This year, Wyoming has a 6-foot-5, 245-pound dual-threat quarterback who wears No. 17 and has the talent to turn heads across the country. Sound familiar?
No, former Cowboys star and current Bills QB Josh Allen isn’t back in Laramie. But the Cowboys have a signal-caller with a nearly identical build, the same number and a similar skill set in Evan Svoboda.
New head coach Jay Sawvel, who took over after Craig Bohl retired following a decade-long run, begins a new era of Cowboy football following a recognizable formula. And Sawvel believes Svoboda can raise the program’s bar once again.
“The markers are there that we could be a good football team,” Sawvel said. “If Evan Svoboda plays the way we hope that he can and that his potential could allow, we could become extremely good.”
Svoboda made only one start as a sophomore last year, so there will be a learning curve. But Sawvel says his QB has enough talent around him to expedite his assimilation.
“(A bowl) should be the expectation,” Sawvel said. “We have an experienced offensive line with four returning starters, we have a bunch of really good skill players, and we have experience at all levels on the defense.”
Wyoming begins the season at Arizona State on Saturday, looking to nab another Power 4 win after beating Texas Tech at home in double overtime last fall. That was en route to a nine-win season, a program high since moving to the Mountain West in 1999, capped by a win over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl.
Nofoafia Tulafono, whom Sawvel describes as “one of the better centers in the country,” anchors the offensive line. Running back DJ Jones, a transfer from North Carolina, will start with Harrison Waylee out for the first part of the season with a knee injury.
An experienced defense that’s returning eight starters is highlighted by Jordan Bertagnole, Braden Siders and Sabastian Harsh up front, and safeties Isaac White and Wyett Ekeler (brother of Commanders RB Austin Ekeler) in the third level.
Considering all that, Sawvel says the goal of the first year of his tenure is “to push the program forward.” Wyoming’s been to a bowl game three years in a row, and four of the last five. Another postseason appearance this year would mark the first four-year bowl streak in program history.
“We’ve got to take another step,” Sawvel said. “For us in the long-term, that next step is to put ourselves in a position where we could win a Mountain West championship. If you look at what Craig Bohl did at Wyoming, from what it was to what it is now, there’s really only one bridge that didn’t get crossed.
“Now, we’re in a position where we’re consistently good. We’ve got to maintain that, and take our opportunities where we could potentially break through.”
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