THE HEIR APPARENT? Chandler Garrett Might Be Wyoming's Next Great QB. August 27, Laramie, Wyoming. By

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1 THE HEIR APPARENT? Chandler Garrett Might Be Wyoming's Next Great QB August 27, 2016 Laramie, Wyoming By We likely won't actually get to see quarterback Chandler Garrett playing in a game for a few years. For the time being, Garrett is content to wait his turn as he does his utmost to improve as a player and as a student. Chandler Garrett was one of the most highly recruited players coming out of Oklahoma when Wyoming was fortunate to get him to come to Laramie to play his college football. He could very well be the Pokes quarterback of the future. As I sat and listened to Chandler speak I was taken by what a respectful and diligent young man he is, and it's clear to me that his parents did a phenomenal job of raising him. Toward the end of our discussion, I wasn't sure if I wanted to shake his hand and thank him for his time...or adopt him! Chandler is now in Laramie, and as you will read below, he's loving life here, and really loving the idea of being a Wyoming Cowboy. DINO: You're a young man from Oklahoma and let's start here; were you a Sooner fan, or an OSU Cowboys fan?

2 GARRETT: I was probably more of a Sooner fan. DINO: Did you dream of playing for the Sooners at any point? GARRETT: A little bit, especially at a younger age, but the older I got I started liking them less and less. DINO: Really, how come? GARRETT: I don't know, just something about them. DINO: Did you like OSU? GARRETT: Not really, I was more of a football fan more than anything else, especially quarterbacks, so if a team had a good quarterback that's who I enjoyed watching. I'll tell you, as a little kid, I had a Jason White jersey, so in the early 2000's I was definitely an OU fan. DINO: So then tell me, Chandler, how does a kid from a football crazy state like Oklahoma, a one time Sooners fan, wind up on the high plains of Wyoming playing for these Cowboys? GARRETT: Really it had everything to do with the connection I felt with this coaching staff, Coach Bath, we developed a very strong relationship. Wyoming Assistant Coach Mike Bath DINO: When was the first time you remember having conversations with Wyoming? GARRETT: I was a junior, and I committed at the end of my junior year, so they recruited me hard during the spring evaluation period...so I talked with them a lot, especially Coach Bath. Coach Vigen came to watch me throw during the spring during a rainy morning and they offered me the next day. My high school coach (Jeremy Dombek) played here at Wyoming, so that was another connection I had to the program. But really it was this coaching staff I liked because they're different. I talked with OU and OSU and I took visits to both places but I felt this coaching staff was very different. DINO: How so? GARRETT: I mean, they're very family-oriented, you talk to Coach Bath and he's not only asking about me, but he would ask about my family, asking about my interests, what I like to do in my free time, and I feel like they really like to get to know you as an individual and not only as a player. DINO: I've never been through that kind of a process myself, did you find this approach unique as compared with other schools? GARRETT: I found it different, especially being a player from Oklahoma...OU and OSU tend to recruit more from Texas than they do from Oklahoma so I feel they think they can just get the Oklahoma kids whenever they want to. Wyoming coaches are just...different.

