Bouknight a ‘Pro’ When it Came to Hiring of New OC in Laramie

LARAMIE -- The difficulty of the situation isn't lost on Jay Sawvel.

In fact, some might call the task downright impossible.

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Wyoming's offense last fall was the definition of anemic, averaging just 16 points per game. Even that number is inflated, accounting for a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns and Deion DeBlanc's 73-yard punt return against San Jose State.

Take those three scores off the board and the harsh reality is: the Cowboys statistically had the second-worst offensive success in the country ahead of only winless UMass.

Jovon Bouknight was thrust into the role of playcaller after offensive coordinator Jay Johnson was demoted in mid-October. The results weren't pretty before that change. Afterward, aside from a 28-0 blanking of Border War rival Colorado State, it somehow got even worse.

Taking a Jones Thomas pick-six off the board in the season finale at Hawaii, that unit managed to score just 17 points over the final four games, all losses, including a 13-7 setback inside War Memorial Stadium right under the watchful eye of the reining NFL MVP and most-beloved alumnus, Josh Allen.

It's not hyperbole to call that stretch rock bottom. Sawvel does.

"We're taking a blow torch to that side of the football," the head coach said ahead of that trip to Honolulu that produced zero points from the offense.

He wasn't kidding, either. And that started with hiring a new coordinator, meaning Bouknight, a revered alum himself, was out of the running.

"No, I wouldn't say it was hard," said Bouknight, who gladly accepted his former role as the team's wide receivers coach. "I mean, it's the business, and if you've been around the game for a little while, you understand the business. Even when I went into the situation, I knew it wasn't a guaranteed deal."

Sawvel, who called Bouknight a "pro," was quick to point out the positives in his brief stint as the leader of that group.

One was the implementation of back-up quarterback Landon Sims. A package was added for the sophomore transfer during the bye week. He responded with 31 yards on five rushes, including a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to put the Cowboys on the board early against their biggest rival.

He threw 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive guard Caden Barnett in the backfield to serve as a lead blocker. Bouknight also added a new wide receiver against CSU, tapping Tyson Shamsid-Deen, who is not only a cornerback by trade, he was a true freshman.

Mass substitutions had been a major topic of conversation under Johnson's leadership. Too many moving parts led to a lack of rhythm. With skill players in and out of the lineup on a play-to-play basis, continuity suffered -- to say the least.

Not on that night.

"He had a handle on everything, every part of it," Sawvel said postgame, referring to Bouknight, who previously only called situational plays --third downs and red-zone opportunities -- during the 2017 season at Utah State and in the 2020 Gator Bowl when he was the wide receivers coach at Kentucky. "There was not a hesitation in a call.

"... As far as getting the call in, being decisive in the call and knowing exactly what he wanted to do in a situation, I thought he was really, really good."

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The wheels fell off following that outing.

After Sims led the visitors on an 8-play, 75-yard opening touchdown drive at San Diego State, the offense perfected dysfunction. Anderson tossed three first-half interceptions that led to 10 unanswered points in what would eventually be a 24-7 loss. To make matters worse, Sims, who by all accounts was set to become the full-time starter in a forgettable second quarter, suffered a torn ACL, his third such career injury, all in his left knee.

Wyoming managed just a field goal the following week in a 24-3 defeat at Fresno State. That took a 41-yard field goal off the right foot of Erik Sandvik. Even that scraped the crossbar on its way through.

Against Nevada, one of the worst teams in the Mountain West, Anderson and Co. managed just 220 yards of total offense, 77 of which came on a final drive that ended in disaster. Instead of throwing the ball into the end zone or out of bounds, the redshirt sophomore dumped a throw into the flat with the game clock dwindling.

The play went for a loss of four and the fire drill was on. An incompletion and an embarrassing loss followed.

"I'll never forget being the head coach and losing the Josh Allen game," Sawvel said postgame. "That'll stick with me till the day I die."

Sawvel immediately hit the road and reeled in his new playcaller and quarterback coach Christian Taylor. He spent the previous two seasons on the staff of the Buffalo Bills. He was tasked with breaking down NFL offenses. A longtime college coordinator, Sawvel said his innovation and relationships, among other aspects, put him over the top.

He also -- in a roundabout way -- facilitated the signing of the program's next quarterback.

Taylor recruited Tyler Hughes to William and Mary back in 2022. He pictured the 6-foot, 200-pound Georgia product as the prototypical dual-threat under center. He was exactly that last fall, becoming the first QB in Tribe history to throw for more than 2,300 yards and rush for 650 more.

Bouknight even has a couple of new faces in his room this spring with the addition of Justin Popovich and rookie Jayden Williams. He is also hoping to get a breakout campaign from returners like Ke'Lyn Washom, Bricen Brantley, Jackson Holman and DeBlanc, among others.

The ego was laid to the side when these offseason decisions were made. Bouknight said he looks at it all as a learning experience.

He's not buying the mission-impossible stuff, though, pointing the finger directly at himself when it comes to the late-season woes.

"When you're a guy who is a competitor, man, you don't look at it like that," he said. "You look at it to the point where, again, this was an opportunity, and it didn't, obviously, work out in your favor. But at the same time, I hear like, 'hey, you know, you kind of had your hands tied. It wasn't this, it was that.' You know, at the end of day, I did have a part to do with it. So I look at myself in the mirror and I understand that.

"But, like I said, man, it's just a part of growing."