Jay Sawvel’s Moneyball Approach Paying Off With Transfer Impact
- Jeff Bugher
- Sep 9
- 3 min read
Transfers Making an Early Impact for Wyoming
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Have you seen the movie or read the book, Moneyball? It is about the success of a sports team that improves its roster and its winning percentage by recruiting undervalued talent and analyzing players by their on-field performance rather than their reputation. Jay Sawvel and the Wyoming coaching staff took a similar approach after the end of last season when they went in search of players in the transfer portal who showed they could “play up” to the Wyoming Way of college football.
“We had gaps in last year’s roster, and then there’s a group of people that cycled out,” Sawvel said. “We needed maturity. We needed gaps filled in different age groups,” Sawvel said.
Sawvel pointed to the list of names already making contributions.
“When you go right down the list from Enock [Sibomana] to Brayden Johnson to Ethan Stuhlsatz to Chisom [Ifeanyi], Esaia Bogar, Terron Kellman - you just go right on down the list of all these guys…Desman Hearns,” Sawvel said. “We identified guys who had chips on their shoulders. Good people, play hard. Luckily, we were able to do that… I’m really happy with that group of players right now and within the culture of the team, how they work, how they work out, how they bloom.”
Through two games, several of those players are already standing out
Through the first two games, the transfer unit includes production by Brayden Johnson (Oklahoma Baptist), leading the team in combined tackles (14) and adding an interception for 18 yards. Evan Eller (Virginia Military Institute, VMI) has also made a significant impact in the passing game defense, securing an interception of his own, while contributing eight total tackles. At depth, linebackers Enock Sibomana (North Dakota State University) and Ethan Stuhlsatz (Lindenwood) have each recorded seven combined tackles. Offensively, Terron Kellman (Charlotte) has provided an explosive spark out of the backfield, rushing nine times for 92 yards, with a 10.2 yards per carry average. More transfers have contributed, but we went with the leaders for this article.
For Eller, the quick bond between the transfers and veterans has been key.
“I think the biggest part of it is understanding where we’re all coming from and being able to bond about that,” Eller said. “A lot of us came from the FCS level, a lot of us came from smaller schools… just understanding what this program hangs our head on - the blue collar mentality. And a lot of these guys feel like they were overlooked coming out of high school or whatever it may be. So being able to just bond about that and to have that hunger when we’re stepping on the field, knowing we have each other’s backs - it just all helps us mesh together really well.”
Veteran tight end John Michael Gyllenborg said Wyoming’s locker room leadership has helped smooth the transition for the influx of new faces.
“I think with how college football is now, there’s a lot of new guys coming into locker rooms,” Gyllenborg said. “I think here in Wyoming, we've got a great group of leaders, and we’ve done a really good job of doing stuff outside of football to build that chemistry, that camaraderie. On the defensive side of the ball with a lot of new guys in the secondary, linebacker, whatnot… camp is hard, no matter where you are. I think we kind of embraced that, and the guys on the different side of the ball embraced it. As you see, we’ve got a lot of depth – they’ve got a lot of playmakers there.”
Sawvel said that kind of buy-in from both new players and existing players has been vital.
“…There’s been a seamless mesh of people, which isn’t always the case year to year,” Sawvel said. “We hit some lightning with that group in that regard, as far as how they’ve meshed. Nobody says we’re perfect. We've got a long way to go, but I’m really happy with that group.” One thing is clear: Sawvel’s actions in his office have made a big impact on the field…Moneyball style.
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