A Cell-Phone Ban, Player-Only Meeting and One Embarrassment Later

LARAMIE -- Jay Sawvel, standing behind the podium postgame, looked to his right at a black digital clock with red numbering that hangs high above the doorway inside the team's official meeting room.

It read: 4:49.

In less than three hours, after having dinner with a host of recruits in town for official visits, Wyoming's third-year head coach said he would return to this very building to get an early jump on the game plan for next week's opponent.

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Sure, he was still riding high from the 27-10 victory over Hawaii that just transpired inside War Memorial Stadium, but he was also admittedly reinvigorated by the resolve and refocus the roster -- and assistant coaches -- showed over the previous six days.

The proof was laid out for all to see in the last four hours with nearly 21,000 looking on.

"We weren't connected enough," Sawvel said, bluntly. "We weren't playing for the love of playing with our teammates. We found that today. We played with a great joy."

What sparked this coming-out party?

It all started in soggy Mount Pleasant last Saturday. Central Michigan, a one-dimensional outfit that averaged roughly 50 yards per game through the air and was coming off a close call at home against Colgate, humbled the Cowboys in every phase of the game.

Angel Flores and Co. rushed for an eye-popping 339 yards and three touchdowns in that 24-10 laugher. The visitors managed just two tackles for loss on 59 attempts. They also turned the ball over twice, Tyler Hughes threw two forgettable interceptions, the painful one landing right in the hands of Justin Taylor -- a former Wyoming player.

Missed tackles, another slow start, blown assignments, a continuing turnover plague and failure to overcome adversity were all culprits. The real depressing part, though, was the demeanor on the sideline.

To a man, this lineup says they care deeply. It wasn't showing -- or producing.

So, what changed?

For starters, cell phones are no longer permitted in the pregame locker room, a decision widely mocked this week on social media. Sawvel said that was the result of a team decision.

"'Let's do away with that,'" was the message delivered last week. "I went to a bigger group of players, and I said, 'This came to me from some guys, what do you think about that?' They're like, "Coach, we're all for it.'"

Sawvel painted a picture of what things used to look like. Imagine yourself, he continued, sitting at your gate at the airport, waiting for a plane. That means headphones in, neck bent, thumb going to work on a screen.

"That's what humans do anymore," he added. "But humans don't get ready to go out and hit somebody, so we had to change our approach a little bit on a few things."

Now, there's a "big-ass speaker" in the Cowboys' dressing room, "pounding music out" right now, Sawvel said with a grin. That, he added, is the trade off.

Did it work?

Wyoming did score on its opening drive for the second time this season when Erik Sandvik booted through a 28-yard field goal. Though the defense did give up three points in its initial appearance of the afternoon, it held high-flying Hawaii to just a touchdown over the final 50 minutes of regulation.

There was passion from that unit, too.

Steven Perez, a young, energetic linebacker, blew up a short pass Saturday, sniffing out the play early before exploding into running back DeVon Rice near the perimeter. The California product popped right up, violently pumping his fists after the 3-yard loss.

Jayden Williams has had an interesting start to his junior season, to say the least.

The 294-pound defensive tackle was spotted by cameras, knocking down at least two Colorado State students during a postgame celebration earlier this month. Last week at CMU, he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after verbally ripping an official late in the fourth quarter.

Saturday, though, the Texas native registered three tackles, including the first sack of his career. He stood up, crossed his arms, and provoked the onlooking student section. Sawvel was fired up, too. He got animated, paying a quick visit to every defensive position group on the home sideline and shouting these words of encouragement: "Great f------ job! Keep f------ going!"

Therman "Boogie" Williams did some celebrating. So did Brooklyn Cheek, Jones Thomas, Jaden DaCosta and Gary Rutherford, among others.

After the final whistle, the home sideline flooded over to the northwest corner of War Memorial Stadium. There the Paniolo Trophy was snatched up by a host of players. The traveling prize was hoisted up for all to see.

The fun, it appears, is back.

And it wasn't just because they ditched the devices, either.

"I think, as a team, we really needed to come together as one -- and that's exactly what we did," said Perez, who finished with a career-high six tackles. "We had players-only meetings, and we all just came together as one: as a family and as a unit. I'd say the biggest emphasis on today's game was we played for each other, every play. (Even) on kickoff, everybody was saying, 'I'm make this play for you.' That's what we did."

Thomas echoed those same sentiments.

"I feel like it just brought the team closer together, made us feel more connected and want to go out there and play for each other and do it for the guy next to us," the junior safety said.

Why didn't this happen from the very beginning?

"I feel like when you get a new team with a lot of transfers, it might take some time," Thomas added. "But, today, it clicked."

Sawvel admitted he challenged his players and staff this week after the "embarrassment" in Michigan. That message was loud and clear. More importantly, it was accepted.

Wednesday, Sawvel said, is when he could really tell this team was working with an entirely new mindset.

"This was a completely different football team," he added.

Hughes, despite the disparaging local headlines last week, said he didn't take this game personal. There was no added emphasis to prove anything to anyone. The graduate transfer quarterback, who capped his day completing 17-of-23 for 204 yards through the air, always has the same goal: Improvement.

One category he excelled in was not giving the ball away, something that has been an issue for the Georgia product throughout his first three games in a Cowboy uniform.

It looked different Saturday because it is different, he said. The results -- and visual proof -- is right there.

"When you're on your phones, it's easy to let the outside noise creep in," Hughes said. "I think it's the right thing to do: put down the phones and just worry about Cowboy football. Then, you go handle business. That's the result of that. I mean, just play for your brother and don't worry about everything else because, opinions, you can't satisfy everybody."

One person was very pleased with the outcome: the embattled head coach.

He praised everyone in that victorious -- and boisterous -- locker room just through the door below the clock. The fight song was audible. So were the cheers. Sawvel hopes that becomes the norm around here.

"You should see the same type of energy every single week the rest of the way through," he added. "We've got a team that's really close. We have a team that really cares for each other. We had to eat a little s--- last week, but that also kind of brought us all together.

"... I think we can expect to get better as we go forward here."

Sawvel said he won't make any promises going forward, but Saturday showed what the current version of this program is capable of doing.

"We were missing a love. We were missing a spark. We were missing some of those things," he added. "I talked to players about how are we going to get some of this right, and I want this to be like what we saw today. That's the energy and juice I want all the time on this team."

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