Wyoming OC on Tyler Hughes: ‘He’s the Guy … No Doubt About It’

LARAMIE -- You're kidding, right?

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That was pretty much the response from Wyoming offensive coordinator Christian Taylor on Monday when asked if he has thought about bringing in a new quarterback, even if it's for a series or two?

Then came the vote of confidence.

"No," the first-year play-caller said. "He is the guy ... no doubt about it. I haven't even thought about that."

Neither has the head coach.

Jay Sawvel definitely wasn't pleased with a pair of fourth-quarter throws off the right arm of Tyler Hughes last Saturday in soggy Mount Pleasant. One of those was an ill-advised deep throw that was easily picked off, thwarting any hope of a comeback in that 24-10 loss to Central Michigan. To make matters worse, running back Markell Holman was all alone in the flat.

Still, Wyoming's third-year head coach is giving the William and Mary transfer the benefit of the doubt, despite being responsible for seven turnovers in three games.

Sawvel pointed to the number of new pieces on the offensive side of the ball, including five different offensive linemen who have seen the field already this fall. Tight ends Kyle Frendt and Jake Wilson have both already eclipsed the 100-yard mark through the air. That duo is ahead of schedule but still young, he added.

Hughes may have a prior relationship with Taylor -- the two were together in Williamsburg for two seasons -- but that was three years ago, Sawvel continued.

"I think you just set yourself back to the starting blocks again," he said when asked if he's thought about bringing in a new signal caller to create a spark.

Hughes has thrown for 452 yards while completing nearly 60% of his passes. He's tossed just two touchdowns, both coming in the fourth quarter of a comeback win over Northern Colorado. It's the five interceptions that are troublesome, though, as Taylor pointed out, only one is truly his fault.

That was the aforementioned pick at CMU that landed in the hands of former Wyoming safety Justin Taylor with 8:18 remaining in regulation.

Taylor placed the blame on himself for the final gift, which came in the end zone on the following possession.

After deciding to review the previous play -- an 11-yard run by Hughes on a 3rd-and-10 -- officials restarted the play clock with just 12 seconds to go. Wanting to save timeouts for the defense, Taylor said he didn't have his QB equipped for that scenario.

"You can't utilize your cadence, you can't utilize your motion, so we had the line up, not utilizing any of that," he added. "The defense could see what we were lined in, they went to really good coverage that I didn't prepare him well enough for and that they only did a handful of times last year. He was (going fast) and it led to the pick."

Hughes has also lost the ball twice on blind-side sacks.

Taylor said Hughes, at times, has pressed. His decision-making has been risky. He's also making plays, too, he added. The Georgia product is the team's leading rusher with 156 yards on just 29 carries. He has found the end zone with his legs once. That came from nine yards out on the opening drive of the second half at CSU.

Taylor said he isn't looking for "Superman" out there, just one of 11 players doing their job.

Hughes is his quarterback. That's not changing anytime soon.

"I think at every level of ball, there's a fan base that has expectations -- as they should," Taylor said. "If people saw what he did on a daily basis, they would love the crap out of him and respect what he's doing. Obviously, it's a result business, and we need better results."

Wyoming (1-2) will host Hawaii (1-2) Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Mountain Time and the game will be televised on the CW.

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