Wyoming Football: Can Cowboys replace Josh Allen?

Wyoming football has a new man under center. Can Tyler Vander Waal take the Cowboys further than first-round NFL Draft selection Josh Allen?

Wyoming’s former star quarterback Josh Allen is now the starter for the Buffalo Bills and the guy many analysts believe has the highest upside of all the quarterbacks drafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. Wyoming will now look to Tyler Vander Waal to take over the starting job.

Josh Allen has an incredible arm and at some points last season looked to be the favorite to be selected first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft. Instead, he was drafted seventh overall by the Buffalo Bills.

After playing at Reedley College, Allen was a three-star recruit and ranked fifth among dual-threat quarterbacks in the class of 2015 according to 247sports. At six feet and five inches, Allen has the size to be a great NFL quarterback if he can improve his accuracy.

In college, he managed to win games despite rarely completing 60 percent of his passes each game. He limited turnovers and had many games with at least 50 rushing yards as well.

Now, Wyoming must move on from their star and start with a new quarterback. Tyler Vander Waal has been named the starter after a tight competition with Nick Smith throughout the spring and preseason.

Vander Waal is a redshirt freshman that was a three-star recruit out of Sacramento, CA. If he plays well, he could be a four-year starter for Wyoming.

Unlike Allen, Vander Waal is a pro-style quarterback, but he does have similar height to Allen at six feet and four inches. He also should have good receivers to throw to this season with Wyoming’s three leading receivers from last season returning in 2018.

In high school, Vander Waal completed 61 percent of his passes and threw for 2,926 yards according to his bio on gowyo.com. He only threw nine interceptions while throwing 25 touchdowns. He also ran the ball for 378 yards and six touchdowns.

Wyoming opens the season this weekend against New Mexico State, which will be Vander Waal’s first test and chance to prove himself. Then, he will have some difficult games against Boise State and Washington State early in the season that will be opportunities to prove himself as a worthy successor to Allen.

Wyoming can definitely replace Allen, who did not have great statistics as a college quarterback. Allen may become a great NFL quarterback, but Vander Waal could easily have a better season this year than Allen did in 2017.