LARAMIE – Just after 6 p.m. on Tuesday night the final period of fall camp ended.
 
Jay Sawvel gathered the team in a big brown and gold huddle of soreness and sweat to emphasize the "razor thin" margins between winning and losing at the FBS level.
 
Wyoming's head coach cited the double-overtime win over Texas Tech, the stunning comeback against Appalachian State, dodging counter punches from Fresno State, New Mexico and Colorado State at home and the walk-off field goal against Toledo in the Arizona Bowl as the difference between nine wins and mediocrity last season.
 
Sawvel also noted a lack of focus in the fourth quarter of the bitter road loss at Air Force cost the Cowboys a chance to have an even more memorable campaign.
 
The Pokes will take a deep breath on Wednesday – the players will shed the shoulder pads for swim trunks and head to the pool – before starting the deep dive on Arizona State on Thursday.
 
"I think we have the makings of a good football team," Sawvel said during his press conference on Monday.
 
UW, which followed up the 15 spring practices with a productive summer workout regimen and 17 fall camp practices, officially opens the Sawvel era against the Sun Devils of the Big 12 on Aug. 31 at Mountain American Stadium (8:30 p.m., FS1).
 
Over the last three weeks, the coaching staff tried to "grow the pool" of players ready to take the field in games this season as UW pushed through the double-rep sessions and two major scrimmages.
 
Sixteen starters – seven on offense, seven on defense and two on special teams – return from the 9-4 finish to cap Craig Bohl's 10^th and final season leading the Cowboys.
 
Sawvel already named Evan Svoboda the starting quarterback in the spring after the 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior served as Andrew Peasley's backup in 2023.
 
Left guard Wes King, center Nofoafia Tulafono, right guard Jack Walsh and right tackle Caden Barnett remain intact on the offensive line. Nathan Geiger appears to have edged out fellow redshirt freshman Jake Davies for the starting left tackle spot.
 
Sawvel said Davies will still be part of the offensive line rotation. Other backups with playing experience include Luke Sandy (center, guard) and Rex Johnsen (guard). Alex Conn, a transfer who started his career at Nebraska, adds depth at tackle.
 
Running back Harrison Waylee suffered a knee injury during the first scrimmage on Aug. 10 and will be out indefinitely.
 
DJ Jones and Sam Scott, who both had 50-yard runs during the second scrimmage, will carry the bulk of the load in Waylee's absence. Jamari Ferrell is also expected to contribute and Dawaiian McNeely will give the unit a boost later this fall.
 
"I want to make sure he's fully ready to go and not having any residual soreness," Sawvel said of McNeely, who suffered a season-ending knee injury a year ago but gradually increased his workload through camp.
 
The pecking order at wide receiver is the most difficult to decide, which is a good problem for the Pokes to have given the number of players who made splash plays in camp.
 
Alex Brown and Will Pelissier, two trusted seniors, will likely be in the starting lineup against ASU. True freshman Chris Durr Jr. has been the most consistently dynamic receiver since the spring and has a knack for making spectacular grabs in practice.
 
Svoboda will also have some tall targets in 6-foot-4 Jaylan Bean, 6-3 Bricen Brantley, 6-2 Jaylen Sargent and 6-1 Justin Stevenson. UW has several receivers with elite speed, including Tyler King and Devin Boddie Jr.
 
No. 17's go-to-guy will be tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, the team's top returning receiver (23 receptions, 360 yards, three touchdowns in 2023).
 
Caleb Driskill, the senior from Gillette still listed as a fullback, has added tight end to his skill set. Nick Miles, a 6-5, 255-pound senior, can take some of the pressure off Geiger out with his blocking on the edge.
 
New offensive coordinator Jay Johnson's scheme will feature more spread and tempo concepts than the pro-style offense UW ran over the last decade.
 
"Excited to see (Svoboda) take over our offense. We've got a number of players around him that can help that process out for him to distribute the ball over a lot of different places," Sawvel said. "Still at the forefront of it is we still need to be able to run the ball, out-tough our opponents, but we've got to have a balance to it all, and we all know that, with what we do. Our players have embraced that."
 
New defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl will lean on a battle-tested crew led up the middle by defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole, middle linebacker Shae Suiaunoa and safeties Wyett Ekeler and Isaac White.
 
The deepest position group on the roster is defensive end where Brian Hendricks can confidently rotate DeVonne Harris, Sabastian Harsh, Braden Siders, Tyce Westland and Ethan Day.
 
"Your eyes don't lie after a while," Sawvel said while predicting that Harsh will have an all-Mountain West caliber season based on camp. "The pace that he's playing at and how fast he's moving and how he big he is, I'd be stunned if that doesn't transpire."
 
The Cowboys also return starting cornerback Tyrecus Davis and starting nickel back Wrook Brown.
 
Ben Florentine is expected to start at nose tackle. Redshirt sophomore Jaden Williams and redshirt freshmen Jayden Williams and Dante Drake will also play meaningful snaps on the interior of the defensive line this season with the loss of Cole Godbout to graduation and Caleb Robinson and Lucas Samsula to injuries.
 
Connor Shay is expected to start at weak-side linebacker. Cole DeMarzo and Evan Eller will also see a lot of action behind Suiaunoa and Shay.
 
John Hoyland, a preseason Groza Award candidate, is back for his fifth and final season as UW's placekicker. VMI transfer Jack Culbreath will be the punter after earning FCS all-American honors twice.
 
"We've got a lot of dudes on the team coming back and we've got a lot of young guys I'm looking forward to see play," Ekeler said. "It's going to be a very exciting year for us."
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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