Wyoming Football: News and Notes Ahead of Arizona State

LARAMIE -- Jay Sawvel said he is one of those "blessed" people who only needs about four hours of sleep per night to function.

That's a good thing, too.

Resting the eyes hasn't been simple of late. With his first game as a head coach just five days away, he doesn't expect it to get any easier.

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"Last week was really difficult to get a lot of sleep. There were just a lot of things going through my mind," Sawvel said Monday during his weekly press conference. "It's like, OK, if there's, you know, three minutes to go in the game and it's this and this scenario, or if there's a minute to go in a game and this and this scenario, like, how are we going to do this? Or how I want to handle this. You start just replaying game scenarios in your mind, and you're doing that just in preparation for it.

"I'm sure that that'll be a big part of this week."

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Sawvel has never been a head coach at any level, though he has plenty of high-profile mentors in this business like Lou Holtz, Jerry Kill and Craig Bohl. Those three men have won a combined 589 games and four national championships.

That's not even including Sawvel's former boss at Mount Union, Larry Kehres, who capped his career with a 332–24–3 overall record and 11 Division-III titles.

Sawvel said Thursday no matter what happens during Saturday night's season opener at Arizona State, this is a player's game. He added his job is to not "screw it up."

"Our job as coaches is to give them the best opportunity to be able to perform to their best, and at that point of it, you know, that's what we can do," he said. "If we don't succeed, it's going to be because I didn't do a good enough job with that. But the bottom line is, if we do succeed, it's going to be because of the players. I'm not going to make any plays."

Kickoff between the Cowboys and Sun Devils is set for 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time inside Mountain America Stadium in Tempe. The game will be televised on FS1.

Here are some other notes from Sawvel's first official game-week press conference:

* Where on earth is Chris Durr Jr? If there's one big name missing from the Cowboys initial depth chart it's this true freshman receiver from Chicago. Durr snagged 12 passes for 121 yards in the annual spring game. He reportedly has been a playmaker all offseason. Why is he not on the first depth chart of the fall? My guess: gamesmanship. He's playing.

* Nate Geiger and Keany Parks will indeed make their first-career start Saturday night in Tempe. Geiger, a redshirt freshman, will line up at left tackle where he will be tasked with protecting Evan Svoboda's backside. Parks, a sophomore cornerback, will play opposite of Tyrecus Davis.

* Wyoming players voted on team captains last weekend and there aren't any surprises there. Center Nofoafia Tulafono and Svoboda will represent the offense, while middle linebacker Shae Suiaunoa and tackle Jordan Bertagnole were elected to lead the defense. All are seniors aside from Svoboda, who will make his second-career start under center just a handful of miles down the road from his hometown of Mesa, Ariz.

* Texas Tech jumped out to a lightning-fast 17-0 lead in last season's opener. That obviously can't happen again. Sawvel said he has emphasized starting fast, whether that's on the practice field or in the weight room. Last year's game turned into an eventual 35-33 Cowboys win in double overtime. But Sawvel knows playing at home played a major role in that. "Yeah, that's not the plan," he added with a smile. "We need to do a lot better than that."

* Sawvel loves Arizona State running back Cameron Skattebo. It's easy to see why, too. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior runs hard, breaks tackles and is about as versatile as they come. He caught passes last fall. He also threw some. The California product also served as a punter for a spell. Skattebo also added 783 rushing yards in an inept offense that averaged just 17.8 points per game. "He's one of my favorite people I've watched on video in recent times, because he's so versatile," Sawvel said. "... He's a very physical football player. If he wanted to come here, you signed me up for that, too. I mean, I just think the guy's a great player."

*  Wyoming's coaches and players have been watching film from Marcus Arroyo's stint at UNLV. The Cowboys former offensive coordinator (2009-10) ran a spread offense in Sin City from 2020-22. We all saw around here what Arroyo was able to do with quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels. That could be the role of ASU starter Sam Leavitt, who is more than capable of running and throwing the football. "He gives them a stability that they didn't have last year," Sawvel said. "You know, you watch them against Fresno State last year (a 29-0 loss in Tempe), and they're turning it over every other play. They're going to be vastly improved in that area."

* The defense was solid last fall. Sawvel thinks it could be even better this time around. In a narrow 15-7 loss to Washington, a team that appeared in the national championship game, ASU limited Michael Penix Jr. to just 275 yards passing. The runner-up for the Heisman Trophy also threw a pair of interceptions that day in Seattle. The Sun Devils also held the Huskies to just 13 yards rushing on 13 carries. "I think Brian Ward does a very good job with their defense," Sawvel said of ASU's coordinator. "They're multiple in what they do -- a lot of pressure, at times. You watch them against Washington last year, there was a high level of execution. That's against a team that played in the national championship game."

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