2024 Wyoming Cowboys football team explained

Year:	2024
Team:	Wyoming Cowboys
Sport:	football
Conference:	Mountain West Conference
Short Conf:	MW
Record:	3–9
Conf Record:	2–5
Head Coach:	Jay Sawvel
Hc Year:	1st
Off Coach:	Jay Johnson
Oc Year:	1st
Off Scheme:	Multiple
Def Coach:	Aaron Bohl
Dc Year:	1st
Def Scheme:	4–3
Stadium:	War Memorial Stadium

The 2024 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by new head coach Jay Sawvel, the Cowboys played their home games on campus at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyoming.^[1]

Previously the Cowboys' defensive coordinator for four years, Sawvel was promoted in December 2023, following the retirement of ten-year head coach Craig Bohl.

Offseason

Departures

+ class="nowrap"	2024 Wyoming offseason departures
Ayir Asante	WR	Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Chauncey Carter	CB
Buck Coors	DB	Medically Retired
Keelan Cox	DE	Transferred to Texas Southern
	OL	Graduated/Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Josh Dixon	DB	Entered Transfer Portal
Jaxon Galica	DL	Entered Transfer Portal
Gunner Gentry	WR	Graduated
	LB	Graduated/Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Cole Godbout	DL	Graduated/Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Cayden Hawkins	LB	Transferred to Louisiana Tech
Jakorey Hawkins	CB	Graduated/Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Jeremy Hollingsworth	RB	Graduated
Brady Hultman	LB	Transferred to Missouri
Tyler Jacklich	RB	Entered Transfer Portal
DQ James	RB	Entered Transfer Portal
Chase Locke	WR	Transferred to Louisiana Tech
Ryan Marquez	WR	Graduated
Carson May	QB	Transferred to Abilene Christian
Garrett McGriff	S	Transferred to Minot State
Gavin Meyer	NT	Graduated
	QB	Graduated/Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Colin O'Brian	TE	Graduated/Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Forrest Scheel	OL	Transferred to Iowa Central CC
Clayton Stewart	P	Graduated
Kolbey Taylor	CB	Transferred to Vanderbilt
Kuba Tyszka	DL	Transferred to North Dakota
	TE	Declared for 2024 NFL draft
Wyatt Wieland	WR	Graduated

Additions

Incoming transfers

Jaylan Bean (PWO)	WR	3 years	Garden City CC
Alex Conn	OL	2 years	Iowa Western CC
Jack Culbreath	P	1 year	VMI
Evan Eller	LB	1 year	VMI
DJ Jones	RB	1 year	North Carolina
Ty King	WR	3 years	Texas Tech
Garrett McGriff (PWO)	S	4 years	Army
Clay Nanke (PWO)	TE	2 years	Colorado State

Recruiting

See main article: 2024 college football recruiting class. Wyoming signed a high school class of 20 scholarship athletes and 10 walk-ons.

Walk-on Recruits

Coaching staff

Name! style="text-align:center;

Position	Consecutive Years
	Head Coach	1st
Mike Grant	Associate Head Coach/Offensive Pass Coordinator/Wide Receivers	9th
	Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks	1st
	Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers	8th
Benny Boyd	Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks	5th
Gordie Haug	Recruiting Director/Running Backs	11th
Brian Hendricks	Defensive Ends	2nd
Shannon Moore	Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends/Fullbacks	6th
Jeff Phelps	Defensive Tackles	1st
Joe Tripodi	Offensive Line	3rd
Eric Donoval	Director of Sports Performance	7th

Schedule

^[2]

Statistics

Team

Wyoming Opp Scoring 232 340   Points per Game 19.3 28.3 First Downs 208 239   Rushing 86 104   Passing 97 117   Penalty 25 18 Rushing yards 1654 2300   Avg per play 3.6 5.5   Avg per game 137.8 191.7   Rushing touchdowns 14 21 Passing yards 2273 2627   Att-Comp-Int 347-181-11 342-211-6   Avg per pass 6.6 7.7   Avg per catch 12.6 12.5   Avg per game 189.4 218.9   Passing touchdowns 11 16 Total Offense 3927 4927   Avg per Play 4.9 6.5   Avg per Game 327.3 410.6 Fumbles-Lost 18-5 12-5 Penalties-Yards 66-598 85-706   Avg per Game 49.8 58.8

Wyoming Opp Punts-Yards 66-2665 55-2403   Avg per Punt 40.4 43.7 Time of Possession/Game 30:52 29:08 3rd Down Conversions 66-181 37-143 4th Down Conversions 15-25 11-22 Touchdowns Scored 27 41 Field Goals-Attempts 15-19 18-24 PAT-Attempts 25-25 38-38

