LAS VEGAS – It was Jay Sawvel's turn to make the rounds at the Mountain West football media day event on Thursday at Circa Resort & Casino.
 
Wyoming's second-year head coach wore a gray suit, gold tie and wide smile while talking about the 2025 Cowboys.
 
Sawvel believes the leadership on the team, the retention of key players and the fortified roster gives UW a chance to make some noise in the MW this fall after a disappointing 2024 campaign.
 
"Since we put this group together through the course of the spring and then added some more pieces to it in the summer there has not been a wasted day," Sawvel said. "We've been looking for, OK, is there going to be a time where they let off the gas. They're not letting off the gas right now and I love that."
 
There will not be official team captains representing the Pokes this season. There are too many options to pare down.
 
Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg and center Jack Walsh, who were the two players Sawvel brought with him to ride for the brand in Las Vegas, are among the seniors setting the tone for a bounce back season.
 
But redshirt freshman linebacker Gary Rutherford and sophomore wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. are already leaders Sawvel meets with on a regular basis.
 
"When I walk in the building every day there is a substantially better football team in that building right now than there was a year ago," Sawvel said. "You feel it, you see it. They feel it, they see it."
 
Sophomore quarterback Kaden Anderson is poised for a breakout season after getting some late season starts. The offensive line is expected to pave the way for a balanced attack.
 
A crowded running backs room with eight scholarship players, including senior Sam Scott, Iowa transfer Max White and North Texas transfer Damashja, will compete for carries.
 
Anderson will have some dynamic targets to throw to in Gyllenborg, Durr and senior Jaylen Sargent.
 
The biggest improvement, literally, is on the defensive line where UW can rotate four athletic defensive tackles – Jayden Williams, Aneesh Vyas, Caleb Robinson, Lucas Samsula – who weigh 295 or more pounds.
 
Nose tackle Ben Florentine and defensive end Tyce Westland have also been holding the unit to a high standard throughout the winter, spring and summer.
 
Sawvel is also excited about the improved depth, size and speed at linebacker with Rutherford and transfers Brayden Johnson, Enock Sibomana and Ethan Stuhlsatz competing along with senior Evan Eller and gifted redshirt freshman Dash Bauman.
 
The competition at cornerback, nickel back and the safety spots will also be intense when camp begins on July 28.
 
"There's a road map of what has worked at Wyoming," Sawvel said. "My job is to try to figure out a way to make it work better even than what it did. Last year we all hated what we had to go through. It has actually made us better coming out right now."
 
Sawvel was asked repeatedly about trying to compete in the era of revenue sharing and the transfer portal.
 
The Cowboys, despite being picked 10^th in the MW preseason poll, are confident there will be a lot to celebrate this season at the refurbished War Memorial Stadium.
 
"We represent a state and that is east to west, north to south, corner to corner," Sawvel said. "There are other people in college football that can't even represent their city. We have a brand. You wear the Steamboat on the hat, you go anywhere in the country and people are going to go, 'Hey, Wyoming. Go Pokes!'
 
"We've got a fan base. We go to a bowl game and thousands of people come. There's other people that go to a bowl game and they're lucky to get 100 people on a bus. We have that always going 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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