LARAMIE – Torrington’s Logan Harris was named the starting center for the University of Wyoming Cowboys in a depth chart released Monday.
“Beyond being a feel-good story about a young man who hails from our state, he is a competent, good football player,” UW head coach Craig Bohl said in an interview earlier in camp. “This is important to him. He loves the University of Wyoming. This was his school from the time we started recruiting him. We gave him that opportunity to come here and play, and he’s done well.”
Harris stepped onto campus in June and has been spending all summer preparing for the fall season. Over the past few months, he has been participating in workouts and drills in Laramie, while getting to know his teammates.
“I’ve really enjoyed being here,” Harris said. “I’ve met a lot of new people and I’m building bonds with my teammates. Our whole freshman class really bonded together.”
Over the past four weeks, Harris and the rest of his teammates have been participating in fall camp. He has been competing against other guys in camp for the starting center position, but he rose under pressure.
“I didn’t want to slip up,” Harris said. “I knew the center spot wasn’t solidified so I wanted to show what I have.”
Not slipping up is exactly what Harris has done all camp. He said there is a scale assigned to all of the centers’ snaps throughout camp and his snaps have been consistently in the 90’s and up to 100 percent. He worked on his snapping mechanics during the spring, because he did not play a lot of center for the Trailblazers in 2016. As a sophomore and junior, he did spend most of his plays at the center position.
Recently in camp, Harris has stepped in to play with the 1’s on offense. As a freshman, he did not let his inexperience at the collegiate level affect his attitude.
“It’s just playing football,” he said. “I love a challenge so playing with the 1’s was a good challenge. I’m not going to use ‘I’m a freshman’ as an excuse. I’m here to play football and knock heads like everyone else.”
Fall camp wraps up for the Cowboys on Saturday, with the first game slated for Sept. 2 on the road against Iowa. Bohl named Harris as the starter for the season-opener. In the depth chart released Monday, Harris was the only freshman listed as the starter on offense.
“We are going to start Logan against Iowa and that is a big, bold statement,” Bohl said in an interview earlier in camp. “Here is a guy from Torrington who is going to come in and start in a Big Ten stadium as a freshman. I’m sure he is going to be tested, but we really feel good about Logan. My sense is he has a really good value system, and I don’t think there is going to be a stage too big for him.”
