardi surveyed the defense and fired a pass over the middle.

It barely made it past the line of scrimmage.

UW linebacker Easton Gibbs leapt and raised both arms. The spiral hit him in the hands, bounced up and to the left before landing right into the awaiting arms of Williams.

"There's nothing to describe really. It just happened," Wyoming's junior strong safety said of his first-career interception. "I went over that hurdle, now it's time to build on top of that. That's what was going through my mind.

"You know, we still have a game to play so I can't really dwell on that fact that I got an interception, but it was still cool."

 

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The Oxnard, California product has been a mainstay on the Cowboys' special teams units since he arrived on campus since 2018. The following year, he landed a reserve role in the secondary at the safety spot next to Alijah Halliburton, Esaias Gandy, Rome Weber and Braden Smith.

He finished with two tackles during his true freshman season. Williams added four more in 2019. Last fall, he appeared in all six games, recording seven tackles.

Now, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound speedster can add a pick to his résumé.

"I always thought, 'when it happens, it happens,'" he said. "So, it finally happened, but it was nothing that was really stressing on my mind. To me, it was like, it's only a matter of time. The opportunity came."

Patience is a virtue for Williams. When he first stepped foot in Laramie, Marcus Epps and Andrew Wingard were holding down the fort on the backend of the Cowboys' defense. Those two now cash checks from the NFL. He sat behind those four guys mentioned above, too. In fact, he's still third on the depth chart behind Smith and Weber.

With Gandy sidelined early in DeKalb with an undisclosed injury, Williams' number was called.

He was ready.

"I just stepped in and happened to be at the right place at the right time," he said with a smile. "It's a good feeling to make a play."

PRESS PASS: Hanging with the Huskies

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