LARAMIE — 610.
That’s the combined weight of the two humans — Lucas Samsula and Luke Sandy — that stand directly in front of Bart Edmiston on every punt attempt.
So you’ll have to excuse the junior if he doesn’t get overly animated immediately following a successful kick.
“It’s kind of hard for me to see all the way over there,” said Edmiston, with his southern drawl.
Last Saturday night, all he needed to do was listen to the crowd noise.
The Jones College transfer racked up 301 total yards worth of punts on six attempts in a 28-0 shutout of Border War rival Colorado State. That’s an average of 50.2 per attempt with a long of 65.
Even more impressive, five of those died inside the Rams’ 20-yard line, including one that was saved by a leaping Isaac Sell at the goal line early in the first quarter.
Edmiston said he had a feeling it might be his night in warmups.
“It felt really good to know that all the hard work I’ve been putting in is paying off,” the former NJCAA All-American said. “The best feeling is knowing that I contributed and helped our team. We had a great team win, and it was a big win for all of us.”
“He was great tonight,” Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel added. “He really was. They’ve got a good return game, and they got nothing out of their return game the whole way through.”
Call it a redemption game.
Edmiston has been middle of the pack in the league when it comes to average yards per boot. He currently sits in seventh place (45.3) even after his last outing. He also had a forgettable night against UNLV. Two of his punts were blocked and immediately returned for touchdowns in a 14-point setback against the Rebels.
Sawvel said postgame the entire kicking operation took too long and launch points were off. A field covered in inches of hail didn’t help matters, either.
“I’ve never actually done any physical activity in my life on snow or ice, hail, whatever,” Edmiston said. “I call it snow, because where I’m from, if it’s white and it’s falling from the sky, it’s snow. It was definitely an eye opener.
“… I took my preparation to another level.”
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Edmiston didn’t claim Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week honors against CSU. That nod went to San Diego State placekicker Gabe Plascencia, who accounted for 11 of the Aztecs’ points in a 23-0 road blanking of rival Fresno State. He also drilled his conference record 25th consecutive field goal.
The Mississippi product credited Plascencia when the decision was handed out. And, hey, the news wasn’t all bad. Edmiston was named to the “Ray’s 8” and added to the Ray Guy Award Watch List.
That was one of his preseason goals.
So was winning.
The scene in the postgame locker room, Edmiston said, was indescribable.
Former Biletnikoff Trophy winner Marcus Harris spoke to the team. So did newly enshrined College Football Hall of Famer Ryan Yarborough. Craig Bohl was in attendance. So was Andrew Peasley, Wyatt Weiland, Ryan Marquez and other alums. Heck, even the governor took part in the festivities, hoisting the coveted Bronze Boot.
“Everybody that’s a Wyoming Cowboy needs to enjoy the hell out of this,” Sawvel said.
Oh, they did.
“The feeling inside of it couldn’t have been matched,” he said. “It was pretty incredible to see our whole team just all share the same feeling and the moment.”
The atmosphere inside the Cowboys’ home venue wasn’t too shabby, either.
“After that punt that went over his head — the 65-yarder — I kind of was waving my hands at that section where I was at on the field, and they all erupted. I just thought that was one of the coolest experiences in my career.”
His father, Bart Edmiston Sr., was a placekicker at the University of Florida, helping lead Steve Spurrier’s Gators to a National Championship back in 1996. He booted through an NCAA record 114 consecutive extra-point attempts in the process.
That makes his postgame comment to his son that much more impressive.
“He told me he can’t tell the difference sometimes between War Memorial Stadium and The Swamp when they’re completely full,” Edmiston added. “I mean, he’s very impressed with it.”
If there was one black mark on this career night it was being removed from kickoff duties. Erik Sandvik is now in charge of that aspect after Edmiston allowed a pair of early returns.
Still, he added, his mindset won’t change.
He’s confident. He’s stacking days. He wants to make winning plays.
A lot of good, Edmiston said, has come from those early struggles.
“I built my confidence up, and I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I needed to focus on placement and op time, and I think we executed. I mean, without the other 10 people in front of me, I couldn’t have done the job as well as I did.”
University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
The rules are simple: What was the player’s impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.
This isn’t a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220’s Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.
We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS — only we hope this catalog is fairer.
Don’t agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports – #Top50UWFB
Gallery Credit: 7220Sports.com
– University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players
