Jay Sawvel on Chris Durr Jr: ‘We Need to Get Him The Ball’

LARAMIE -- There was no challenge issued. A seminal moment didn't occur, either.

It was simply a realization after four games of futility: Who can stretch a defense?

The answer: Chris Durr Jr.

"We need to get him the ball," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel bluntly said during his Monday press conference. "We need to get him going. He's a playmaker for us and we need to utilize him. So, we're going to continue to utilize him, we're going to continue to play him and he's going to have a big role for us going forward."

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The true freshman wide receiver snagged three passes for a game-high 71 yards in a 31-19 victory over Air Force.

His first grab came on the second snap of the third quarter. Durr found the soft spot in the zone, caught an easy five-yard pass and immediately spun out of a would-be tackle. That's when he turned on the jets and weaved past an oncoming defensive back. He was eventually shoved out of bounds 32 yards later.

The next catch came on the ensuing possession. The 5-foot-10, 171-pound speedster showed off his toughness, hauling in a 16-yard strike over the middle just before getting planted by Camby Goff, the safety he dusted on the previous drive.

Wyoming would go on to score 14 points in that frame.

Sawvel said the final completion to Durr was strictly intended for him. With starting quarterback Evan Svoboda forced to the bench for one play after his helmet was ripped off, back-up Kaden Anderson trotted onto the field. The Cowboys were facing a 3rd-and-4 from their own 31.

Surely first-year offensive coordinator Jay Johnson would opt to run the ball with a redshirt freshman under center, a 24-19 lead and just under seven minutes to go in regulation, right?

Nope.

Anderson, in the teeth of an oncoming blitz, was able to thread a quick screen pass to his right. Durr hauled in the toss before dodging Goff again and following his blockers for a 23-yard gain all the way down to the Falcons'  46-yard line. Six plays later, Svoboda would glide into the end zone from 17 yards out to lift Wyoming to its first win of the 2024 campaign.

"It felt really good," Durr said. "I felt like I was made for the moment. Like, there was never a moment where it was too big or no catch was too hard for me. It was just -- it was perfect for me. I feel like I could have been contributing to this team more, and I hope in the future games, I can contribute more."

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Why didn't this epiphany from the coaching staff happen sooner?

Sawvel mentioned the word "redefine" after a lopsided Week-4 loss at North Texas. That has a number of meanings, one being getting the ball in the hands of players like tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, wideout TK King and running back Sam Scott.

He also mentioned Monday it alludes to opening up the scheme. That entails jet sweeps, motions and utilizing all 53-plus yards across.

"At times, we got where we were kind of too packed in a little bit against some of the people we were playing," Sawvel said. "We need to try to stress every edge of the defense, as well."

That's where Durr comes in. Well, sometimes.

Mike Grant said when the offense runs its "12 personnel" -- two tight ends, two receivers and one running back -- it's best to have size and experience on the field. That isn't Durr's game, he added. The veteran wide receivers coach also said this new attack, one that features plenty of spread concepts, too, is a constant work in progress, littered with new weapons on the outside.

That is Durr's game.

"It's not going to be a deal where it has to happen overnight, and we didn't expect it to be that way," Grant said of this Cowboys' passing game, which is ranked 126th overall out of 133 FBS programs. "We didn't expect some of the struggles that we're having, but we are still in the process of building."

Morale was admittedly low, Durr said, after the team's fourth straight loss to open the season. Not only from a roster standpoint, but a personal one. After catching three passes and the Cowboys lone touchdown in a 48-7 opening-night rout at Arizona State, Durr was targeted just twice over the next three weeks.

The 18-year-old wondered why he wasn't getting an opportunity.

"I was like, 'Dang, coach, like, I feel like I should be playing,'" Durr recalled. "'Like, what's the problem? If it's anything I can improve on, just, you know, tell me.' He was just like, it's nothing. It's just this game is a bang, bang game. I don't see no need for you to go in there bang with guys that are bigger. So, I understood it.

"I just kept my head down, waiting for my number to be called."

It finally was. This likely won't be the last time, either.