Can Pokes Solve All-American Tackles to Even Get to Dampier?

LARAMIE -- Devon Dampier was sacked just five times last season.

The slippery signal caller from Phoenix helped out his own cause a plenty, avoiding pressure, eluding trouble and using his dynamic running game to preserve that No. 1 ranking for the New Mexico Lobos.

One of those takedowns came in an early November meeting with visiting Wyoming.

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With the fourth-quarter clock dwindling and trailing by four, Dampier reeled in the shotgun snap and locked in on a receiver downfield. Just before he cocked his right arm on that 3rd-and-long, the swat came.

There was nothing overly impressive about Tyce Westland's pass rush. The then-junior edge rusher simply raced around tight end Isaiah Sillemon.

Westland not only registered the sack, he scooped up the ensuing fumble, pouncing on the ball near midfield. Six snaps later, quarterback Kaden Anderson gently dropped to a knee to secure the win.

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Through the first three quarters of that outing inside of University Stadium, Dampier was unstoppable, rushing for an eye-popping 207 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries. He added 164 more and a score through the air.

"I really wasn't expecting him to have all the tools he had," Westland said Monday, referring to the 5-foot-11, 204-pound quarterback. "He's basically a magician back there. He can just do anything, especially extending plays."

Houdini now resides in Salt Lake City. He has an embarrassment of riches in his receiving corps and has joined a Utah program that has produced NFL tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Caleb Lohner.

That's not all.

Dampier has plenty of protection up front, too.

Reigning Freshman All-American Caleb Lomu protects his blindside. Spencer Fano bookends that offensive line at the right tackle spot. Pro Football Focus, The Associated Press and Walter Camp also bestowed All-American honors on the 6-foot-6, 308-pound junior.

These guys already have Wikipedia pages.

"What makes them so good is that they're not only huge, but they move extremely well," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said Monday during his weekly press conference in Laramie. "I mean, look, they're talented, talented people. They're physical, play hard, the whole picture. When you're watching the video you go, 'Man, both of these tackles are tremendous."

Brayden Wilson agrees. And he's had firsthand experience.

Back in 2023, his Weber State team allowed 231 rushing yards and tallied only one sack in a 31-7 loss inside Rice-Eccles Stadium. Wilson, who transferred to Wyoming this offseason after landing All-Big Sky honors the previous two years, capped that outing with eight tackles, including one for loss.

"I remember I was super sick that game. Like dog sick," said Wilson, who prefers to go by Larry, his grandfather's name. "I couldn't stop coughing. My lungs, I couldn't catch my breath. It was a fun game and I kind of played a little pissed off against them because of some history."

Utah lightly recruited the 6-foot-5, 253-pound defensive end. Head coach Kyle Whittingham, he said, offered him a preferred walk-on opportunity, but the First Team All-State product from Farmington High School didn't feel wanted.

He capped his prep career with 108 tackles. He tacked on 27 sacks and 24 tackles for loss. Weber State gave him a full-ride scholarship.

Does he remember Fano? You bet.

"He was really good at the time and I'm sure he's even better now," Wilson added. "(Utah's line) is very big, so their ability to move people is on point. You just got to push them back.

"It's not focused on what they're good at, it's focused on what you're good at. That's how you beat them."

Westland said Wyoming's defense wasn't "bought in" last fall in that meeting with Dampier. He said they weren't playing as one unit.

The Pleasanton, Neb., native knows before you worry about taking down No. 4, you have to get past No. 55 and 71, two players who have yet to give up a sack or even a QB hit through eight quarters of football.

"I'm just super excited because their tackles, I saw in the preseason, are two of the best in the country," Westland said. "I'm just excited to see what I can do against competition like that."

Brian Hendricks doesn't necessarily share that same enthusiasm.

He talked about the Utes' plethora of weapons and formations. Dampier's ability to improvise and the size up front, jump off the screen, Wyoming's defensive ends coach added.

Would he be surprised if Lomu and Fano eventually hear their names called in the first round of the NFL Draft? Nope. This is going to be a tall task, he said, eyebrows raised.

"He's just an athletic dude," he said, specifically referring to Fano. "Seeing him run, he runs better than some of our linebackers. I mean, he is a freak athlete. So, you know, a lot of times when you see that, that athleticism, you see guys that kind of neglect the physical part of it and they're just good athletes. Not these guys -- they're physical. They finish people off. If they miss you, they look for one of your teammates and try to go get them. So it's going to be a huge opportunity for our guys."

Lomu, who also stands 6-foot-6 and 308 pounds, has so far allowed just a single pressure on 58 dropbacks. Utah has already produced 1,010 yards of total offense in blowout victories over UCLA and Cal Poly. He's on the Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List.

Where does this Wyoming defense even begin?

"Like always, it just starts at the line of scrimmage," Westland said. "So, we win that battle, it'll be good for our defense. We just got to dig deep."

If it were only that simple.

Sawvel said the goal is to "build a fence" around Dampier and attempt to keep him contained. He wants to see pressure, too. This Cowboys' defense, which has allowed just one touchdown through two weeks, has racked up a combined 35 sacks, hits and pressures in wins over Akron and Northern Iowa. That damage has come on 64 pass attempts.

Chisom Ifeanyi, a transfer from FAU, has a sack, two hits and the same number of hurries to lead the way for that unit. Peter Eyabi, Esaia Bogar, Wilson and Westland have spent plenty of time in the offensive backfield, too.

Wyoming has only whiffed on 11 total tackles, too.

"Obviously, it's a challenge for everybody, defensively, our end position, for sure," Sawvel said. "Our inside players -- really everybody across the board for us defensively -- this week, we're going to have to play as good as what we possibly can."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players