The Wyoming Cowboy football team has just wrapped up their spring practice practices, and there was a lot to take away from their spring game including highlight plays, players and position groups. Here’s what I took away from this spring and what’s in the cards for the Cowboys as we approach ever so closer to the 2025 season.
Cowboys Find a Clear Identity
Head coach Jay Sawvel stressed all offseason and throughout the spring that he needed his team to play with more physicality and violence. After wrapping up their spring practices, it seems as if his hopes for a more violent football team have been accomplished.
“I think we’re a better football team than what we were a year ago at this time,” Sawvel said.
Still, if this team wants to avoid the disaster that was a 3-9 finish a season ago, they’re going to have to stay hungry and never satisfied. It was easy to see that complacency was the largest culprit of the disappointment a season ago–and the leaders of this year’s squad are keen on not letting it plague this team this year.
“I think it’s just human nature, after coming off a season like two years ago to be [complacent]. We won nine games, you got everything rolling, we don’t need to do anything crazy,” John Michael Gyllenborg said of the team’s mindset last spring.
“I think coming off last season, now that chip is on our shoulder…we just have a different mindset.”
While the program as a whole may not be new to the underdog role, this team will be wearing that role with pride this upcoming season, knowing they have a lot to make up for after what happened a year ago.
“We haven’t done anything yet, we are a winless football team in 2025 and we have to approach it that way,” Sawvel said.
Highlight Players and Plays
This year’s Cowboy football team is highlighted by its abundance of youth–and for much of their spring game, it was their youth that were making highlight worthy plays, on both sides of the ball.
Redshirt freshman Gary Rutherford, who Sawvel has appropriately nicknamed “Hell on Wheels” was easily the highlight of the defense, as he finished with a team-high 11 tackles and was even able to pick off a pass by quarterback Landon Sims.
“Gary’s going to be a really good player here,” Sawvel said of the young linebacker. “He has this motor that does not stop. He will be around the ball every play he’s in, so that’s a big thing that you really appreciate.”
Fellow redshirt freshman Dash Baumann also finished with 11 tackles and could be a guy to look out for this fall as well.
“Dash has a lot of learning still to do [but] Dash is in a good spot,” Sawvel said.
Brooklyn Cheek, another redshirt freshman who recently transferred from California was also another standout, as he was able to perfectly read a Kaden Anderson pass for an interception.
With a 21-7 final score in the intra-team spring game, the defense as a whole impressed, as the whole unit finished with five turnovers.
There was still a lot to be impressed with on the offensive side of the ball, though, as again some of the Cowboys’ youth stole the show on that side of the ball as well.
Under-the-radar sophomore wideout Bricen Brantley was the first receiver of the day to snag a touchdown pass, as he made an incredible contested catch in the corner of the endzone, earning some impressed gasps from within the crowd. Junior tight-end Isaac Schoenfeld–who has also flown under the radar this spring–also made a touchdown grab.
Redshirt freshman running back Nico Hamilton–who unfortunately suffered a broken arm, the only injury from the spring game–was also often featured in the backfield, showing off some tenacious ball-carrying ability after finishing with 73 yards on 17 carries.
Most impressive of all may have been the performance of freshman quarterback and Wyoming native Mason Drube, who saw lots of action in the spring game. Drube finished throwing 16/29 for 175 yards, including an impressive longball to Jaylen Sargent down the middle for 47 yards. Drube did cap the game off with a pick, but still showed great promise for the future at the quarterback position and could even be a contender to back up presumed starter Kaden Anderson.
“I think that was good for a lot of people to see what Drube looks like, how he can throw. There’s a lot of talent there and he’s going to be a really good player.”
While the spring game can only tell you so much, it’s clear that the Cowboys have the right mindset heading into the 2025 season–and hopefully, the results will come along with it.
