Cowboys linebacker Easton Gibbs considers Wyoming home

LAS VEGAS – Easton Gibbs could be getting ready to finish up his collegiate career in the Pac-12 or another Power 5 conference.
The senior from Temecula, California, was tampered with after leading Wyoming with 121 tackles last season.
“I heard whispers,” Gibbs said at the Mountain West media day event last week. “You’ve got some people reaching out saying, ‘Do this, do this, do this.’ For me, like I’ve said from the beginning, it was never even a question of me leaving this program. It has been my home for four years now, and going into this year I was really excited.
“I didn’t even really have to make a decision. I was not in the portal, I never thought about being in it. It’s crazy stuff, good and bad, but I was always here to stay. This is my home.”
Craig Bohl says there isn’t much that can be done about programs from richer conferences trying to poach members of his team.
The only thing UW’s longtime head coach can do is continue to recruit and develop loyal players who want to be Cowboys for life.
Gibbs’ loyalty and linebacker skills aren’t surprising considering he learned the ropes from Logan Wilson and Chad Muma.
Even though he has an extra year of eligibility available due to the pandemic season, Gibbs plans for this to be his final season at UW before trying to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors to the NFL.
“That guy that is playing that spot not only has to be a really good athlete, but you’ve also got to be really smart,” Bohl said of the middle linebacker position. “And if you go down the line of those guys, I think (Gibbs) possesses all that. I know he had overtures that would come in with private calls. He loves it here.
“It worked out pretty good for Logan, worked out pretty good for Chad. He has been a bedrock foundation, and we’re going to ask a lot of him this year.”
Gibbs was voted the preseason MW defensive player of the year after ranking 22nd in the FBS in tackles (9.3 per game) last season. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound middle linebacker was highly productive despite suffering a torn labrum in the third game of the 2022 season.
The Cowboys seemed to hit the wall collectively after a 7-3 start, finishing with losses to Boise State and Fresno State to end the regular season and an overtime loss to Ohio in the Arizona Bowl.
After sitting out spring practice to allow his surgically repaired shoulder to fully heal, Gibbs is healthy and determined to lead UW to the finish line.
“I don’t know if I really ran out of gas. It was more the shoulder just hurting a little bit. I’m looking forward to really pushing the conditioning,” Gibbs said. “We had a lot of guys injured that didn’t end up playing in that last game (at Fresno State). The morale just got shot out of us with the emotions of that (Boise State) game when you think you won, you think you lost, you think you won.”
Bohl said Gibbs won’t be asked to prove himself again as the starter during fall camp and the coaching staff will try to keep him as fresh as possible entering the opener against Texas Tech on Sept. 2 at War Memorial Stadium.
Connor Shay, who is listed as Gibbs’ backup on the pre-camp depth chart, is expected to play meaningful snaps this season. Shae Suiaunoa enters his second season as the starting weak-side linebacker where Michigan State transfer Cole DeMarzo is currently running with the second team.
“I remember last year I’d come out for a snap, and I’d be running back out because it would be a third down or something,” Gibbs said. “Having a guy like (Shay) that progressed and finally kind of earned the trust of the coaches is huge. I’m trying to take Connor under my wing a little bit the same way Chad did with me when I played next to him.”
Shay, a fourth-year junior from Danville, California, appears to be the next man up to carry on UW’s recent tradition of excellence at middle linebacker when Gibbs moves on.
A newly formed collective, 1Wyo Inc., is seeking to help UW athletes profit off their name, image and likeness. Having NIL money available could keep more players from entering the portal but Gibbs was staying no matter what.
“I’m just focusing on the football stuff. If that stuff comes it comes. I’m not actively searching for it,” Gibbs said. “I really don’t know what the whole collective thing is about, to be honest. It sounds important and I’ve read the articles and stuff like that. We’ll see.
“I’m sure it will benefit guys in the future, and I hope it does. I hope it makes some guys stick around. At the end of the day, the guys that left left and the guys that came in came in. I think it’s for the better.”