Mountain West Media Days notebook | Coach gets applause, laughter after late arrival

The funniest moment at the Mountain West Media Days was even better when understanding the back story.
The league’s 12 coaches were to take a group photo after lunch on Wednesday. Only 11 arrived on the ballroom stage at the Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.
Finally, after a few minutes, Hawaii’s Timmy Chang appeared, red-faced, to join the group. He was loudly applauded by his fellow coaches, who were doubled over with laughter.
Thing is, Chang is terrified of this group.
“At our coaches’ meetings, I look around and I see Troy Calhoun, Brady Hoke, Jeff Tedford, Craig Bohl …” the second-year coach said when noting the experience in the league. “I don’t say a thing. I keep my mouth shut."
Needless to say, he was embarrassed to keep that group waiting.
The moment reflected the cordiality shared among the conference’s coaches.
“I trust all these guys,” Bohl said. “We’re going to go out and compete like heck, but they’re really good guys."
Former Falcon returns to Mountain West
Air Force will run into a familiar face in the third game of the season, as former Falcon Micah Davis is set for his first season as a transfer at Utah State.
Davis played only eight games before an injury ended his sophomore season in 2021. But he ran for 360 yards and four touchdowns (averaging 7.7 yards per carry) and caught 10 passes for 221 yards and two more scores.
He played at a junior college before landing with the Aggies.
“He’s looked quick. He’s looked explosive,” Utah State coach Blake Anderson said. “Really natural in the punt return/kick return game. For our offense, to have gone from that slot pitch guy in the triple option to spread out in space, I think he really, really likes it. He’s one of those guys that could have an unreal year, that I think very few people are anticipating yet.
“I don’t even think people in Logan even know who he is yet. But he’s got a chance to be electric for us.”
Game analysis and insights from The Gazette sports staff including columns by Woody Paige and Paul Klee.
Unanimous support for division-less format
No coaches disapproved of the Mountain West’s move away from a division format, which will begin this year.
The top two teams in the standings will play for the conference championship, a move designed to ensure the best team wins and boosts the Mountain West’s chances of sending its champion into a New Year’s Six bowl, or eventually an expanded College Football Playoff.
“That’s a change we needed to make in the market to be as competitive as possible at the end of the year,” Utah State coach Blake Anderson said.
The only complaints about the change came from coaches who would like to see some rivalries played annually (each team will have two protected rivalries), and Air Force’s Troy Calhoun noted that the end of geographically based divisions will result in more travel time. Still, those concerns did not outweigh the need to make sure the championship game reflected the best the conference has to offer.
Pine Creek grad emerges as key player for Wyoming
Pine Creek High School graduate Wyatt Wieland figures to factor prominently for Wyoming in the 2023 season, which was something coach Craig Bohl never figured would be the case.
Wieland came to the Cowboys as a walk-on, then suffered a significant groin injury that required what Bohl called “significant surgery.”
But Wieland climbed the ranks and last year caught 23 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown.
“Since that (injury), he’s come back and he’s had a great, great impact on our program,” Bohl said. “We’re anticipating him playing really well this year.”
Air Force healing with time after teammate’s death
It has been more than six months since Air Force offensive lineman Hunter Brown died suddenly on the way to class.
An autopsy later revealed the cause of death for the sophomore offensive lineman was a blood clot in his lungs that had resulted from clotting that developed in Brown’s legs following an injury suffered in football practice.
“Time is definitely helping heal,” Falcons center Thor Paglialong said Wednesday. “We still miss Hunter and pray for his family. I still walk past his locker all the time in the facility and his jersey is still there. It hurts, but I think we’re moving on through the grieving process of losing him.”