Gibbs tabbed MW preseason DPOY, Cowboys picked sixth in media polls

LAS VEGAS — It didn’t take long for University of Wyoming linebacker Easton Gibbs to field questions about Logan Wilson and Chad Muma.
Gibbs, who was named the Mountain West preseason defensive player of the year at this week’s MW Media Days in Las Vegas, met with the media shortly after the preseason accolades were released.
He’s continued the Cowboys’ strong tradition of quality play at linebacker, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Wilson and Muma, who are now both suiting up for NFL teams.
“We’ve had a lot of depth in our room for a long time,” Gibbs said. “We’re all really close, and it’s a cool dynamic and we’re all really good friends. It’s just cool when (the younger players) ask me questions now, because I remember sitting there when I had no idea what was going on half the time and had questions for the guys above me. It’s kind of cool to see how that’s changed.”
Gibbs was one of five All-MW selections for the Cowboys this week, joining defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole, defensive end DeVonne Harris, offensive lineman Frank Crum and kicker John Hoyland.
The Cowboys were picked sixth in the MW preseason poll with 281 points, trailing frontrunner Boise State (433 points, 28 first-place votes), Air Force (364, two), Fresno State (351, five), San Diego State (338, one) and San Jose State (293).
Behind UW was Colorado State in seventh (201 points), Utah State eighth (194), UNLV ninth (177, one first-place vote), Hawaii 10th (102), Nevada 11th (92) and New Mexico 12th (60).
While the recognition is nice, no preseason accolade alters Gibbs’ mindset going into the new season.
“The preseason stuff doesn’t mean a whole lot,” Gibbs said. “Going into last season, I wasn’t on any of this stuff. I told myself it’s all about the process and kind of just grinding through it. Really, that’s the process for me right now. I don’t want to pay too much attention to it.
“It’s obviously a cool honor, and I’m really blessed that people think highly enough this year to vote that, but like I said, I kind of just want to keep my head down and keep working. There are bigger goals on the horizon, and I want to just keep focusing on those.”
Last year, the Cowboys were picked ninth in the MW preseason polls before finishing second in the Mountain Division, behind Boise State. This will be the first year the conference goes away from the two-division format, putting all 12 teams in one pool.
“It’s the same as last year,” Gibbs said. “I don’t know if we were picked last or second to last (in the Mountain Division) last year, but it was same question about whether we’d surprise some people. I just think it gives us another chip on our shoulder.
“It’s always nice to keep stacking those chips and getting ready to go into the year. I think it should be a good run for us this year.”
Gibbs is coming off a sophomore campaign that featured 121 total tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. He earned first team All-MW honors after the season, along with Hoyland.
Gibbs’ All-MW selection last season was UW’s fourth consecutive season with a linebacker making the list. Muma earned the award in 2020 and 2021, and Wilson did in 2019.
In the ever-changing landscape of college football, Gibbs could have easily used his breakout season to springboard to a Power 5 program. Instead, he chose to return to Laramie to finish what he’s started.
“I heard whispers,” Gibbs said. “You have some guys reaching out, saying to do this and this and this. For me, like I said from the beginning, I don’t think it really mattered. For me, it was never really in the question to leave this program. It’s been my home for four years now.
“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.”
UW’s starting quarterback, Andrew Peasley, joined Gibbs on the trip to Vegas for the opportunity to represent his school at MW Media Days. This fall will be his sixth and final season of college football after spending four years at Utah State before transferring to UW last season.
“It means a lot,” Peasley said about representing UW. “It took me six years to get to Media Days, but I’m fine with it. And then the Media Days we do go to, we don’t go to Top Golf. That kind of hurt my feelings.
“It’s good, though. I don’t do this to make it to Media Days, I do it to play football, meet a lot of good people and be in this environment. I just want to win football games and continue what we do.”
Peasley has been busy off the field between workouts this summer. He and his wife, Maya, got married in March and welcomed in a son, Andrew Navy Jr., earlier this month.
Peasley’s goal going into his second season as UW’s starting quarterback is to get over the hump and make a trip to the MW championship game in December. While it’s fun to talk football in July, Peasley knows the preseason polls ultimately don’t determine the team’s focus too much going into fall camp.
“I think, as a team, we don’t really look at that,” Peasley said. “I mean, we’ll take it with a grain of salt, for sure, but we just have to do what we do. I think we were picked near the (bottom) last year, and, obviously, we made a championship run. We do us, and we’ll continue to try and be on top.”
Cole Godbout had a real argument to make the All-MW team alongside his fellow UW defensive linemen, but didn’t make the cut after missing significant time last season with an injury. Gibbs knows that will only fuel the nose tackle going into this season.
“He’s been playing great football his whole career here,” Gibbs said. “I don’t think any of us guys are too focused on the preseason stuff, but more of the postseason. More than that, getting this team to where we need to be this year. He’ll definitely have some fire coming in, though. It’ll be good.”
Peasley sat directly across from the MW’s newest preseason defensive player of the year during UW’s media session. Taking one glance at Gibbs, Peasley said he’s glad he and Gibbs are wearing the same colored uniforms.
“It’s weird for me because we’re all just a bunch of dudes,” Peasley said. “We hang out, and we’re teammates. I just see Easton. I’m excited for him to have a really good year.
“I’m sure he’s going to be getting asked about Logan (Wilson) and Chad (Muma), but he’s Easton to me. He’s not Logan or Chad. He’ll have a really good year this year.”