Jay Johnson: Building a Balanced Offense at Wyoming

By Jeff Bugher

jeff@pokesnews.com

8/3/2024

Wyoming offensive coordinator Jay Johnson. Photo courtesy of UW Athletics

Following the retirement of University of head coach Craig Bohl in late 2023, defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel became his successor following the bowl game. In December 2023, Wyoming's offensive coordinator, Tim Polasek, left the team to become the head coach at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. Aaron Bohl was promoted internally to the defensive coordinator role to fill the gap Sawvel left due to promotion. In early 2024, Jay Sawvel announced the addition of Jay Johnson, formerly the OC at Michigan State, as his pick to replace Polasek as offensive coordinator. We were fortunate to be able to interview Jay via telephone from Laramie, Wyoming.

Biggest Influences

Who have been Johnson's biggest mentors during his career? "I've been around so many different people. I think I've really taken bits and pieces from so many people. If you go back to my college coach, Terry Allen, to Jeff Bauer at Southern Miss to Kirby Smart, Jim Cheney at Georgia, I mean the list goes on and on. I don't know that I can really pinpoint one of those particular folks, but I've been blessed to go to a lot of different places and work with a lot of different people. I think those experiences have kind of continued to help me evolve and get to where I'm at today."

Offensive Philosophy

Retired head coach Craig Bohl used the term "one-dimensional" to describe his offense several times. Run-first? Maybe… Johnson told us his offensive philosophy centers on adaptability and balance. He emphasized the importance of running and throwing the ball effectively. "Multiple but simple. You need to be able to run the football with physicality, but you also need to be able to throw the ball," Johnson said.

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Johnson said the game and personnel will dictate the play calling. "We need to adapt, and I think you go to the individual game—certain defenses lend themselves to doing certain things, so it's kind of a combination of things there and still a work in progress. We'll see how that ends up," said Johnson. "The most pivotal things we're really going to have to focus on is winning situational ball—the third downs, the red zone areas, those critical situations. It has to start with our physicality and being able to run the football and throw it," Johnson concluded.

Key Players to Watch

Johnson spoke highly of freshman wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. When asked if we could see Durr Jr. on the field this year, Johnson responded: "Yeah, I think there's a possibility. I've been very pleased with Chris. He enrolled early in the spring and had a really productive spring. He's continued to grow physically with what he's done with the strength guys in the weight room. I anticipate him to continue to grow. We're still early in camp, but he's been a very productive player thus far and is good with the ball in his hands." Wyoming will certainly need him, as the wide receiver room is thin coming into the season.

Regarding quarterback Evan Svoboda, Johnson highlighted his physical and mental growth. "He's very physically gifted, but the part I've been very pleased with is he's done a really nice job mentally—learning the scheme, learning defenses, and learning football. He's very coachable in the meeting room and on the field. When you couple those mental traits with his physical abilities, I'm hoping he can do some really good things." The Mesa, Arizona QB is set to start his second career college game in Tempe to open up the season.

Johnson highlighted the growth and potential of tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, praising his physical abilities and work ethic. "He's just such a workhorse, very physically gifted...he can become a significant threat on the field," Johnson noted.

At Home in Wyoming

Johnson and his wife, Laurie, are feeling right at home in Wyoming. "It's been awesome. We've really enjoyed it. We got to the Tetons this summer, and we've been doing hikes when time allows on the weekends here in the Laramie area. It's a really neat area, and the people have been awesome. We're excited to be here."