Sawvel Pleased with Physicality, Progress After Third Day of Fall Camp

Quarterback Mason Drube (7). Photo courtesy of UW Athletics

LARAMIE, Wyo. - After wrapping up the third practice of fall camp, University of Wyoming head football coach Jay Sawvel met with the media Wednesday and shared his early impressions of the Cowboys.

“I'm pretty happy through the first three,” Sawvel said. “You don't want to buy stock in so much stuff right now and do that, but we've had three really good days.”

Wednesday marked the Cowboys’ first practice in half pads, and Sawvel was very encouraged by the tone it set.

“Today... it was a banger a little bit, which is really good,” he said. “Health-wise, we're doing fine. …Markie Grant - just a little hamstring cramp type thing. Caden Barnett has knee tendonitis... we were kind of conservative with him. Other than that, it's been really good.”

Physicality was the theme during spring ball, and that energy and physicality have continued into fall camp. That was apparent today, especially during the inside run period.

Violence... “It looked that way, right? It sounded that way... By all the metrics of what we measure... we are a substantially faster football team than what we were a year ago.”

He pointed to new and returning backs like Braden Johnson (245 lbs), Max White (215 lbs), and Sam Scott (225 lbs) as examples of the added size and toughness.

“We didn’t have a practice that sounded like that last year... when we did that inside run period... it sounded different.”

Players Drawing Attention

Sawvel spoke about the practice work of wideout Michael Fitzgerald.

“The last two days he has made plays... he's got very good hands. This is a 6-foot-5-plus guy... huge target,” Sawvel said. “Now we’ll see... let’s talk about him a month from now.”

Running back Damashja Harris is also beginning to come into his own. “He needs the live work that’s coming... get tackled, get that confidence,” Sawvel said. “But I think you can see he’s pretty talented.”

Sawvel also singled out receiver Eric Richardson for having his best day of camp so far.

“He made some plays today, which was good to see,” he said. “Very good speed and good hands… it was good to see him make a couple catches with people hanging on him.”

Veteran Transfers Adding Value

Sawvel praised recent additions like running back Max White (Iowa transfer) and linebacker Enock Sibomana (North Dakota State transfer) not just for their football ability, but their leadership.

“Enock comes from a national champion... Max White comes from Iowa,” Sawvel said. “You could ask anybody on our team right now what's the respect level for Enock and they'd be like, ‘This guy’s a playing Jack.’ Same with Max - they’re grinders. Huge additions to our program.”

He credited the recruiting and coaching staff for identifying the right talent and character.

“Everybody involved in our organization... from Bouknight to Coach Flea... we had a checklist of all these guys that we would be able to try to get,” Sawvel said. “We grind it on that part, so it's good to see some of that pay off.”

Running Back Battle Taking Shape

Sawvel noted the running back competition remains wide open.

“If Sam [Scott] comes out on top and he’s the back that's carrying 18 to 22 [times per game], Sam’s going to earn it,” he said. “There's competition... for Sam, for Terron, for Damashja, for Max White, for Nico... that room looks way different.”

Sawvel was candid about the need for improvement in the ground game compared to last season.

“The 2024 version of our run game cannot be the 2025 version,” he said. “Sometimes the play is blocked for four yards. It's gotta gain eight... if it only gains four, as the play caller, that’s a challenge.”

Quarterbacks Progressing

Sawvel called the current quarterback room the best he’s had at Wyoming, stating that each QB is bringing talent to the team.

While there's an ongoing competition, Sawvel wants to avoid past mistakes.

“We wrote the book on how to destroy a quarterback last year,” he said bluntly. “No run game. Banged up offensive line. Receivers that weren’t consistent... We’re going to be really careful and smart now.”

Defense Developing Depth

Perhaps no group has made bigger strides than linebacker.

“We’ve got five guys that if they went into a game right now, I feel really good,” Sawvel said. “That room... was right at the top of my list to fix.”

He emphasized the importance of always having All-Mountain West-caliber talent at that position.

“We have to have a first-team All-Mountain West Conference linebacker every year in this program,” he said. “And really, we ought to have a couple of guys that compete for that.”