Q&A With Wyoming Offensive Line Coach Joe Tripodi

LARAMIE -- Joe Tripodi is heading home.

Well, sort of.

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The Cowboys on Saturday will play in Mount Pleasant, Mich., 120 miles north of his hometown of Chelsea. Wyoming's offensive line coach, though, isn't viewing this as much of a homecoming.

For one, most of his family doesn't live in the area any longer. Secondly, he's made the trip to Central Michigan many times, all of those coming during his nine-year stint on the staff at Northern Illinois.

He was once recruited to play college ball for the Chippewas. He instead chose Northwestern.

Walking down memory lane is fun and all, but Tripodi is more interested in seeing his unit take the next step in their development.

We sat down with Tripodi Monday for a brief Q&A about the line he oversees.

Youth, inexperience, and most recently, a possible critical injury, are all part of the narrative. On opening day, three interior members of that front five -- Kalvin Janssen (from left guard to right), Jason Maciejczak and Giovanni Panozzo -- were making their first start at the FBS level. Josiah Petaia also joined the fray in Fort Collins. He's only played the game of football for the previous three years.

Here's our conversation:

Q: This is a real blanket question -- this is a young group and we're watching them grow up in front of our very eyes here -- I'm just curious what your assessment is through two games, just as a whole?

A: "They're working hard and they're fighting -- and it's a fun group to coach. You know, I think there's been some good and there's been some not so good. We've got to keep getting better, and you know, in today's time, you don't have time, so we're trying to accelerate that process."

Q: They don't look outmatched. They aren't getting pushed around, it seems. As a unit, they've given up one sack and nine pressures on 116 snaps.

A: "They're working hard. It's a group of fighters, you know? When you have a group that cares and that works hard, and then you know -- like we saw in the summer and what these guys with (strength) Coach (Eric) Donoval and all that -- They've put themselves in a position to do it. Now, it's the reps."

Q: We don't know about the extent of the injury to Maciejczak, but what is your faith level in Jonathan Bush at center? He came in late Saturday, didn't appear to screw anything up and the offense played better than ever.

A: "Jonathan Bush is, again, he cares. He works really hard. We talk about strength not being a weakness. You can overcome some stuff when you're that strong. Bush is working and he's hungry, and that's all you can ask for."

Q: How good is it to have Chandler Donaway back in the mix?

A: "He's pretty good. That experience you saw, that's like the leadership Maciejczak provides. That was fun to see him get in there and kind of get moving. I think he had 43 snaps, but he played well after just coming back. Hopefully that number will -- not hopefully -- it will grow."

Q: How about a guy like Petaia? I know we've beat this horse to death, but the guy has only played three years of organized football in his entire life. He's been on the field for 95 snaps and hasn't allowed a pressure. You have to be impressed with him?

A: "Yeah, I mean, really excited for him because, like you said, he's so young in football. But he's a football guy. Like, he watches it and loves it. I think he's on a pretty good trajectory, and it's not surprising to me that he's gaining on it maybe faster than some because, one, how much he cares and how hard he works, but just, at that position, you know, he doesn't have a lot of reps overall. It's going to be exciting to watch him because I think he has a really high ceiling."

Q: I know Janssen is kind of dealing with a knee injury, and Panozzo is just getting his feet completely wet, but what do you think about those guys so far?

A: "They're workers. I mean, those guys are tough, tough young men because they're both dealing with ankles and things like that. But that's the position. You feel great on Aug. 1 as an offensive lineman. We need to embrace it all and I think these guys have, whether it's a jammed finger or whether it's an ankle, you know, which they're both dealing with some stuff. They're pushing through. I know they'll both be at practice tomorrow, and they're going to fight. With that mindset, you can do something."

Q: Are you starting to feel like maybe you're going to get to a place where you're maybe eight, nine deep?

A: "Oh, yeah. You still got Jake Davies out there, too. You know, hopefully in a couple weeks, he comes back. That's 16-plus starts or whatever, and he's bigger and stronger now. We've done some different things with Caleb (Hall). He's much improved. So, yeah, is there a pathway to get there? Yeah, I'd say more now than ever. But we need to get there. That's our jobs as coaches. Like I keep talking, no one has time, you know? And that's the thing. But that's the exciting part, too, with the guys that we just talked about. They're all willing to work. A guy like Petaia, you're seeing his timetable accelerated, but that's more on him and how much he's working. I think we'll only continue to see that."

Q: CMU allows 150 rushing yards per game, which is 101st in the country. I don't know what your game plan is -- and, obviously, I'm not going to ask what your game plan is -- but how much do you want to see this line come together and really get to that physicality and that Wyoming Cowboys' running attack?

A: Well, absolutely, you want to see that, and I think we've seen pieces of it this year. You know, we need to do it more. You can go to the first drive of the second half against CSU, who's a much improved team. I think it was about seven runs and a touchdown, right? So, yeah, I want to see that. We want to see that. I know everyone wants to see that. We need to get the Cowboy tough football going at a more consistent clip."

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