Pokes Practice Report: Is There Really A Kicking Competition?

LARAMIE -- If the season started today, Erik Sandvik would be the starting placekicker on the Wyoming football team.

Those are Jay Sawvel's words.

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The second-year head coach, who also focuses on the kicking game, hesitated Friday to call this a true battle, but said the door isn't completely closed on redshirt freshman Keelan Anderson.

"I'd say Sandvik has a little edge on Keelan, but it's close," Sawvel said, adding that this duo has yet to face a live rush through the team's first four practices.

Sandvik, a Steamboat Springs, Colo., native, doesn't exactly have a wealth of experience. He showed up at a summer camp in 2023 and went 10-for-10 on field-goal attempts, impressing the staff enough to receive a walk-on opportunity.

The sophomore, and former soccer standout, attempted just two kicks in high school.

Anderson, a Cheyenne native who made headlines with a record-breaking 61-yard boot during his final year at South High School, has shown marked improvement this offseason, Sawvel said.

Both worked with their personal kicking "guru" this offseason, the head coach added, thanks to revenue-share funds. Anderson is under the tutelage of Ben Fentress, who was once employed as the kicking coach at UW under Craig Bohl.

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Whoever does win the job will be tasked with replacing John Hoyland, the program's all-time leading scorer.

Currently a member of the Baltimore Ravens, Hoyland connected on 73-of-92 field-goal attempts during his five seasons in Laramie. He also made all but one extra point, drilling 147-of-148 opportunities.

Hoyland spent the spring at his alma mater, working with Sandvik and Anderson.

"He has a smooth motion that he can draw great power from with less effort," Hoyland said of Sandvik last February. "He uses his taller frame to his advantage. He has a fantastic, laid-back personality in the locker room that makes it so easy to be around him."

What about Anderson?

"Keelan is an athlete that just so happens to kick, which he uses to his advantage," he continued. "He uses a very attacking approach to the ball with a lot of intent and power. He projects confidence in his abilities and finds ways to connect with just about anyone in the locker room."

Here are some other news and notes from Friday's practice inside War Memorial Stadium:

* While Sawvel was in the mood to list potential starters this fall, he did say, as of now, Bart Edmiston would be the Cowboys starting punter. The Jones College transfer averaged 50 yards per attempt in practice on Tuesday. During his final JUCO season in Mississippi, he netted 44.7 per kick on 89 attempts. Carson York will once again handle long-snapping duties as true freshman Charlie Houston waits in the wings. Edmiston did do some holding Friday, but Sawvel said right now that job belongs to back-up punter Gavyn Helm.

* Physicality was the main theme of Wednesday's workout on the North 40. Nothing changed this afternoon on Jonah Field. Running back Max White and safety Jones Thomas had a few violent collisions. Fellow ball carrier Terron Kellman got the better of cornerback Isaac Sell and rookie Samuel "Tote" Harris threw a shoulder into safety David Leonard near the sideline after a big gainer. Brayden Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker, got some payback for the defense, putting running backs Dontae Burch and White on their respective backsides. To think, this team is still just in shoulder pads. The real hitting starts on Monday.

* Kaden Anderson was on target all afternoon, connecting with tight end Evan Svoboda over the middle on a third-down opportunity and hitting Jaylen Sargent on a pair of deep balls. Fellow wideout Bricen Brantley was also on the receiving end of a few beauties from the sophomore signal caller. "Kaden Anderson was pretty sharp," Sawvel said. "I thought that was good."

* There are position battles galore on this roster. And Sawvel, for one, loves it. He said Sam Scott better be ready every day if he hopes to land 20-plus carries out of the backfield every game. If he doesn't, North Texas transfer Damashja Harris will be waiting to pounce. If he's not, White will be right there. If he slips up, Kellman will pick up the pieces. "It helps us, because then we become maybe a little bit injury resistant at some point in time," Sawvel added. "You get a running back, he gets banged up, and the next thing you know, I'm sitting in here telling you guys on a Monday that this guy's out, and we got to run the quarterback all the time because we didn't have any running backs. That's not going to be the case, so I'm excited about that."

* He mentioned another running back, too: Samuel "Tote" Harris. The true freshman showed off his wheels and elusiveness a time or two during Friday's two-plus hour session. Sawvel has been impressed with the Cibolo, Texas product, who ran a 10.5 in the 100-yard dash. "It's not really hard to figure out that guy might do something for us sometime," he said. "Look, during his time at Wyoming, whenever that starts for him, Sam Harris is going to hit a bunch of home runs. There's not been a back here that has that gear. None, including anybody that's departed (reading through the line -- TK King). Nobody has that gear. So, he's got a chance."

* John Michael Gyllenborg, the team's starting tight end, missed Friday's practice with an unspecified illness. Jaylan Bean has been dealing with a nagging right foot injury and was forced to the sidelines. Fellow wideout Jackson Holman is still nursing a hamstring issue he suffered last Monday.

* Tight end Landon Pace, son of former No. 1 overall pick and NFL Hall of Famer, Orlando Pace, has been impressive through four practices. The rookie already stands 6-foot-3, and weighs in at 240 pounds. He certainly looks the part. "He's a good athlete," Sawvel said. "He works hard, he's got a great attitude. There's a lot of ability there."

* Wyoming will open the season Thursday, Aug. 28 at Akron. The "Rubber City," as it's known, is 112 miles north of Barnesville, Ohio, Sawvel's hometown. He said Friday that he will be dishing out roughly 100 tickets to family and friends, who will be taking a bus to the game. He also has a healthy contingency coming from Mount Union College, his alma mater, in Alliance, Ohio.

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