Bye Week Notebook: Recruiting, Rehabbing and Reflection on Tap
LARAMIE -- There will be some recruiting. There will be some rehabbing. There will be some reflection.
The latter, Jay Sawvel said, will be a major focus during his team's first bye week of the season, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Where is that unit excelling through four weeks?
Well, for the second consecutive week, Samuel Harris has been named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week. That is a good place to start, Wyoming's second-year head coach said. The rookie they call "Tote" has already accounted for nearly 300 yards of total offense, 231 of which have come against Power-4 programs Utah and Colorado.
You think that guy belongs?
"I think that we have potential, offensively, that we haven't reached and we haven't been close to reaching it yet," Sawvel said. "Now, part of it, I think Sam Harris helps us unlock some of that. If we can block a play for three yards, he's got enough burst and vision."
MORE UW FOOTBALL COVERAGE VIA 7220SPORTS:
* Tuck's Take: A Lot Had to Go Right on a Night When Not Much Did
* Where was Wyoming's Urgency in the Fourth Quarter?
* Rants and Raves: Colorado Edition
* LIVE FILE: Colorado 37, Wyoming 20
* Q&A With Wyoming's Gary Harrell, Prime's Former Top Assistant
* Gear Up For Game Day: Colorado Buffaloes
* 3 Keys to a Wyoming Victory over Colorado
* Cowboys Head South Saturday Night for Matchup With Colorado
Sawvel said center Jack Walsh played his best game of the season last Saturday night at Colorado. So did right guard Caden Barnett, who twice, violently drove a defender all the way into the Buffs' sideline.
He was also pleased with Kaden Anderson's second-half performance in Boulder.
After starting just 4-of-13 for 49 yards, the sophomore signal caller connected on 7-of-12 throws for 127 yards and a pair of touchdown tosses in a 37-20 loss inside Folsom Field.
Six of those attempts, Sawvel said, were drops. Jaylan Bean couldn't pull down a contested catch in the end zone. Eric Richardson, who did haul in a 41-yard scoring strike in the third quarter, couldn't reel in a pass deep in Buffs' territory. Tight end Justin Erb dropped a mesh route, too.
Wyoming currently boasts the No. 103 passing attack in the nation out of 134 FBS programs, averaging just 185 yards per game through the air.
Jaylan Sargent, who led all wideouts in 2024 with 480 yards receiving, has just three catches for 33 yards. Jackson Holman, minus a 44-yard grab in the opener at Akron, has only four for 38. Bricen Brantley has the same number of snags, but just 13 yards. Charlie Coenen and Bean have hauled in only two passes. Clay Nanke, one.
Michael Fitzgerald has yet to get on the stat sheet. Same can be said for Tyler Nystrom and Deion DeBlanc.
"We've got some guys that can step up and need to step up," Sawvel said. "And that's what, this week, we're going to have to figure out. Who's going to be in that mode?
"I expect more out of a couple of them than what we've gotten so far."
Here are some other news and notes from Sawvel's presser:
* Nate Geiger is going to likely miss an extended period of time with a left knee injury, Sawvel said. While he failed to get into detail, saying that will come next week, the sophomore tackle limped off the field early in the first half of Saturday night's game, tears in his eyes. It didn't look good. CU defensive end Wade Keaten, unexpectedly, wiped him out on a sack. Geiger, who won the job on the left side out of camp last fall, suffered a torn ACL on the 10th play of the season at Arizona State.
* Cornerback Markie Grant was playing with a heavily-taped right hand in Boulder. Sawvel said he hopes with the open date that will be a thing of the past when UNLV pays a visit to Laramie Oct. 4 for homecoming.
* Wyoming ran 13 first-down plays against CU in the first half, rolling up a grand total of eight yards. Four of those were negative plays, including the nine-yard sack Geiger was injured on. Three were for no gain. "It's putting us in a tough spot, for sure," Sawvel said. "That was the difference in the first half and in the second half, you know, the second half we were much more efficient on all the downs, and got in a rhythm." The Cowboys also capped the night just 5-of-13 on third down. Over the last two weeks, lopsided losses to Utah and CU, this offense has converted just 8-of-25 opportunities on that money down.
* True freshman Tyson Deen is inching toward seeing playing time on defense, per Sawvel. The cornerback from San Antonio is getting closer and closer to "game-ready." Tight end Kyle Frendt is also getting more playing time because of injuries to John Michael Gyllenborg and Jake Wilson. The rookie was on the field during Wyoming's 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter.
* Speaking of that controversial possession, here is my column about Sawvel's in-game decisions.
* The spring transfer portal window is no longer a thing and Sawvel couldn't be any happier. In recent years, this program has lost players like Gavin Meyer, Sabastian Harsh and Harrison Waylee. Now, free agency opens Dec. 8 and closes on the 27th. "All for it," Sawvel said, adding that the ACC, Big XII and SEC all voted in favor of axing the spring market. "... The spring portal was just so disruptive, you know, like, OK, we pour an offseason into a guy, pour a spring practice into a guy, and then he can just up and bolt just like that? Made no sense."
MORE UW FOOTBALL COVERAGE VIA 7220SPORTS:
* Turning Point, Unsung Hero and What's Next for UW Football
* PODCAST: Are the Cowboys Ready for 'Prime Time?'
* Worried About the Cowboys' Offensive Production? They Aren't
* Colorado Notebook: Cowboys Set to Face 'Football Icon'
* Wyoming's Newest Nickelback Carrying on Turnover Tradition
* Cowboys Look to Get Ground Game Churning in Boulder
* Players were not made available to the media on Monday. A university representative said it was a chance to give them a break from press obligations with the bye week ahead.
* Sawvel, at the conclusion of his press conference, gave a 30-plus minute film session to the media in attendance. This off-the-record gathering gave a unique look at plays from the last two weeks that went according to plan and those that didn't. It was a great opportunity to take a closer look at the film coaches, players watch on a weekly basis.
* Despite giving up 68 points in the last two outings, Sawvel had plenty of praise for defensive coordinator Aaron Bohl and the job he has done with this new-look unit. Communication breakdowns and missed assignments have plagued the Cowboys in back-to-back losses. Playing bigger, faster opponents has only magnified those miscues, Sawvel said.
* The Roaring Repeater Podcast will air again this Tuesday with Cody Tucker and Jared Newland behind the mic inside our Cheyenne studios. Make sure to watch our social media feed, where we'll be asking you, the fans, for any questions you may have before the home opener. Here is last week's episode.
* As always, make sure you are following us on social media: Facebook and X. Also, have you downloaded our totally free app yet? You can do that right HERE. You can also sign up for our daily newsletter right HERE. Catch up on all the latest Wyoming football news right HERE.