LARAMIE – With an open date this Saturday, Jovon Bouknight and Aaron Bohl were able to do some self-scouting before Wyoming attempts to conclude the regular season with a strong push over the final three games.
 
Both of the promising young coordinators met with local media this week to reflect on the state of the Cowboys' offense and defense, respectively, ahead of a crucial road game on Nov. 15 against Fresno State.
 
Jay Sawvel also held his weekly Monday press conference with UW sitting at 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the Mountain West in his second season as head coach.
 
"We've got three games remaining then hopefully a fourth," Sawvel noted of the program's focus on playing in the postseason.
 
'I have what it takes'
 
Bouknight, who was elevated to offensive coordinator after the excruciating loss at Air Force, had a memorable debut as the team's play-caller during the 28-0 Border War win over Colorado State and experienced the frustration of trying to solve San Diego State's stifling defense during last Saturday's 24-7 loss.
 
The 2024 UW Athletics Hall of Fame inductee has been an assistant at several Power 4 programs with traditionally potent offenses, including Oregon and Texas Tech. Bouknight knows this is an opportunity to prove himself with the desire to remain offensive coordinator beyond this season.
 
"I would love to," Bouknight said. "Ultimately, that's not my decision. I'm a team player. If it's somebody else that comes in and has to lead the way, then so be it. But my background and walking those shoes and being through it, I think I have what it takes.
 
"There's a lot of people that believe in me in this building and I believe in myself. First things first, we've got to finish this season out the right way."
 
Sawvel, who was UW's defensive coordinator for four seasons before becoming head coach, is letting Bouknight put his own stamp on the offense.
 
"He totally trusts me," Bouknight said of Sawvel. "The CSU game I never really heard a peep out of him until the fourth quarter and talking about when we want to snap the ball and getting into a little four-minute offense. He totally trusts me, and I respect him for that. Even this past game he rarely came on (the headset communications). He probably got on and kind of cussed us out about our urgency and this and that."
 
Getting better at production from the quarterback position is the most obvious issue being addressed this week.
 
Kaden Anderson will remain the starter against the Bulldogs, but the redshirt sophomore has only completed 58.7% of his passes this season for 1,727 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
 
One of Bouknight's tweaks to the offense was inserting Landon Sims into the rotation to provide a running threat. The redshirt sophomore had five carries for 31 yards and a touchdown against CSU and broke loose for a 37-yard run to set up his 2-yard touchdown pass to Sam Scott against SDSU.
 
Unfortunately, Sims suffered a season-ending injury against the Aztecs.
 
"That hurt tremendously," Bouknight said of losing Sims. "A, the heart he brings to the offense and, B, his running ability. Obviously, it was on full display that night."
 
True freshman Mason Drube will no longer be the scout team quarterback and is instead competing with Gage Brook for the backup spot. The touted prospect from Gillette will be given the opportunity to pick up where Sims left off.
 
"We don't want to lose that aspect of our offense because the quarterback run, the run option type of deal is a very valuable piece for us," Bouknight said. "We've talked about it, we've explored it and we've got to go practice it. I can't guarantee anything right now with Drube. We've got to see what it looks like."
 
Assistant coach Bryce Missey is leading the meetings in the quarterback room and guiding them through the details and techniques of the position during practices.
 
Bouknight, who is still coaching the wide receivers, plans to be hands on when it comes to getting Anderson and the rest of the signal callers on the same page with the offensive line and skill players.
 
"Where I start becoming a little bit more involved is when we go team segments I'm right behind that quarterback and I'm going to be a little bit more involved in the progression, getting the ball out with urgency. That's going to take place," Bouknight said. "One thing we've started doing, and maybe I'll pick it up a little bit more, is I do a pass install with the quarterbacks and the wide receivers, so they hear it with the same voice and understand the reads and the progressions."
 