Individual Leaders

Passing

Passing statistics
	NAME	GP	RAT	CMP	ATT	YDS	AVG/G	CMP%	TD	INT	LONG
17	Evan Svoboda	12	98.3	111	226	1318	109.8	49.1%	5	8	70
12	Kaden Anderson	9	136.7	70	120	955	106.1	58.3%	6	3	68
	TOTALS	12	111.3	181	347	2273	189.4	52.2%	11	11	70

Rushing

Rushing statistics
	NAME	GP	ATT	GAIN	AVG	TD	LONG	AVG/G
22	Sam Scott	10	92	435	4.7	3	43	43.5
4	Harrison Waylee	4	63	323	5.1	1	36	80.8
6	Jamari Ferrell	12	80	318	4.0	1	62	26.5
17	Evan Svoboda	12	109	237	2.2	5	51	19.8
16	DJ Jones	4	57	162	2.8	0	17	40.5
5	Tyler King	10	13	100	7.7	2	54	10.0
12	Kaden Anderson	9	22	49	2.2	2	24	5.4
11	Justin Stevenson	12	5	40	8.0	0	16	3.3
98	Jayden Williams	12	1	17	17.0	0	17	1.4
3	Dawaiian McNeely	2	2	12	6.0	0	8	6.0
83	Will Pelissier	12	1	3	3.0	0	3	0.3
15	Chris Durr	12	1	3	3.0	0	3	0.3
2	Devin Boddie	4	1	2	2.0	0	2	0.5
89	Jake Wilson	4	1	-1	-1.0	0	0	-0.3
	Team	12	12	-46	-3.8	0	0	-3.8
	TOTALS	12	460	1654	3.6	14	62	137.8

Receiving

Receiving statistics
	NAME	GP	CTH	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	AVG/G
15	Chris Durr	12	31	348	11.2	1	40	29.0
84	John Michael Gyllenborg	9	30	425	14.2	3	63	47.2
8	Jaylen Sargent	12	23	480	20.9	2	70	40.0
5	Tyler King	10	17	236	13.9	0	36	23.6
11	Justin Stevenson	12	17	204	12.0	3	63	17.0
83	Will Pelissier	12	14	212	15.1	0	41	17.7
22	Sam Scott	10	12	74	6.2	1	41	7.4
86	Nick Miles	12	9	60	6.7	0	25	5.0
6	Jamari Ferrell	12	8	44	5.5	0	17	3.7
2	Devin Boddie	4	5	62	12.4	1	20	15.5
16	DJ Jones	4	4	24	6.0	0	11	6.0
85	Clay Nanke	12	4	64	16.0	0	32	5.3
9	Alex Brown	8	2	21	10.5	0	15	2.6
4	Harrison Waylee	4	2	5	2.5	0	3	1.3
87	Isaac Schoenfeld	12	1	7	7.0	0	7	0.6
33	Trey Olsen	1	1	4	4.0	0	4	4.0
51	Jack Harvey	1	1	3	3.0	0	3	3.0
	TOTALS	12	181	2273	12.6	11	70	189.4

Defense

Defense statistics
	NAME	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL-YDS	SACK-YDS	INT	BU	QBH	FR	FF	BLK	SAF	TD
43	Shae Suiaunoa	12	47	41	88	10.0-30	1.0-10	0	2	3	0	0	0	0	0
33	Connor Shay	12	45	31	76	7.5-24	1.5-10	1	3	2	0	0	0	0	0
42	Isaac White	9	38	19	57	1.5-4	0-0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Wrook Brown	12	36	12	48	1.0-7	0-0	3	6	0	0	0	0	0	1
31	Wyett Ekeler	9	28	18	46	1.0-5	0-0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Tyrecus Davis	12	36	6	42	1.0-0	0-0	1	8	0	0	0	1	0	0
40	Tyce Westland	11	18	23	41	6.0-22	3.0-17	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0
4	Keany Parks	11	34	7	41	0.5-1	0-0	0	7	0	1	0	0	0	0
54	Sabastian Harsh	8	25	15	40	8.5-30	1.5-10	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
3	Andrew Johnson	11	19	11	30	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
98	Jayden Williams	12	14	14	28	1.5-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
96	Jordan Bertagnole	11	10	15	25	2.0-8	0.5-4	0	1	3	0	1	0	0	0
94	Ben Florentine	11	10	15	25	3.0-11	1.0-4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
34	Braden Siders	7	12	10	22	5.5-34	3.5-28	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
93	DeVonne Harris	8	15	6	21	4.5-20	2.0-9	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
91	Jaden Williams	12	6	14	20	1.5-9	0.5-1	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
59	Ethan Day	12	9	10	19	1.0-1	0.5-1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
17	Malique Singleton	11	9	2	11	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
80	Justin Erb	12	6	2	8	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
92	Dante Drake	11	5	3	8	3.5-13	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Ian Bell	12	5	1	6	0-0	0-0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	Read Sunn	12	4	1	5	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
49	Nic Talich	12	3	1	4	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	Jones Thomas	9	4	0	4	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	Micah Young	12	1	2	3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	Caleb Driskill	9	1	1	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
86	Nick Miles	12	1	1	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
83	Will Pelissier	12	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Evan Eller	4	1	1	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	Caleb Merritt	12	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
52	Carson York	12	2	0	2	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
46	John Hoyland	12	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Harrison Waylee	4	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	Evan Svoboda	12	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	Isaac Sell	12	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
87	Isaac Schoenfeld	12	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	Naz Hill	1	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Markie Grant	4	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	Gary Rutherford	4	0	1	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	TOTALS	12	457	288	745	61-223	15-94	6	34	16	5	5	1	0	1

Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FR: Fumbles Recovered, FF: Forced Fumbles, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties, TD : Touchdown

Special teams

Kick return statistics
	NAME	GP	RTNS	YDS	AVG	TD	LNG
5	Tyler King	10	15	422	28.1	1	100
87	Isaac Schoenfeld	12	2	18	9.0	0	11
4	Keany Parks	12	2	75	37.5	0	54
85	Clay Nanke	12	1	3	3.0	0	3
18	Caleb Merritt	12	1	14	14.0	0		14
	TOTALS	12	21	532	25.3	1	100

Punt return statistics
	NAME	GP	RTNS	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
19	Caleb Cooley	8	6	30	5.0	0	15
5	Tyler King	10	3	-1	-0.3	0	0
	TOTALS	12	9	29	3.2	0	15

Game summaries

at Arizona State

See also: 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils football team.

Statistics	WYO	ASU
First downs	8	27
Total yards	118	499
Rushing yards	40	241
Passing yards	78	258
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	10–20–2	14–22–0
Time of possession	22:56	37:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing		6/15, 42 yards, 2 INT
Rushing	DJ Jones	17 carries, 43 yards
Receiving	Tyler King	1 reception, 23 yards
Arizona State	Passing		14/22, 258 yards, 2 TD
Rushing		11 carries, 49 yards, TD
Receiving	Kyson Brown	2 receptions, 73 yards, TD

No. 7 (FCS) Idaho

See also: 2024 Idaho Vandals football team.

Statistics	IDHO	WYO
First downs	14	16
Total yards	225	270
Rushing yards	124	144
Passing yards	101	126
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	12–21–0	10–26–0
Time of possession	31:20	28:40

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Idaho	Passing	Jack Wagner	12/21, 101 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Nate Thomas	15 carries, 64 yards
Receiving	Jordan Dwyer	6 receptions, 66 yards
Wyoming	Passing	Evan Svoboda	10/24, 126 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	DJ Jones	17 carries, 80 yards
Receiving	Will Pelissier	1 reception, 38 yards

BYU

See also: 2024 BYU Cougars football team.

Statistics	BYU	WYO
First downs	23	13
Total yards	458	217
Rushing yards	140	77
Passing yards	318	140
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	25–39–1	14–32–1
Time of possession	33:22	26:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
BYU	Passing		22/36, 291 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Jake Retzlaff	6 carries, 62 yards
Receiving	Chase Roberts	6 receptions, 129 yards
Wyoming	Passing	Evan Svoboda	14/32, 140 yards, 1 INT
Rushing	Evan Svoboda	10 carries, 42 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Tyler King	3 receptions, 52 yards

at North Texas

See also: 2024 North Texas Mean Green football team.

Statistics	WYO	UNT
First downs	15	28
Total yards	244	534
Rushing yards	69	216
Passing yards	175	318
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	15–28–0	30–43–0
Time of possession	28:13	31:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing	Evan Svoboda	11/23, 155 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Sam Scott	11 carries, 39 yards
Receiving	John Michael Gyllenborg	5 receptions, 56 yards
North Texas	Passing		28/41, 305 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Shane Porter	13 carries, 120 yards
Receiving	DT Sheffield	8 receptions, 109 yards, 1 TD

Air Force

See also: 2024 Air Force Falcons football team.

