LARAMIE – Wyoming football looked different during spring practice and throughout fall camp.
 
As the Cowboys transition into Border War preparations, Jay Sawvel was asked if he feels differently about this team compared to his first two campaigns as the program's head coach.
 
"It feels way different because we have a way better football team," Sawvel said after Friday's practice. "I mean, that's why it feels different. When I see some of the pieces that we've got on this football team compared to what we had the last two years, it feels a lot different compared to that.
 
"That's evident all the way across the board. There's an experience factor that comes with year after year of being a head coach and doing that part of it, but the reality to it is, if I had Tyler Hughes and Sam Harris and Jake Wilson and guys like that two years ago as a head coach, I'd feel a whole lot better about then, too."
 
Sawvel named Hughes, who passed for 2,330 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 670 yards and 11 touchdowns at William & Mary last season, the starting quarterback on Monday.
 
While new offensive coordinator Christian Taylor was finishing his duties with the Buffalo Bills in January, the 6-foot, 214-pound graduate transfer started teaching his new teammates the offense.
 
"He came in and he was a great leader," said Wilson, who is expected to be a dynamic tight end for Hughes. "He was very approachable, he would call us in, and we would watch William & Mary film, and we got a lot of extra work in. He would do stuff outside of practice all the time. When he got here, he knew what he had to be and he did exactly that."
 
Taylor recruited Hughes out of high school, and Sawvel believes reuniting the prolific offensive coordinator-quarterback combination will finally bring balance to the Pokes.
 
UW finished second in the FBS in red-zone defense, 14th in passing defense and 30th in scoring defense last season. Sawvel believes this unit could be even better.
 
The offense will have to do its share of the work starting with the marquee opener against Colorado State on Sept. 5 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins (4 p.m., USA Network).
 
"I'm super anxious to get this thing rolling, super optimistic," Taylor said. "I want to make the state proud. I've heard how great this defense has been over the years. I think the offensive guys are ready to prove what they're all about, too."
 
The Cowboys will practice Saturday and have meetings and a weight lift Sunday. The players will be off Monday for the first day of classes at UW before the first "Bloody Tuesday" practice of the season.
 
The CSU and UW ROTC detachments will run the game ball from Laramie to Fort Collins, and the Cowboys will make the trip south Friday.
 
Sawvel will feel even better about his team if the Bronze Boot is on the bus home Saturday night.
 
"I'm glad Week 1 we get to go out and play somebody like them," Wilson said. "Usually, you don't get to play a rivalry game right at the start. We're all really excited for it."
 
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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