Wyoming’s Staff, Players Still Have Ultimate Confidence in QB1

LARAMIE -- The stunned looks and sarcastic eye rolls all but answered the question.

They decided to use their own words anyway.

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Does this Wyoming team and its coaches still have ultimate confidence in starting quarterback Evan Svoboda after last Saturday's forgettable outing in Tempe?

"I can tell you this, Evan Svoboda is going to be a really good quarterback at the University of Wyoming. He really is," head coach Jay Sawvel said Monday, repeating the faith he has in the junior signal caller that he publicly shared postgame after the 48-7 loss to Arizona State. "Was he last Saturday night? No. Will he be this Saturday? I hope. All right, but there's going to come a time where we're all sitting there and we're all going to be really happy that he's the starting quarterback at Wyoming because of the skill set that has, because of the talent that he has and because of the investment and buy-in that he has.

"What we've got to do is help that come along."

Svoboda, who was named the Cowboys starter last December, just days after Sawvel accepted the job, completed just 6-of-15 passes for 42 yards and two interceptions in the loss to the Sun Devils. The Mesa, Ariz., product was picked off on his first attempt of the night. ASU linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu returned it 29 yards to give the home team a 7-0 lead just 41 seconds into the contest.

Svoboda at times appeared uncomfortable and erratic. He said Monday that could have to do with playing so close to his hometown.

"You know, I wasn't stiff or wound up, just being back in the home state, I would say a little bit of pressure," he admitted. "Just a pressure to perform and just really go out and perform well. I think that was kind of in the back of my mind. Now, obviously, I'm always poised and I can always have a short-term memory, and just kind of lose it and (on to the) next play, but I think just a little bit of pressure."

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Svoboda's first collegiate start came last September in front of more than 100,000 fans crammed inside Darrell K. Royal Stadium. With Andrew Peasley sidelined with a sore shoulder, Svoboda and the Cowboys went toe-to-toe with the No. 4 team in the nation, taking a 10-10 tie into the fourth quarter. Eventually the Longhorns pulled away late, winning 31-10.

A calm, collected Svoboda completed 17-of-28 throws for 136 yards that night in Austin.

Sawvel said he isn't making radical changes to the lineup with Idaho coming to town for the home opener this Saturday. The offensive scheme isn't changing, either. He still believes in what this team is doing, the goals it's capable of reaching.

That will come with Svoboda under center, he added.

Others agree.

"I texted Evan yesterday," starting right guard Jack Walsh said on Monday. "I told him, 'I love you, man, and you're one hell of a quarterback. You were born for this.' It's hard to block out (the noise). There's so many people that say stuff, but what they say does not matter. They don't. There's a reason they're in the stands and we're on the field."

"Yeah, 100%," freshman wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. added, referring to his belief in Svoboda. "I'll always believe in him, no matter what. Nobody's perfect. Even the best players, the best quarterbacks -- Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady -- they've all played a bad game. It happens. He's human.

"... We're going to be back. We're going to be better. We're going to show everyone what we're made of."

Sawvel said Monday he received a death threat in his email last weekend after the lopsided loss. He added Svoboda, along with offensive coordinator Jay Johnson and himself, have been the "hottest lightning rods in the program."

Svoboda said he won't focus on that stuff. Johnson said he is "locked in" on making improvements. When asked about his QB, he went straight into football lingo, avoiding the social media and message board venom currently being spewed.

"Evan will be fine," Johnson said. "I mean, it comes down to, even after that (start) -- and he started to play with a different energy as the game progressed -- he kind of got past it. I need him to get past it quicker, and he will in the future.

"... Focus on what's next and simply -- plain and simple -- here's the play call, execute it."

While you might think this next start is the most important of Svoboda's young career, you'd be right and you'd be wrong. It's big because it's the next one, he said, but the mentality isn't changing.

"It's important to go out there and prove to everybody and show everybody -- my team -- what I can do. You know, being that guy," he said. "But, like I said, same approach, same mindset, 1-0, Cowboy tough."

Wyoming and Idaho are slated to kickoff inside War Memorial Stadium at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be televised on TruTV.

"You know, he's a leader on this team, he's a captain and we love him to death," sixth-year defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole said postgame in Tempe. "Everybody's going to have an off-day. I mean, we're just going to build. We have his back 100%. So, I'm really looking forward to getting back to The War and being able to bounce back from this one."

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players