LARAMIE – Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel, senior defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole and senior running back Harrison Waylee will represent the program during the 2024 Mountain West football media day event Wednesday and Thursday in Las Vegas.
 
Bertagnole and Waylee are scheduled to appear live on the Mountain West Network from 11:30 a.m. to noon on Wednesday with Sawvel joining the conference's live show from 11:30 a.m. to noon on Thursday.
 
The Cowboys, coming off a 9-4 campaign in which a new single-season attendance record was set during a 7-0 finish at War Memorial Stadium and a comeback victory over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl, return 16 total starters.
 
Here are five storylines to follow as the Pokes step into the spotlight at Circa Resort & Casino:
 
How good can QB1 be?
 
Even though only two Mountain West quarterbacks, Hawaii's Brayden Schager and Utah State's Spencer Petras, will attend media days, the preseason talking season still starts with the conference's signal callers.
 
Bertagnole and Waylee will likely be asked about UW's new starter, Evan Svoboda, the hulking 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior who wears the No. 17 jersey made famous by Josh Allen.
 
Svoboda will play behind an offensive line that returns four starters, including three-year starting center Nofoafia Tulafono. Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg is expected to be featured in the new scheme, which includes more spread and a quicker tempo. Veteran wide receivers Alex Brown, Will Pelissier and Devin Boddie Jr. will compete with talented youngsters Chris Durr Jr., Justin Stevenson and Jaylen Sargent for targets.
 
Sawvel believes offensive coordinator Jay Johnson will help Svoboda improve the passing game, an area the Pokes have struggled since Allen left for the NFL.
 
"With Evan Svoboda it's really easy to sit there sometimes and smile and look at him and go, OK, this guy could be really, really good," Sawvel said on the One Wyoming Podcast. "I love the way he finished the spring. He had some days in there in the last six practices that were outstanding."

Hello, I'm Jay

Sawvel takes over as head coach after Craig Bohl retired following his10th season guiding the Cowboys.
 
There will be plenty of other new faces among Sawvel's Mountain West peers with Spencer Danielson (Boise State), Bronco Mendenhall (New Mexico), Jeff Choate (Nevada), Sean Lewis (San Diego State), Ken Niumatalolo (San Jose State) and Nate Dreiling (Utah State) also entering their first full season leading their respective programs.

Sawvel, who was Bohl's defensive coordinator the past four seasons after previously having the same role at Minnesota and Wake Forest, was able to retain almost all of the key roster pieces he inherited.
 
However, UW will have two new coordinators with linebackers coach Aaron Bohl getting promoted to defensive coordinator and Johnson, a former offensive coordinator at Minnesota, Colorado and Michigan State, taking over the play-calling duties.
 
"It's like the ultimate presentation. You're presenting a vision for a program, you're presenting a vision for a university, you're presenting a vision for something that is the pride of the state. So, you don't take that lightly," Sawvel said of his interview with UW Athletics Director Tom Burman after Bohl decided to hang up the whistle. "So much of what was already in place, we just needed to continue to build on and try to take another couple notches."
 
The road to the CFP
 
This year's Mountain West champion will qualify automatically for the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff if the selection committee ranks it ahead of the champions from the American, Conference USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt conferences.
 
Preseason favorites Boise State (at Oregon), Fresno State (at Michigan) and UNLV (at Kansas) will have resume-building opportunities against non-conference opponents expected to be ranked in the Associated Press poll.
 
The Cowboys, who pulled off home wins over Texas Tech and Appalachian State and lost at eventual CFP team Texas in 2023, can put together a strong body of work if they can notch wins over a pair of Big 12 opponents in Arizona State and BYU. UW also concludes the regular season at Washington State in the scheduling partnership between the two remaining Pac-12 teams and the Mountain West.
 
Sawvel's squad will have four home games (Air Force, San Diego State, Utah State and Boise State) and three road games (San Jose State, New Mexico, Colorado State) in the conference's unbalanced seven-game schedule.
 
"It's a big schedule. We realize that," Sawvel said. "The Arizona State team that we'll play going into the Big 12 with the resources they have, they have a lot of new players, quite a few good players that are back. That's going to present a big challenge right out of the gate."
 
Waylee headlines deep RB room
 
UW's traditionally strong running game should continue to be productive with the return of Waylee, who led the team with 947 yards and five touchdowns last season.
 
The addition of dynamic North Carolina transfer DJ Jones, who flashed his considerable talent with 77 yards and a touchdown in the spring game, gives the backfield a potent one-two punch.
 
Sam Scott and Jamari Ferrell add quality depth and Dawaiian McNeely is expected to be healthy this fall after missing 2023 with a knee injury.
 
"I wouldn't say our philosophy has changed. I think maybe some of the ways that we do it will maybe change a little bit," running backs coach Gordie Haug said. "We're going to do what we normally do and still be Cowboy tough and run the ball. That's exciting obviously every year when you're the tailback coach and you feel pretty good about the room right now. That's fun."
 
D-line ready to set the tone
 
The Cowboys will lean on a stout defensive line, led by Bertagnole, to keep the team in Mountain West contention.
 
UW's pass rush should be outstanding with the return of defensive ends Sabastian Harsh, DeVonne Harris, Braden Siders and Tyce Westland.
 
Jaden Williams, Jayden Williams, Ben Florentine, Dante Drake and Lucas Samsula give new defensive tackles coach Jeff Phelps some options at the interior spots with Bertagnole.
 
If the front four plays up to their expectations, middle linebacker Shae Suiaunoa should be among the nation's leading tacklers and cornerback Tyrecus Davis, nickel back Wrook Brown and safeties Wyett Ekeler and Isaac White should create more turnovers.
 
"We've got a group with experience that's got proven productivity that also knows we can be steps better," Sawvel said. "That's the part that I'm excited about is the fact that we can look at it and point to something and go, we've got to get better in these areas to really get to where we need to get to."
 
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