Evan Svoboda: ‘Whatever it Takes To Win — I Want To Do That’
LARAMIE -- Evan Svoboda finally received the news he'd been dreading -- he was being benched.
Wyoming's junior quarterback struggled mightily through the first eight weeks of the season, completing less than 47% of his passes. He also threw the ball to the other team seven times.
Worst of all, the team had just one win up to that point.
Jay Sawvel, the week prior, implemented a two-quarterback system, giving more than half the workload to redshirt freshman Kaden Anderson. The Cowboys scored on five of six possessions with the young Texan at the helm. Svoboda, on the other hand, fired a costly interception into the arms of Utah State defensive back Jordan Vincent with just 35 seconds remaining in the first half.
That turned into a touchdown two plays later. That also put Wyoming in a 10-point hole at the half. The visitors would eventually boot through a 40-yard field goal at the buzzer to eke out a 27-25 victory.
Sawvel ripped the Band-Aid off the following Monday.
Svoboda, it turns out, had a message for the rookie head coach, too.
"He came to me the week we played New Mexico and just said, 'Look, I want to contribute in any way possible,"' Sawvel recalled. "We talked about, you know, what some of those things were."
We all found out what that entailed on the second play from scrimmage last Friday night in Fort Collins. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Svoboda trotted onto the field and lined up on the left edge of the line of scrimmage.
He's the Cowboys' newest tight end.
For now, anyway.
"That's just kind of how I've always been," Svoboda said of his decision to switch positions. "I just kind of put everybody ahead of me. It's just being selfless. I just want to do what's best for this team, what's best for these coaches and for the guys, my teammates.
"That's just my perspective and my mindset. So, whatever it takes to win -- I want to do that."
Svoboda's roommate and fellow tight end, John Michael Gyllenborg, said he wasn't surprised in the slightest that this move was made.
"It's just who he is -- he's a team player, he's a leader and he just wants to contribute in some way that he can," the junior added.
Though he still carries the title of back-up signal caller, Sawvel said Svoboda is a "natural" when it comes to running routes and catching passes downfield. Blocking, that's still admittedly a work in progress. That will happen. The Arizona product said he has never played another position aside from little-league linebacker.
"I said, 'You're liking this aren't you?' The first thing he said was, 'I'll like it a lot better when I can breathe,'" Sawvel said with a smile.
Svoboda, on the third play from scrimmage against San Diego State in Week 7, took an inadvertent fist to the face. It was the second time in two weeks, he added, that a hand came right through his facemask and hit his nose.
The damage is apparent. Svoboda has a wrinkle across the bridge.
"My septum is deviated, which is making it hard to breathe," he said. "And it's slightly broken, so I've got to get it all fixed. That last one really jacked it up."
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Svoboda wasn't targeted in his debut at Colorado State. He lined up for roughly 8-to-10 snaps, he added. On his initial play, he was briefly wide open in the Rams' secondary, too.
"Yeah, I think a little bit," he joked.
Anderson, with defensive back Dom Jones bearing down on him, instead checked it down to Nick Miles in the flat. The ball was dropped.
Soon, said Gyllenborg, who was forced to watch from the sideline last Friday with a shoulder/ collarbone injury, those passes could be headed in the direction of No. 17.
"If they decide to keep him at tight end, that'll be exciting," he added. "I think, if you give him an offseason, he could be pretty dangerous."
Is Svoboda reinvigorated with this move? You bet. He said reading defenses is second nature. That can only help the process. Technique will follow as reps increase. He's admittedly raw.
"I kind of get to show my athleticism a little bit more," he said. "It gets me in open space, you know? I'm really looking forward to it."
Svoboda has proven he can be a threat with the ball in his hands.
In that same game against the Aztecs, he took a direct snap, veered to his right and patiently waited for his blockers to go to work. Once that happened, Svoboda blew through the hole and outraced the secondary for a 51-yard touchdown. He also weaved his way through Air Force's defense en route to a game-clinching 17-yard score, too.
Sawvel said he hopes this move is a permanent one.
"I think it fits him," he said. "Again, there's going to be a conversation at the end of the season to make sure that's exactly what he wants to do. I hope that's something that he does want to do. We'll see. But right now, you know, he's open to doing it, and he's playing both positions. We got a lot of work to do with him."
Svoboda is certainly open to the idea, especially with Anderson solidifying himself as the starter and three-star Campbell County QB Mason Drube enrolling at Wyoming in the spring.
He said his plan is to return next season and exercise his final year of eligibility. Where Svoboda will lineup is still to be determined. His mind, he says, is on finding a way to upset Boise State this Saturday inside War Memorial Stadium.
The other stuff can wait.
"I mentioned to (Sawvel) that this is just something I want to play around with right now," he said. "You know, I love playing quarterback, but if I could just be utilized -- like we just talked about, whatever it takes to win -- you can throw me out there at kickoff return or something. I'll do anything."
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