When Sawvel made the change from veteran offensive coordinator Jay Johnson to Bouknight he said the level of production was not matching the talent on offense. Scoring at least one touchdown per quarter, which the Pokes did in the Border War, is the expectation.
 
"The one thing we want to do is there's a little bit more creativity that's kind of going into some of the run," Bouknight said. "Obviously, I'm able to do a little bit more in the pass game that still fits within our means of pass blocking and stuff like that. …
 
"For the most part, we're not broke by any means. We're going to add a few wrinkles and get this thing juiced up."
 
'We need to find a way to play dominant'
 
Bohl's unit has been outstanding this season ranking 30^th in the FBS in points allowed (20.2 ppg), 46^th in yards per play (5.23) and 51^st in yards allowed (348.0).
 
UW's "stop rate" – the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts or a turnover or a turnover on downs – is 71.7%, which ranks 16^th nationally.
 
Under Bohl, who is in his second season as defensive coordinator, the Cowboys want to be at the same level as the Aztecs, who are second in points allowed (10.0 ppg) and stop rate (82.9%) behind top-ranked Ohio State.
 
"We're playing good right now; we need to find a way to play dominant," Bohl said. "A lot of our guys have done some good things, and we need to get all of our guys to step up, including me, and find a way to raise our level."
 
Senior nose tackle Ben Florentine is playing at an all-Mountain West first team level, which has been critical due to attrition on the interior of the defensive line.
 
Lucas Samsula and Tegen Seeds were the only defensive tackles rotating opposite Florentine with defensive end Brayden Wilson also playing inside in certain packages.
 
Sawvel's hiring of Deonte Gibson as defensive tackles coach has paid off.
 
"I'm so proud of Deonte," Bohl said. "I was joking with him going into this (SDSU) game that at his interview if we told him we were playing with (only) these guys, would you have taken the job or not?
 
"He coaches everyone really hard; he gets those guys to buy in regardless of how much they're playing. In the spring and in the fall the standard he holds all those guys to is huge because that spot is such a physically demanding position and there's a reason. We've got to keep bringing all these guys along."
 
Bohl coaches the linebackers and the standard set during his early days as an assistant by Logan Wilson, Chad Muma and others is being met once again.
 
Starters Brayden Johnson (53 tackles, two interceptions) and Evan Eller (49 tackles, 2.0 sacks) are elite and backups Ethan Stuhlsatz and Enock Sibomana add high quality depth.
 
The secondary, a glaring weakness in 2024, has been upgraded to a strength this fall with Andrew Johnson, Jones Thomas and Justin Taylor leading the way at safety, Desman Hearns thriving at nickel and Tyrese Boss, Markie Grant and Dainsus Miller developing into impact cornerbacks.
 
"It's been good to see these guys work their tails off," Bohl said. "That is a hard position to play. You mess up one time and it's a 50-yard gain. Those guys have some resolve, which is good, they're a competitive group, very physical. They make plenty of mistakes along the way but if you show up and play hard each day good stuff can happen to keep yourself in the fight."
 
'Still a lot to play for'
 
The Cowboys need to play well on both sides of the ball over the next three games to secure a bowl berth and a chance to build momentum heading into the 2026 season.
 
UW will host Nevada on Nov. 22 at a sold-out War Memorial Stadium with reigning NFL most valuable player Josh Allen in attendance to have his No. 17 retired before finishing the regular season at Hawaii on Nov. 29.
 
"There's still a lot to play for," Bouknight said. "A bowl game is obviously one of the goals, sending those seniors off the right way and setting the tone and culture for what it's going to be next year. I think that's huge.
 
"And more so, too, for the fans. The fans that come and support us and everybody that shows up on Saturdays … we owe it to them as well."
 
Follow Ryan for more stories on Wyoming athletics on X at @By_RyanThorburn on Facebook at Wyoming Athletics and Instagram at wyoathletics. Also follow him at Pokes Insider at Gowyo.com/pokesinsider.
 
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