LARAMIE – In 157 days, Wyoming will open the 2025 season at Akron.
 
But who's counting?
 
Well, Jay Sawvel for one.
 
The Cowboys' head coach is champing at the bit to put his first season in the rear-view mirror and get to program back on track.
 
"It's time to get started," Sawvel said during a session with the local media ahead of the start of spring practice. "Finishing the season last year, phase one was to revamp certain things on the roster. Phase two was an internal evaluation but also a development period. It has been a good offseason.
 
"Our players have done well, and I think certain important markers that I'm looking for we're hitting in the fact that I see a high level of leadership right now from a really invested group of upperclassmen."
 
There are 19 new Pokes (16 transfers, three high school recruits) already on campus and at least 21 additional signees set to arrive for summer workouts.
 
UW will conduct the first of 15 spring practices on Tuesday and will have an additional 25 practices leading up to the Aug. 28 kickoff against the Zips.
 
"We've got 40 practices until we play a game, and we can't waste one," Sawvel said.
 
The practices scheduled for the next four Saturday's and the April 26 Brown & Gold Game will be open to the public. Here are five important storylines fans can keep an eye on:
 
Young guns battling for QB1
 
Evan Svoboda led a dramatic 14-play, 90-yard drive, which was capped with his 18-yard touchdown pass to John Michael Gyllenborg with 24 seconds left, to lead the Pokes to a 15-14 victory over Washington State in Pullman.
 
Then the selfless senior made the full-time position switch from quarterback to tight end.
 
Redshirt sophomore Kaden Anderson, who took over as the starter for three games in November until suffering an injury against Boise State, is the favorite to win the job after completing 58.3% of his passes for 955 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.
 
"I'm excited about watching the quarterbacks this spring, I really am," Sawvel said. "First of all, I'm excited about Kaden. Kaden has had a really good offseason. He's healthier than what he has been since he's been here."
 
Sawvel and offensive coordinator Jay Johnson are only committed to making every rep count during an open competition.
 
Prize recruit Mason Drube, the Campbell County High star, is one of the three true freshmen that has enrolled at UW early to get a head start.
 
"We're not going to put any limitations on Mason Drube, we're not putting limitations on any of the five quarterbacks we've got this spring," Sawvel said. "Look, if Mason Drube beats everybody out, he'll be the starter."
 
The staff also signed junior college transfer Landon Sims to add experience to the room. Freshmen Deyon Batiste, now listed at 6-foot-5, 235 pounds after a redshirt season, and 6-4, 219-pound sophomore Gage Brook will also be in the fray.
 
"I do see a path where I think there's several years of solid quarterbacks in this program right now," Sawvel said. "Anytime you can look at that and go, hey, there's a chance that we could be OK at the position, which is the most important position there is, for a prolonged period then I think right there is the first foremost step to being a healthy program. I'm excited about that."
 
Restoring LBU status
 
UW's recent tradition at linebacker – from Logan Wilson to Chad Muma and Easton Gibbs – took a dip in 2024 when the Cowboys' streak of having a linebacker named to the all-Mountain West first team the previous five seasons came to an end.
 
Two transfers, Brayden Johnson (Oklahoma Baptist) and Ethan Stuhlsatz (Lindenwood), have been great fits since arriving in January to participate in winter workouts.
 
Redshirt freshmen Gary Rutherford and Dash Bauman have the instincts and physical traits to develop into UW's next great linebackers. Evan Eller, who redshirted last season after transferring from VMI, will also compete for a starting spot.
 
"We didn't play good enough on defense. We needed a revamp. That's the bottom line to it," Sawvel said. "Now we had some injuries last year and that hurt, but we have to get better. We have to get a lot better from where we were."
 
O-line development
 
The depth on the O-line was tested early and often last season.
 
Frank Crum moved on to the NFL and his replacement, Nate Geiger, suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter of the 2024 opener at Arizona State.
 
Geiger was replaced by another redshirt freshman, Jake Davies, at left tackle.
 
Two accomplished senior leaders are penciled for position changes with Jack Walsh moving from guard to center and Caden Barnett moving from tackle to guard.
 
Rex Johnsen and Alex Conn will compete for starting spots at the tackle positions. Wes King emerged as a force at guard last season. Two redshirt freshmen expected to have an impact this season are 6-5, 275-pound Giovanni Panozzo and 6-4, 307-pound Braylon Jenkins.
 
In addition to Geiger, Quinn Grovesteen-Matchey and Luke Sandy will also be limited during the spring while recovering from injuries. All three will compete for spots in the rotation during fall camp.
 
"We have to increase the number of winnable offensive linemen," Sawvel said. "That's a development thing through the course of the spring."
 
D-line reshuffle
 
The Pokes must replace a list of veterans on the defensive front, including six-year standouts Jordan Bertagnole (defensive tackle) and DeVonne Harris (defensive end).
 
Ben Florentine and Dante Drake will anchor the nose tackle spot. Jayden Williams is in line to win the starting job defensive tackle but will be limited this spring due to offseason foot surgery.
 
Tyce Westland is poised for a big senior season at defensive end. Redshirt freshman Eltoum Murgus and sophomores Tell Wade and Jordan Turnbull are ready to make their push.
 
The competition will be fierce with the influx of experience and talent from the portal. The productive transfer additions include Brayden Wilson (Weber State), Esaia Bogar (Riverside City College) and Dawan Martin (Youngstown State) at defensive end and Aneesh Vyas (Bucknell) at defensive tackle.
 
Sophomores Kevin Sjogren (DE) and Lucas Samsula (DT) and senior Caleb Robinson (DT) are competing again after missing the 2024 season with injuries.
 
"The heart and soul of this program has to be how we play defensively," Sawvel said. "The effort and the intensity and the force we play with defensively, all those were not to the standard of what it needs to be a year ago."
 
Reestablish the running game
 
Harrison Waylee, who struggled to stay healthy during his two seasons at UW, decided to enter the portal and use his extra year of eligibility somewhere else. Sam Scott, who led the team with 435 rushing yards and three touchdowns last, will be held out of spring practice to make sure his knee bruise heals completely.
 
The rep vacuum this spring will be filled by redshirt freshmen Nico Hamilton and Dontae Burch and Charlotte transfer Terron Kellman. The trio will have ample opportunities to impress knew running backs coach Donnell Kirkwood Jr. this spring.
 
UW's 2025 recruiting class includes three promising running back prospects in Patrick Broadway II, Samuel "Tote" Harris and Jaden Lawrence. Sawvel plans to add one more running back via the portal before fall camp.
 
"We've been riding around here with six scholarship running backs since I've been here. We're going to keep that at eight now going forward," Sawvel said. "I don't ever want to get short at that position. Running the football needs to be foundational to what we do. It would have been irresponsible of me anyway to go into a season and say we're going to have this guy or that guy for 12 straight games."
 
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