3 DINO: So then that was clearly the difference for you, this coaching staff and they way they approached you and went through the process, they won you over. GARRETT: Yes. They were also my first offer and to me that means something, and Coach Bohl, I remember I was sitting in his office and he said to me; that there was a difference between teams wanting you and needing you. He said that they want you, but we need you. That was really something me and my family took to heart and it was something I considered a lot. I went home and thought about it for a week, then took a visit out here and decided to commit. Photo: Jlake.com DINO: Since you have been on campus how has your acclimation to Wyoming gone? GARRETT: It's been really good. I took two summer classes and those went well, I got A's in both. Then I got a week off, went home for a visit, then came back and started fall camp. It's a grind for sure, waking up a 6 AM and not getting done with everything we need to do until 9 at night, but I mean this is what I love to do, and this team we have...they make it enjoyable to be around. It's not like you're being forced to do something...we're improving every day, so it's been a very fun process so far. DINO: When you spoke with Coach Bohl, Coach Bath, Coach Vigen, during the recruiting process, did their articulation and their vision and philosophy of where they want to see this program go, the process of making Wyoming a consistent winner, did this speak to you and have a big impact on your decision to play here as a Cowboy? GARRETT: Definitely that was big. I mean it's no secret that we went 2-10 last year, but that never discouraged me for even a second. You really have to buy into what the coaches are trying to do with the program. It's going to take some time and what they're trying to do here is what they did at NDSU, so, you can't turn an entire program around in only two years, and so that was something they preached to me and it really hit home. I understand that to be great you can't just be great tomorrow, it's a process and it takes time...you have to recruit the players you want and build a reputation over time. This is something I want to be a part of, I want to be a part of turning something around and I know it's not going to be easy. Sometimes the tougher road makes you be at your best. I don't know if going somewhere where the program is already great...i don't know if that would feel as good to me as being able to be a part of something where you contribute and help to turn a program around. DINO: Give me a few difference you've noticed being here, now playing and practicing in a Division-1 College Football program versus high school football. GARRETT: I would say the time you're involved and the film study. The meetings and the constant film study. We hardly ever watched any film in high school and here we're watching 3 hours of film a day, sometimes even more. Also, how serious it is now when it comes to taking care of your body, the food, the hydration aspect, making sure you're eating the right things, all that stuff is very different. In high school after you go to practice and you go home, and here, everything revolves around football. DINO: Now that you're here and you're out on the field and practicing against collegiate athletes, how is your confidence, do you feel comfortable?

4 GARRETT: I do, especially watching other teams on film and watching Northern Illinois and Nebraska and seeing what they do. I can really see myself making plays and doing well, especially this past week, I'm starting to feel more confident with the playbook and things are really starting to click. So all that stuff mentally is starting to fall into place and once that happens it's just back to playing football like you know how. Nick Smith Josh Allen DINO: I'd imagine you're like a sponge right now and absorbing as much as you can, with two guys ahead of you in Josh (Allen) and with Nick (Smith). How helpful have both those guys been in terms of your progress as a quarterback and as a player new to the program? GARRETT: Freshman year and coming in here you're not going to get as many reps on the field as Josh and Nick, so I have to make mental reps. Just about everything I have learned so far has been from Josh and Nick, watching them on the field, seeing how they go about things, watching their mechanics, their footwork, all that type of stuff. You just basically have to take a ton of mental reps and so that's what I'm trying to do. Then in the film room they help me a lot, what to expect, the coverages we're facing and other tips, Josh and Nick have been really helpful to me. Coach Vigen as well, he was huge in my recruiting process and his help has been there all the time too. DINO: We're you necessarily looking for a program that runs a pro-style offense like Wyoming does? Did you play in a pro-style system in high school? GARRETT: No, in high school we were all spread, I was always in the shotgun, I never took snaps at the line. So this is new for me but this is what I want...i want to play under center. I see value in that and it's kind of old school football and that's what I want to do. I like the mental edge that comes with playing quarterback in a pro-style system with all the checks at the line, the protections, that's stuff that comes with quarterbacking, and when you play in a spread offense, I think it kind of devalues the quarterback position from a mental aspect point of view. I played in the spread, but it's not something I'm very fond of. Here, you're in the huddle, you control it, you're the man...when it comes to calling the protections, all the checks, it's something I really enjoy. DINO: What are your own personal goals for this season as you get ready to redshirt? GARRETT: Really I just want to concentrate on knocking my classes out and getting on a pace to graduate as early as possible. I want to get a meaningful degree like Coach Bohl always says, and to transform my body, Coach Bohl always talks about lean body mass and that's something I really want to do. Coach Dennison, an Oklahoma guy, he really works our but off, but it's always good and always for the better.

5 DINO: As a guy who has always played, you now come in here and you may have to sit for a year or two. Do you have that kind of patience and I would guess you would have to be willing to sit back, learn, and then take advantage of the situation when it comes, yes? GARRETT: Yes, sir, I mean that's part of the game and especially with Josh and Nick in front of me right now I'm just going to have to absorb as much as I can and when my opportunity comes, whether that's tomorrow, or in 3 years, I just have to make the most of that opportunity and be ready at all times. Until then, I'm just all about being a Wyoming Cowboy and being the best player can be and being the best teammate I can be. Note: Special thanks to Tim Harkins & the Wyoming sports media staff.