By Jeff Bugher
9/2/2024
LARAMIE, Wyo. – During today’s Monday press conference ahead of Wyoming's home opener against Idaho, head football coach Jay Sawvel reflected on the Cowboys' disappointing performance against Arizona State last weekend and shared his outlook for the upcoming game.
“First of all, major disappointment about Saturday night,” Sawvel began, addressing the team's 41-7 loss. “Give credit to Arizona State... But, major disappointment on our part from Saturday night, and that's fully my responsibility.”
Sawvel continued to take responsibility, “During the course of the game, we needed to figure out a way to get to calmer water, and we weren’t able to do that,” he explained. “We just kept staying in the storm and weren’t able to stabilize one way or the other, offensively, defensively.”
Sawvel was also honest about the team’s failure to manage crucial moments in the game, saying, “We didn’t play well enough. We had the intent to play well. Our players played hard, but our lack of execution or finish in certain situations kept giving us an obstacle that we couldn’t quite get over.”
Despite the setback, Sawvel remains optimistic, “There’s a full belief in this football team that we'll be a good football team. And that we have the capacity to be a good football team, because I’ve seen that a number of times, not only from players here in the program in the past, but also out on the practice field in the spring and in fall camp.”
Sawvel on facing Idaho at home, “We’ve got a very, very good team coming here this week, very good head coach with Jason Eck, who’s done a tremendous job at the University of Idaho.” “This isn’t some program that may get to .500. These guys are serious. They can make a serious run.”
Sawvel, being a defensive guy himself, highlighted the strength of Idaho’s defense. “Defensively, they’re very experienced, very physical, tackle very well. I mean, they beat the dog out of Oregon physically,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of experience on the back end. They’ve got good corners and linebackers who have a lot of experience. This is a really good defensive team.”
One particularly concerning aspect of the press conference was Sawvel's mention of a threatening email he received following the Arizona State game. “I had one email that said that they hoped that I got shot,” Sawvel revealed. “When you get to that point, you just tell people…just ignore this part.”
Sawvel spoke a bit about mental health and moving forward, saying, “If the people who are around you every day still believe in you, then you’re going to be just fine. We can’t control any of it. We’ve got to figure out a way to get to 1-0 this week, regardless of how poorly we played this past week.”
Sawvel also said that the staff and coaches are very focused on learning from their mistakes and moving forward. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that what happened last Saturday night never happens again,” Sawvel vowed. “We’re all in it together, and we share it. But as coaches, we know that starting today, when we’re back on the practice field, it’s our job to fix it.”
The Wyoming Cowboys will play the Idaho Vandals this Saturday at War Memorial Stadium. They are looking to bounce back and secure their first win of the season. Kickoff is set for 1:30 PM.
Injury Updates:
DeVonne Harris: Sawvel confirmed that Harris will be out for an extended period due to an elbow injury.
Nate Geiger: Geiger will be evaluated for a knee issue throughout the week, and his status remains uncertain.
Dawaiian McNeely: McNeely will participate in live tackling drills to determine his readiness for the upcoming game. Sawvel mentioned that McNeely seems to be in a better physical condition recently, though he won't be expected to carry a heavy load immediately.
John Michael Gyllenborg: The status of John Michael Gyllenborg is still unknown as of the presser.
Depth Chart:
Depth Chart Source: UW Athletics
Don't forget to sign up for our email list, and follow us on our socials!
Subscribe to receive our newsletter here (no spam, we promise): Subscribe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pokesnews
X (formerly known as Twitter): https://x.com/Pokes_News
Comentarios