Pokes Practice Report: Chris Durr Jr. a Menace in The Slot

LARAMIE -- Chris Durr Jr. bolted off the line.

At the five-yard mark, the sophomore wideout shimmied his feet before suddenly hitting the brakes. He quickly turned toward his quarterback. The perfectly-placed pass was already en route.

The Chicago product found the soft spot in the zone, a trademark route he ran time and time again during his rookie campaign.

It was roughly an 8-yard gain.

Then, he did it again. And again.

Get our free mobile app

Durr, who is all but guaranteed to be the Cowboys' starting slot receiver on opening night in Akron, added a fourth catch during that impressive looking two-minute drill. He took advantage of a courteous cushion. This time, though, he shook the first would-be tackler and dashed through the defense for a big gainer down inside the 5-yard line.

That possession, which featured double-digit snaps, was capped by a short Sam Scott plunge into the end zone with less than 10 seconds remaining on the game clock.

"Chris is a substantially better player than he was a year ago," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said Thursday night, during the team's open scrimmage inside War Memorial Stadium. "He's bigger, stronger, faster, better."

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* UW Partners With Buffalo Bills For Brand Awareness, Recruiting

* Mental, Physical Hurdles Now in Lucas Samsula's Rearview

* Andrew Johnson Eyeing Starting Job in Swan Song at Wyoming

* Wyoming Linebacker Evan Eller Mashed the Reset Button in '24

* Wyoming to Host Open Scrimmage inside War Memorial Stadium

* Pokes Practice Report: How Aggressive Will Sawvel be on Fourth Down?

* Two-Year Gap Remains in Border War Football Series

* Boisterous Barnett Setting Tone in Camp, Urgency at Forefront

* Wilson's Announce $90,000 in Donations to Wyoming Non-Profits

* Wyoming Announces Game Times for Pair of Home Contests

* Pokes Practice Report: Edge Rushers Looking to Punish Passer

* Jay Sawvel: 'We'll Play Wyoming Football Again'

That's a scary proposition for the rest of the Mountain West.

Durr, who stands at just 5-foot-10 and tips the scales at 173, hauled in 31 balls for 348 yards and a touchdown last fall, immediately becoming Kaden Anderson's favorite target once the then-redshirt freshman signal caller slid into the starting role with a month remaining in the regular season.

It appears Anderson could have some additional weapons at "Y" spot, too.

"Eric Richardson, I thought he did a couple things this evening," Sawvel added, referring to the 5-foot-11, 190-pound transfer from Northwest Missouri State. "Deion (DeBlanc) is a really talented young player. I think we've got a chance there, a little bit."

The latter is a true freshman who turned down the likes of Oregon, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Arizona State and a number of other Power-4 programs during the recruiting process.

His redshirt status, according to Sawvel, is nonexistent. He'll play. In fact, the head coach said last week, DeBlanc has already been named the starting punt returner.

Here are some additional observations from a picture-perfect night on the high plains:

* Noticing a theme here? Wyoming finally appears to have a number of playmakers at the receiver spot. Hallelujah, am I right? Durr and Brantley picked up the slack on a night when a number of wideouts were in street clothes. Jaylen Sargent received a well-deserved off-night. Jackson Holman (hamstring), Jaylan Bean (shoulder) and Tyler Nystrom (concussion) were held out. Sawvel said he expects all three to be back in the mix by Sunday. Michael Fitzgerald, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Central Missouri, made a couple of beautiful grabs in the back of the end zone. Both landed out of bounds, but you can clearly see this guy is going to cause fits in the red zone.

* Sawvel also gave starting center Jack Walsh and offensive guard Caden Barnett the night off. Tyce Westland (defensive end) and Ben Florentine (nose tackle) were also on the sidelines. So was tight end John Michael Gyllenborg, along with Sargent.

* There have been a few bumps and bruises along the way during this physical fall camp. Offensive linemen Brandt Rice (pectoral) and Quinn Grovesteen-Matchey (knee bruise) are sidelined. So is linebacker Gary Rutherford (knee sprain), edge rusher Esaia Bogar (hand), safety Brooklyn Cheek (concussion) and tight end Jake Wilson (knee). Sawvel said all of the above should return to practice before the regular season gets underway Aug. 28 at Akron. Wilson, a redshirt freshman, could miss the opener, but isn't expected to be out long term.

* Three NFL scouts were in attendance Thursday: New Orleans, Arizona and Washington. If they came to see Gyllenborg, Walsh or Barnett, they were out of luck.

* Sawvel said it was an important night for his running backs. Though no official stats were immediately available, it was mostly tough sledding for the Cowboys' backfield. Dontae Burch had a big gainer late. Rookie Samuel "Tote" Harris weaved his way into the end zone from four yards out. Scott hammered it over the goal line, too. "I don't know, it was kind of a mash up," Sawvel said of the performance. "I'll have to go back and watch the video on that one."

* Sawvel said there could be a few "four-game guys" on the current roster. What does that mean? You can play that many games without losing your redshirt status. Linebackers Parker Moore and Steven Perez are on the short list. So is tight end Kyle Frendt.

* Who has racked up the most yardage this fall of any player on Wyoming's roster? Surely it's a wide receiver, right? A cornerback? A safety? Nope. Nope. Nope. That title belongs to senior linebacker Brayden Johnson. Huh? "We chart and check everything," Sawvel said. "The guy runs to the ball so hard, all the time. He's ran the most yardage of any player of ours since we started practice on July 28. I was stunned when I saw that." The 6-foot-3, 248-pound Oklahoma Baptist transfer said he's simply doing his job. "It's just, coach (Aaron) Bohl has a big thing of us just running to the ball every play and being there," Johnson said in a soft, southern accent. "So, that's what I'm trying to do."

* Johnson not only hustles, he shows up with bad intentions. As Sawvel would say, he "took a soul" on kick coverage Thursday. He also had a violent collision with a ball carrier. "That guy is freaky strong," Sawvel added. "He's big and he moves well."

* All eyes are on Erik Sandvik. The sophomore placekicker, who attempted just two field goals during his prep career at Steamboat Springs High School (Colo.), is currently the favorite to win the starting job out of camp. Why? He gave us all a glimpse Thursday night, booming a 55-yard attempt with room to spare. That capped a two-minute drill, soaring through the uprights as the game clock hit zeroes. After both sidelines erupted, Sawvel gave Cheyenne product Keelan Anderson a crack at it. He had plenty of distance, but the ball banged off the left upright.

* With Walsh and Barnett getting a rest, that duo was replaced by Luke Sandy and Braylon Jenkins, respectively. Nate Geiger started at left tackle, Rex Johnsen at right. Wes King, another presumed starter, was at left guard. Offensive line coach Joe Tripodi is in search of depth. Sawvel said he was happy with the workload, each receiving more than 40 snaps.

* Not sure if I'm reading too much into this, but the starting secondary consisted of Justin Taylor and Jones Thomas at the safety spots, Desman Hearns at nickel and Ian Bell and Tyrese Boss at the corners. Sawvel said on Monday he has yet to name a single starter on the back end.

* Jones College (Miss.) transfer Bart Edmiston showed off his All-American right leg not only on a pair of booming punts Thursday, but also handling kickoff duties. Is that a permanent thing? Sure sounds like it. Edmiston reportedly nailed a 69-yarder -- in the air -- at the Cowboys' first scrimmage last week.

* As always, make sure you are following us on social media: Facebook and X. Also, have you downloaded our totally free app yet? You can do that right HERE. You can also sign up for our daily newsletter right HERE. Catch up on all the latest Wyoming football news right HERE.

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players