5 Things I Want to Learn at Mountain West Media Days

LARAMIE -- It's officially talking season.

On Wednesday afternoon inside Palms Casino and Resort, players and coaches from around the new-look Mountain West Conference will take center stage in Las Vegas.

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Unlike in years past, all 10 teams will each bring four players -- two on offense and a pair on defense.

Sorry, Troy Calhoun. No, you can't bring the punter this July. Former Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl, once upon a time, brought placekicker Cooper Rothe. The program's all-time leading scorer joked in 2019 that he was in tow for one very simple reason: "I don't know anything."

Jay Sawvel isn't worried about showing his hand.

He's bringing a man he hopes will immediately turn around the fortunes of this team: Tyler Hughes. Many have said -- off the record, of course -- that the Cowboys have been a "quarterback away" from competing for their first league title since 2016.

A dual-threat signal caller led the way that season. He now has an NFL Most Valuable Player trophy on his mantle.

Left tackle Rex Johnsen will also represent Wyoming's offense in Sin City. The senior, along with names like Chandler Donaway, Jason Maciejczak, Braylon Jenkins, and others, will also play a major role in leading this team back to, at the very least, a berth in the postseason.

Defensive tackle Jayden Williams and linebacker Ethan Stuhlsatz will also step behind the microphones. The soft-spoken anchors of that unit could be the best Sawvel has fielded in Laramie, he says, since he arrived as the coordinator back in 2020.

Without further ado, here are a five things I am looking forward to seeing and learning at Mountain West Media Days:

FRESH FISH

Welcome to the show, North Dakota State. Now, let's see if you really belong. My money is on yes. Northern Illinois and UTEP might have a rougher transition to a new conference. Those two aren't even coming from the FCS level, but combined for five victories last fall.

While that stat really doesn't amount to a hill of beans, Sam Houston State, Holy Cross and UMass aren't on this schedule.

While the Mountain West said sayonara to longtime members San Diego State, Fresno State, Utah State, Colorado State and Boise State, who will make up a large chunk of the reimagined Pac-12 Conference, new rivalries could be on the horizon.

Pokes and Bison, anyone? Wyoming and UTEP have already met 33 times. The latter trails the overall series, 26-6-1.

Northern Illinois has provided a pair of barnburners against two Bohl-led UW squads. Who can forget Josh Allen's coming-out party, which lasted hours past last call on a soggy night in Laramie back in '16. And what about the final meeting five years later? That was a wild 50-43 affair in steamy DeKalb.

The visitors led by 26 points with 6:03 remaining in the third quarter. They trailed by one with just under five minutes to go.

BURMAN BUNGLE?

Hindsight plays a major part in even asking this question: "Did Tom Burman hire the right guy?"

It's easy to say "no," simply based on records.

Tim Polasek, the third-year head coach at NDSU, has an overall record of 26-3 in Fargo, including a national championship win in Year 1. Sawvel, on the other hand, is 7-17 in his first go-round as a head coach. Only four of those have come in conference play.

Polasek was the animated offensive coordinator under Bohl in Laramie from 2021-23. Those offenses, for the most part, were downright offensive. Sawvel ran the defense during that time frame. Statistically, that unit has always been one of the best in the west.

Sawvel became the 33rd boss in program history on Dec. 6, 2023. Polasek earned his first head job 11 days later.

Did he even want the job in Laramie? Would he have returned as Sawvel's playcaller? Is he bitter? Was the NDSU administration lurking behind the scenes that entire time? How much did Bohl's influence have on one or both of these decisions?

All we can do is ask.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

Nine freshmen saw the field for the Cowboys last fall. The true kind.

Samuel Harris was a bright spot in yet another otherwise forgettable campaign for this offense. The speedster they call "Tote" led the team with 558 rushing yards on 100 carries. He was also a factor in the passing game, hauling in 16 passes for 184 more yards.

Deion DeBlanc showed flashes of his playmaking ability, mainly in the return game. Just ask San Jose State. The rookie from Houston returned a punt for a 73-yard touchdown in that 35-28 win inside War Memorial Stadium. The slot receiver also hauled in 17 throws for 90 yards.

