When it comes to Sheridan County residents, most of them are older than 25 years of age, have a high school diploma, have better ACT scores compared to the state average, and have a higher home value.

Earlier this month the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division released its latest state and county profile report, which measures demographic, social, economic, housing and revenue conditions.

The report says Sheridan County has a population of a little more than 32,000 residents, but for the county and for the state, less than 10% of them are between the ages of 18 and 24.

About 96% of Sheridan County residents have at least a high diploma or equivalent, and 32% have at least a bachelor’s degree or better.

For the 2022-2023 school year, the average ACT score for high school juniors was 19.9, which is better than the statewide average of 18.8.

Johnson County had an average score of 18.6.

The graduate rate for the county was 88.2% and was 81.4% in the Cowboy State.

The median household income in Sheridan County was almost $69,000, and the income of about 8.7% of residents is below the poverty level, compared to 10.7% for the state.

Average full-time earnings in 2022 for men was about $66,000 per year, and about $43,500 for women, which for the latter, is about $1,400 a year below the state average.

The average home value in Sheridan County is more than $342,000, which is $70,000 more compared to all of Wyoming.

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The San Francisco Giants once again fell to under .500 after a loss on Thursday and they now sit 6.5 games out of the Wild Card. After bringing in a new manager in Bob Melvin and giving out a lot of money in free agency, as well as a big trade, there was a lot of optimism surrounding San Francisco heading into the season.

Although there have been bright spots, such as the emergence of young players like Heliot Ramos and Tyler Fitzgerald, the season as a whole has been a disappointment. One of their big free agent acquisitions, Matt Chapman, expressed that.

“It’s not fun. We know how precious each win is and how important these games are, so this one stings. We get back to San Fran and we’ve got another important series coming up — obviously, you look at the standings, and you know, it’s not looking great for us right now, just because we need to climb back into this thing. But we do play the teams ahead of us still coming up. And I think we can still control our own destiny,” the third baseman said.

It will definitely be an uphill battle if the Giants want to have a shot at playing in the postseason. After games wrapped on Thursday, there are currently three teams ahead of them for the third Wild Card spot. The New York Mets, who are the first on the outside, have a 3.5 game lead.

“There are still 27 games left, so a lot can happen. In September, everybody’s tired. Sometimes, you’ve just got to dig deep. We do play the Padres and the Diamondbacks quite a bit. … Everybody else is playing tough games too. There’s no reason why we can’t make a run. I think we know we have the talent in this room, we just have to get things going. We’ve had bad road trips before, and it seems like when we go home, we get hot again,” the 31-year-old continued.

While he is correct in that they play two teams in their division who are ahead of them in the Wild Card, it’s still going to take a lot of work. San Francisco will have to play their best baseball over the last month of the season to make a dent.

In 2024, the team’s longest winning streak is just four games, something they will likely need to surpass if they want to make a run. The Giants will have to dig deep, to say the least, and they will need to stay healthy and rely on their pitching.

Ja’Quan McMillian had to wait his turn in 2023.

First, the Broncos nickel job belonged to K’Waun Williams. A camp injury cost him what at first looked like weeks and turned into the entire season.

Then it belonged to Essang Bassey. But poor performance in the early weeks of the season opened the door again.

Then McMillian burst through like the Kool-Aid Man, pint-sized rather than the full pitcher, but with the kind of energy and impact that helped jolt Denver’s defense out of the doldrums and into a playmaking group.

Now this summer McMillian’s roster spot is secure, and he’s being counted on to produce as a linchpin in Vance Joseph’s defense.

He’s not planning on any sort of regression.

“Just taking the next step,” he told The Denver Post of his plans for Year 2 as a starter. “Just doing whatever they need me to do. Whatever that is, I’m willing to do it. Just improve from last year. Not make the same mistakes I made last year, try to take that next step mentally and try to anticipate more based off what the offense is giving me and use that information that it gives me. Play the same way I played. The mentality is still the same.

“Play hard, play physical and play smart football. That’s what I go by.”

McMillian got thrust into playing time Week 4 against Chicago and played well almost immediately. He racked up seven tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries and seemed to make a big play every week of Denver’s five-game, turnover-fueled winning streak in the middle of the season.

It happened fast and McMillian kept up fine, but he felt he had some retroactive work to do after the season ended, too.

“That’s what it’s for. The offseason, you go and you take your little break, but what I did early on was just watch a lot of film,” he said. “I watched a lot of games that I played in last year. Just tried to see a lot of different things that I can improve on. Just take that next step mentally. It is easier. You have more time to do that. So any time I got bored at the house I’d pull out the iPad and start watching film.”

He saw a lot of production from himself. Three tackles for loss against Kansas City in Week 6, then two more TFLs and a pick two weeks later against the Chiefs. A forced fumble in that Week 10 Monday night win at Buffalo. Two more turnovers forced against Minnesota. A forced fumble and a sack against Houston. Two more TFLs and a sack against the Chargers.

That’s all well and good, but he got as much out of watching seemingly much more monotonous practice tape.

“In practice, you use all your tools and you try different things and you just get to work on it,” he said. “Practice film is just as important to watch as the game film because it’s where you try stuff. You might try something in practice that you can’t try in a game because you can’t give something up or take that risk.

“I’ve watched a lot of both, and both have done me good.”

He’s impressed the coaching staff thoroughly along the way.

“He is extremely smart,” head coach Sean Payton said. “I kind of felt like he’s one of those players that kind of took a step into his own last year, created a lot of turnovers. He has really good football instincts, and I think that is a trait that’s very important because there are a lot of adjustments that take place for that player when the motion goes or leaves. His fits in the run game are different than maybe the corners or even the safeties sometimes.

“So you’re looking for someone who has high football IQ and good (change of direction), someone that can tackle. And of course, you’re going to play man-to-man, so how does he hold up when he’s covering up in the slot? All of those things.”

McMillian did them all well in 2023 and is planning on being better across the board in 2024.

“I went into the offseason doing the same thing, with the same mentality. I just want to take the next step mentally,” he said. “Going into the playbook deeper and knowing the ins and outs of the defense. Obviously, I knew a little bit last year but I just wanted to go deeper into the playbook. Just get faster, bigger, stronger.”

Most TFLs by Broncos DB (single season)

Ja’Quan McMillian made an instant impact when he was inserted into the lineup last season, including a knack for racking up tackles for loss. Here’s a look at how his season stacks up to other Broncos defensive backs. Mobile users, tap here to see the chart.

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Originally Published: August 30, 2024 at 5:45 a.m.