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(Laramie, WY) – Are you ready to name any starters?
Jay Sawvel was asked the question during his press conference following Friday’s practice, a crisp session on the North 40 grass fields that followed up Thursday’s intense 125-play scrimmage on the scorching hot turf inside War Memorial Stadium.
Wyoming’s second-year head coach said obvious starters include center Jack Walsh and right guard Caden Barnett. Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, who was included on the preseason Mackey Award watch list released Friday, can be added to the list.
Defensive end Tyce Westland and nose tackle Ben Florentine, two proven seniors held out of the scrimmage so the staff could get a longer look at other players, can also be penciled atop the depth chart.
Sawvel said everyone else on the roster needs to “hit a surge” over the next week to 10 days to either win a starting position or solidify a spot in the rotation before game planning begins for the Aug. 28 opener at Akron.
“Now we need to take leaps. We’re done with installs,” Sawvel said. “We need to kind of really hit the gas now.”
Several players were impressive during the hard-hitting scrimmage.
Quarterback Kaden Anderson was sharp from the opening drive and connected on explosive pass plays to Gyllenborg, Chris Durr Jr. and Jaylen Sargent during their brief time on the field together. The three talented skill players were limited to 10-to-20 plays to avoid injuries and give other targets more reps.
Safety Jones Thomas showed off his elite chase-down speed and made some impressive tackles in space. Cornerbacks Tyrese Boss and Dainsus Miller and linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz shined in the spotlight.
Powerful senior Sam Scott’s experience and physicality at running back was evident and true freshman Sam “Tote” Harris’ shiftiness and speed will also be utilized this season. Transfers Damashja Harris, Terron Kellman and Max White are also in the mix.
The Pokes also appear to be in good shape on special teams with Bart Edmiston unleashing some booming punts, Erik Sandvik continuing to be accurate on field goals and true freshman Deion DeBlanc returning punts and kickoffs.
“I’m glad we didn’t play a game (Thursday),” Sawvel said. “I think we can be a good football team, but I also know we’ve got a lot of growth to do in certain areas that we need to get done.”
To get the Cowboys prepared to play in front of a crowd, Sawvel will open up next Thursday’s final scrimmage of fall camp for free to the public. The “Community Day” event will begin at 7:30 p.m. inside renovated War Memorial Stadium.
“Hopefully there’s a lot of people that want to watch football Thursday night. I hope a lot of people show up, it would be great,” Sawvel said. “For some players it will be like the third NFL preseason game where they play close to a half. That’s kind of what we’re looking at. Maybe for John Mike Gyllenborg, if you’re coming to see him you might not see a lot of him. But for some other guys this is an important thing.”
Note: Gates will open at 7 p.m. for the event and fans are asked to enter through Gate 4 on the east side of the stadium. Fans will be allowed to sit in the lower east side of the stadium due to the construction inside War Memorial Stadium.
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