Tight end Kyle Frendt saw plenty of action, beginning in the nonconference slate. Tyson Shamsid-Deen played some ironman football, lining up as a deep threat and at corner. Mason Drube, who could be the future under center in Laramie for years to come, also got his feet wet in the late stages of 2025. Linebackers Steven Perez and Parker Moore, along with wideout PJ Jackson and offensive lineman Johnathan Bush.

Who will find themselves in the huddle this fall? Redshirts, for the most part, are a thing of the past. If you are ready, you're in. Wyoming is also reaping the benefits of continuing to be a developmental program. While the "big boys" pillage the portal, Sawvel and Co. continue to bring in recruits that were maybe once considered untouchable.

Keep an eye on names like tight end Colin Ford, receivers Jarell Gary and Jordan Styles and safety Therman "Boogie" Williams and cornerback Kendall Griffin, among others. Unlike in years past, five freshmen also arrived on campus early, getting a head start on the field.

GO DEEP

Is Sawvel confident in the current crop of wide receivers? Better yet, is Hughes?

The returning production from this unit is not exactly impressive: 50 catches, 473 yards, two touchdowns. That's hardly all their fault. Wyoming quarterbacks were pressured 102 times, per Pro Football Focus. Seventy of those are categorized as "hurries." Twenty were "hits." Twelve were sacks.

Quarterback Kaden Anderson, who suffered two ACL tears in high school, rushed for minus-39 yards and had a season-long run of nine. He's now at Tarleton State.

When Landon Sims eventually climbed under center, ironically the week after offensive coordinator Jay Johnson was fired, this offense looked much different. Despite suffering a pair of previous devastating knee injuries himself -- including a third in late October that claimed a third left ACL -- the Alabama native gained 97 yards on just 15 attempts.

Hughes, for comparison's sake, rushed for 670 yards and found the end zone 11 times with his legs last season at William and Mary.

I digress.

Who will catch passes from the graduate transfer when the dust flies in September? Jackson Holman? Eric Richardson? Bricen Brantley? DeBlanc? The answer needs to be all of the above -- and then some.

Can Ke'Lyn Washom become the guy? He certainly looks the part, and by all accounts made life miserable for the No. 1 defense on scout team in 2025. How about PJ Jackson? He's a spitting image of his older cousin, Chris Durr Jr., who led this team with 45 grabs and 469 yards last season. He's now at Maryland.

Sawvel didn't have much luck finding veteran pass catchers in the portal. Justin Popovich did finish with nearly 700 yards receiving, but that came at Lock Haven, a Division-II program.

COLORADO STATE COLLAPSE

"It's a double-edged sword."

That's what former CSU quarterback Collin Hill told me at media days all the way back in 2019. He was referring to the Rams' annual meeting with in-state rival Colorado, which typically fell on opening day.

Something else was typical, too: A loss.

"If we come out and win, it's huge to kick the season off the right way," he added. "At the same time, a loss hurts. But as coach always says, you can't let a team beat you twice. You can't let it drag on to the next week."

Too often that's exactly what CSU did.

Hill's team did indeed lose the Rocky Mountain Showdown a little over a month later. Then they dropped four of the next five en route to a 4-8 campaign that also included setbacks against Air Force and Wyoming in consecutive weeks.

What's the point?

The Border War, for the first time since 1964, is the opening game on the slate. That season, under the leadership of head coach Lloyd Eaton, the Pokes rolled to an easy 31-7 victory over the Rams and finished with a 6-2-2 record.

With the emotions surrounding that contest, especially in Year 1 of these rivals playing in different leagues, you can imagine what a loss could do to the psyche of a program, especially one with a coach whose seat is at the very least lukewarm.

Win or lose, Wyoming can't afford to get too high or too low. Would it hurt to fall inside Canvas Stadium in Jim Mora's debut in Fort Collins? Absolutely. Should it derail the entire season? No.

"We expect to win every game," Hill would say. "We can't carry it on to next week. We have to put it on the back burner."

They didn't.

Take heed, Cowpokes.

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