For the Wyoming football team, the transition to a new head coach in 2024 was bumpy.
As the Cowboys enter year No. 2 under Jay Sawvel, however, they are hoping to get back on track.
This summer, BuffZone will preview each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at Wyoming, which will visit Folsom Field on Sept. 20 in the Buffs’ fourth game of the season.
In 10 years under Craig Bohl (2014-23), the Cowboys went 61-60 and played in bowl games in six of his last eight years.
A year ago, Wyoming went 3-9, but Sawvel, the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator for four years before taking over as head coach, brings back a lot of core players. He said in spring that after the season, he had a top-10 list of players he hoped to keep from leaving for the transfer portal and nine of them are returning to Laramie.
“We have the makings of a good football team,” he said after the Cowboys’ spring game in April. “We have to get a lot better in certain areas, but when you look at it and you go, you’ve got your pieces of a great tight end group that we have, our two leading wide receivers back, our quarterback back, our offensive line back in a sense. We have a stocked room at defensive tackle right now.”
On offense, there is optimism in part because of the return of quarterback Kaden Anderson. A redshirt freshman last year, he played sparingly in the Cowboys’ first eight games and then took over as the starter.
This year, Anderson comes in as the clear starter. So much so, in fact, that Evan Svoboda, who started nine games at quarterback during the 2024 season (1,318 yards, five TDs, eight INTs), is now playing tight end.
Wyoming ranked 123rd nationally in scoring (19.3 points per game) last year but should improve upon that with so much back on offense. John Michael Gyllenborg is a top tight end in the Mountain West; and receivers Jaylen Sargent (team-high 480 yards) and Chris Durr (team-high 31 catches) are back.
Also back is leading rusher Sam Scott, who finished with 435 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry, despite making just four starts. The Cowboys would like to get more out of the run game, though, and added transfers Terron Kellman (Charlotte) and Max White (Iowa).
Four of the five starting offensive linemen are back, including Jack Walsh, a second-team all-conference guard in 2024 who is moving to center.
Defensively, only one full-time starter (nose tackle Ben Florentine) is back, but Wyoming likes the pieces it has this year.
Tyce Westland is a talented pass rusher with potential to emerge as a star. Also on the edge is Brayden Wilson, a two-time All-Big Sky player at Weber State.
Andrew Johnson made a handful of starts at safety last year and nickel Malique Singleton has some starting experience, but the secondary was bolstered through the transfer portal.
Several players will be in starting roles for the first time, especially on defense, and there is always the challenge of meshing 20 newcomers with the returning players, but Sawvel likes the team Wyoming has this year – especially with those who decided to stay.
“I couldn’t be happier with a lot of that piece right now,” he said.
If that group can lead the way, Wyoming could find itself back on the winning track in 2025.
Wyoming Cowboys
Head coach: Jay Sawvel, 2nd season (3-9)
2024 season: 3-9, 2-5 Mountain West
Series with CU: Buffs lead 24-2-1
Matchup with the Buffs: Saturday, Sept. 20, TBA, at Folsom Field in Boulder
5 Guys to Watch
QB Kaden Anderson: Now a sophomore, he took over as the starter late last year, starting three games. He finished the year with 955 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for two TDs, but is not a big running threat (49 yards on 22 carries).
NT Ben Florentine: The only full-time starter back on defense, he had 26 tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack last year. He’ll be a leader up front for what should be a solid defensive line.
TE John Michael Gyllenborg: One of the top tight ends in the Mountain West, he caught 30 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns last year, earning second-team all-conference honors. He’s caught 53 passes, with six touchdowns, in the past two years.
WR Jaylen Sargent: Finished last year with just 23 catches, but for 480 yards (20.9-yards per catch average) and two touchdowns. He had 317 of his yards in Anderson’s three starts.
DE Tyce Westland: A part-time starter last year, he could be Wyoming’s top pass rusher this year. He recorded 41 tackles, six tackles for loss and three sacks last year. He has 10.5 tackles for loss in the past two seasons.
Good to know
• Of the 27 games between CU and Wyoming, only six have been played since 1947. This is the first meeting since 2009. The teams tied in 1926 and Wyoming’s two wins came in 1935 and 1982. The first meeting was a 10-6 CU win on Nov. 5, 1900, in Boulder.
• Two coaches on the Wyoming staff are quite familiar to CU fans. Offensive coordinator Jay Johnson was the Buffaloes’ offensive coordinator in 2019 under former head coach Mel Tucker. After four seasons (2020-23) at Michigan State with Tucker, Johnson is entering his second season at Wyoming. And this offseason, the Cowboys hired Gary “Flea” Harrell as running backs coach. Harrell was the Buffs’ running backs coach the past two years.
• After visiting Akron and hosting Northern Iowa to start the season, Wyoming will have back-to-back games against the Big 12. Utah will visit Laramie on Sept. 13, a week before the Cowboys head to Boulder.
• Aaron Bohl, the son of former Cowboys’ head coach Craig Bohl, is the defensive coordinator. The 31-year-old played linebacker at Minnesota State-Moorhead and has been on the Wyoming staff since 2017. He was a grad assistant for two years, linebackers coach for five years (2019-23) and took over as DC last year.
• Legacy High School graduate John Hoyland was Wyoming’s kicker the last five years, making 72-of-91 field goal attempts. He is now with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. Wyoming could turn to sophomore Erik Sandvik from Steamboat Springs or junior Bart Edmiston, a transfer from Jones College.
Portal movement
The Cowboys lost 21 players to the portal, including some key players on defense in safety Wrook Brown (Houston), cornerbacks Tyrecus Davis (Colorado) and Keany Parks (Houston), and pass rushers Sebastian Harch (New Mexico) and Braden Siders (West Virginia). Receivers Justin Stevenson (Utah) and Tyler King (New Mexico State) also departed, along with some depth at running back. Wyoming brought nearly 20 transfers into the fold, including three potential starters at safety in Brooklyn Cheek (California), Desman Hearns (Southern Illinois) and Justin Taylor (Wisconsin). Edge Brayden Wilson (Weber State), receiver Jackson Holman (Arizona) and running backs Terron Kellman (Charlotte) and Max White (Iowa) could make an impact, as well.