Wyoming Cowboys football to hold second open spring scrimmage on Saturday (2024)

For the second week in a row University of Wyoming football fans have a chance to watch the Cowboys in action on Saturday.

The Pokes, under first-year head coach Jay Sawvel, will take the field at War Memorial Stadium, which is currently under construction, beginning at 10:15 a.m. This will be the ninth of 15 spring practices, culminating in the annual Brown & Gold Spring Game in two weeks at Cheyenne East’s Okie Blanchard Stadium.

“I’m pretty pleased with the intent for 26 periods, which is a 2-hour and 10-minute practice,” Sawvel said after Tuesday’s practice. “In period 26 there were still people going after it pretty good. That was a big focus … don’t let ourselves have any valleys in the course of practice. We’re getting quality effort from all the positions right now and I see improvement in a lot of things.

“We have a lot of stuff to clean up,” he added. “We’re not game ready but we don’t need to be game ready. We have a lot of things to address, but I’m excited to see Thursday’s practice and Saturday’s scrimmage. We’re going to get after it on Saturday so it will be good.”

QB1 and TE1

Junior Evan Svoboda (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) will be the starting quarterback when the Cowboys open the season Aug. 31 at Arizona State.

Svoboda’s primary target is expected to be junior tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, and for good reason. The 6-5, 245-pound Gyllenborg had 23 catches for 360 yards and six touchdowns last season.

“If I was a quarterback I would go to J-Mike too,” Sawvel said of the two roommates. “It’s really not hard. The biggest thing I love about both those people is that they make coaching so enjoyable because you enjoy showing up every day to see those two. They’re great athletes and they’re built like statues.

“We’re blessed that they’re here. They have a good working relationship along with the fact they’re really good friends off the field.”

Veteran receivers Will Pelissier (6-3, 210) and Alex Brown (6-4, 200) have experience if not eye-popping stats, which has opened the door for incoming talent. Sawvel noted that true freshman Chris Durr Jr. (5-10, 162) has been a bright spot this spring.

“I think Chris Durr is doing really well,” Sawvel said, adding that Durr has put on 20 pounds since arriving on campus. “His ability to run and his ball skills are really evident. His catch radius is really big. You put a ball anywhere near him and he’s got really good hands and he tracks ball really well.

“By him being here now and him having a full offseason of what he’s going to have, he’s put himself in a position where he will become playable in our season as we get into August and September.”

Switching the field

For the first time in three years the Pokes are breaking in a new punter with Clayton Stewart having graduated. Last year Stewart averaged 38.4 net yards per punt, which was seventh in the Mountain West.

Two candidates to replace Stewart are redshirt freshman Erik Sandvik and true freshman Keelan Anderson, the record-setting kicker from Cheyenne South. Sawvel isn’t ready to hand over the punting duties to either player yet, though.

“I think Erik Sandvik has hit some good balls and Keelan Anderson did his best punting today,” Sawvel said Tuesday. “We’re going to see if our starting punter is on campus yet or not. That’s something we have to decide on.

“My job is to make sure we have the best player on the field for that particular scenario,” he added. “If the punter is in house … great. If the punter needs to come from outside then we’ll do that too.”