Statistics	AFA	WYO
First downs	19	19
Total yards	320	361
Rushing yards	205	173
Passing yards	115	188
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	6–13–0	16–22–0
Time of possession	28:32	31:28

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Air Force	Passing	John Busha	6/13, 115 yards
Rushing	Aiden Calvert	3 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Cade Harris	5 receptions, 106 yards
Wyoming	Passing	Evan Svoboda	15/21, 165 yards
Rushing	Sam Scott	19 carries, 97 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Chris Durr	3 receptions, 71 yards

San Diego State

See also: 2024 San Diego State Aztecs football team.

Statistics	SDSU	WYO
First downs	16	19
Total yards	356	371
Rushing yards	102	190
Passing yards	254	181
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	16–27–1	12–31–2
Time of possession	29:17	30:43

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
San Diego State	Passing		16/27, 254 yards, TD, INT
Rushing		25 carries, 87 yards, TD
Receiving	Jordan Napier	4 receptions, 91 yards, TD
Wyoming	Passing	Evan Svoboda	12/31, 181 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Sam Scott	20 carries, 94 yards, TD
Receiving	Jaylen Sargent	2 receptions, 84 yards, TD

at San Jose State

See also: 2024 San Jose State Spartans football team.

Statistics	WYO	SJSU
First downs	19	20
Total yards	366	498
Rushing yards	56	176
Passing yards	310	322
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	18–38–3	21–39–2
Time of possession	36:16	23:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing	Evan Svoboda	14/27, 194 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Sam Scott	14 carries, 35 yards
Receiving	John Michael Gyllenborg	5 receptions, 137 yards, 1 TD
San Jose State	Passing		20/38, 318 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Floyd Chalk	12 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Justin Lockhart	4 receptions, 129 yards

Utah State (rivalry)

See also: 2024 Utah State Aggies football team and Utah State–Wyoming football rivalry.

Statistics	USU	WYO
First downs	23	24
Total yards	378	470
Rushing yards	148	276
Passing yards	230	194
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	26–41–0	17–31–1
Time of possession	25:10	34:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Utah State	Passing		25/39, 194 yards, 2 TD
Rushing	Rahsul Faison	23 carries, 131 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Otto Tia	6 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
Wyoming	Passing	Kaden Anderson	15/24, 182 yards
Rushing	Sam Scott	11 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Chris Durr	9 receptions, 83 yards

at New Mexico

See also: 2024 New Mexico Lobos football team.

Statistics	WYO	UNM
First downs	30	22
Total yards	604	576
Rushing yards	262	412
Passing yards	342	164
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20–29–1	16–31–1
Time of possession	37:13	22:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing	Kaden Anderson	20/29, 342 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing	Harrison Waylee	27 carries, 170 yards, TD
Receiving	Jaylen Sargent	6 receptions, 186 yards, TD
New Mexico	Passing		16/31, 164 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Devon Dampier	12 carries, 207 yards, 3 TD
Receiving	Ryan Davis	6 receptions, 74 yards, TD

at Colorado State (Border War)

See also: 2024 Colorado State Rams football team.

Statistics	WYO	CSU
First downs	10	17
Total yards	237	446
Rushing yards	117	248
Passing yards	120	198
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	13–30–0	15–18–0
Time of possession	25:10	34:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing	Kaden Anderson	13/30, 120 yards
Rushing	Jamari Ferrell	6 carries, 74 yards
Receiving	Jaylen Sargent	3 receptions, 45 yards
Colorado State	Passing		14/17, 192 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Justin Marshall	16 carries, 104 yards
Receiving	Tommy Maher	1 reception, 53 yards, 1 TD

No. 12 Boise State

See also: 2024 Boise State Broncos football team.

Statistics	BSU	WYO
First downs	15	14
Total yards	352	319
Rushing yards	185	116
Passing yards	167	203
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	14–26–0	15–27–0
Time of possession	25:56	34:04

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Boise State	Passing	Maddux Madsen	14/26, 167 yards
Rushing	Ashton Jeanty	19 carries, 169 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Cameron Camper	5 receptions, 73 yards
Wyoming	Passing	Kaden Anderson	9/14, 116 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Harrison Waylee	16 carries, 69 yards
Receiving	Jaylen Sargent	4 receptions, 86 yards

at Washington State

See also: 2024 Washington State Cougars football team.

Statistics	WYO	WSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wyoming	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Washington State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2023 Football Coaching Staff . University of Wyoming Athletics . 27 January 2024.
2. Web site: 2024 Wyoming Football Schedule . FBSchedules.com . 27 January 2024.