Erick Pauley, field reporter for the Wyoming Cowboys radio broadcast, called into First Bank of Wyoming Sports Friday to talk about the Poke’s win last week and this Saturday’s game against Northern Iowa.

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(0:00) That’s Eric Pauly. (0:02) He does a lot, Mr. Pauly does. (0:06) Eric, of course, is the play-by-play voice (0:07) for the Green River Wolves, (0:09) so we see him on the road on a regular basis.
(0:11) He’s also the typical sideline reporter (0:14) for the Wyoming Cowboys broadcast on Learfield. (0:17) And also this week, he’s gonna be in the booth (0:19) filling in for Kevin. (0:20) So, by golly, Eric, what are you not doing these days? (0:29) Sleep, that’s about it, man.
(0:30) No, it’s the best time of year, man. (0:32) It’s game day, boys. (0:33) It’s always a good week.
(0:34) I’d say if you still got the energy (0:37) on a Friday and a Saturday, you’re in the right business. (0:39) So yeah, if that sounds like you got the right thing (0:42) going on, I’ll be honest with you, Eric, (0:44) I saw that this week, you’re gonna be in the booth, (0:46) and I thought to myself, first off, (0:49) that’d be really cool. (0:50) And then my second thought was, (0:51) what a jerk, he gets to do that.
(0:54) Yeah, you know, they put in brand new elevators (0:58) and air conditioning for me, guys. (1:00) Oh, wow, that’s right. (1:03) Yeah, I realized like two days ago, three days ago, (1:07) I thought to myself, I was actually driving back (1:10) from Pinedale, working on our station up there, (1:12) and I realized that I’ll be a part of a cool piece (1:15) of Wyoming football broadcast history (1:18) that nobody really cares about but me (1:20) and maybe other broadcasters, but I’ll get to call (1:23) the first game in the new press box.
(1:25) You know, that’s pretty sweet. (1:29) Yeah, us nerd types, it’s like, yeah, that is cool. (1:34) But it’s what the kids say, if you know, you know.
(1:38) So yeah, we know. (1:39) Well, Eric, let’s talk about the Cowboys (1:41) that had a nice opening win. (1:43) Feels like forever ago, (1:44) because they played on a Thursday last week, (1:46) but unlike maybe some who were kind of gnashing their teeth (1:51) at a 10-0 win at Akron, I came away from that game (1:54) feeling pretty encouraged in a lot of different ways.
(1:58) What were some of your takeaways? (2:00) Yeah, you know, it’s interesting watching (2:01) the Twitter sphere unfold during a game, right? (2:05) I don’t know why, but X sphere doesn’t sound right to me, (2:07) so I still call it Twitter. (2:09) But it’s interesting watching all of that fold out (2:12) on fans kind of headed towards the here we go again (2:15) kind of approach to a ball game like that. (2:18) And first of all, rewind to last year (2:20) and what we ran into at Arizona, right? (2:23) I mean, it was just, well, a college football playoff team (2:26) that nobody saw coming, you know? (2:28) And then on the road, we moved the football really well.
(2:31) We did not finish, which obviously is a huge key (2:35) headed forward, and we can’t do that again (2:38) and rely on the defense to shut a team out. (2:41) But you saw so many positives there (2:43) from places that we had question marks last year. (2:45) The linebacking crew is absolutely, I mean, (2:49) tenfold what we were last year, (2:50) just in terms of tackling in the open field.
(2:53) There’s more guys in the rotation there. (2:56) I thought, you know, one of Wyoming’s own, (2:58) Andrew Johnson, played a huge game. (2:59) And you just, you’ll love to see a kid that spent, (3:02) you know, four or five years in Laramie.
(3:04) He’s from Wyoming, and he gets to, you know, (3:06) go out as a starter making plays. (3:08) It’s just, I don’t know, there’s nothing like that. (3:10) And then, you know, I wondered halfway through, guys, (3:13) I’m curious how you feel.
(3:15) If that game finishes 30 to 20, (3:19) do people feel differently about that as fans (3:21) than a 10-0 ballgame? (3:23) I guess I’ll take that one. (3:25) Personally, I would have felt worse, (3:27) because one of the top things I was encouraged by (3:30) in the game was the defense, (3:32) because coming into the season, (3:34) I thought the defense had a lot more questions, (3:36) at least on paper, than the offense did. (3:39) You had a lot more offensive players coming back (3:41) who’d at least played and done some things on defense.
(3:44) I’m like looking at the roster going, (3:46) don’t know 90% of these guys. (3:48) So for them to come out and play the way they did, (3:51) and basically take a quarterback (3:52) who threw for 2,500 yards last year, (3:55) and make him look like a JV quarterback, (3:58) that was honestly the thing I was most encouraged about. (4:01) So I think I would have felt a little worse.
(4:03) Yeah, it felt like Wyoming football, didn’t it? (4:06) I mean, like our kind of development (4:09) over the last 10 years generally (4:10) has been a really strong defense (4:13) and an offense that can keep you in the ballgame. (4:15) And we have a really strong defense, we saw that. (4:18) And we saw an offense that put up over 400 yards.
(4:21) So I’m hoping you get that home field advantage, (4:24) you’re in your own house, (4:24) you feel a little bit more comfortable. (4:27) Hopefully Jalen Sargent is back producing, (4:30) and even just running routes to take away the defense. (4:33) But there was a lot of things there (4:35) that made me feel much better (4:37) about the question marks this season (4:38) versus the question marks we had last season.
(4:40) So I think the Cowboys did really well in the portal. (4:43) Of course, Eric, you have a unique perspective (4:46) because you’re on the sidelines with the team (4:48) and you’re down there in the trenches (4:49) and you get a real sense of kind of the emotion of it (4:52) and how things are going. (4:53) And it was interesting to hear your reports (4:54) during the radio broadcast (4:55) and you talked about the focus and the intensity of it.
(4:58) Are you seeing a little difference this year? (5:01) I mean, again, it was just one game. (5:03) Again, it was Akron, it wasn’t Arizona. (5:06) But it seemed like just from your reports (5:08) that it felt like things are different this year already, (5:12) just on the sideline feel.
(5:14) Yeah, I spent some time kind of reflecting (5:16) on why it felt like that to me when we were flying back. (5:20) And this is a completely my take. (5:22) This isn’t, you know, (5:23) I haven’t even bounced this off of anybody, (5:25) but two years ago, you had some of the super seniors, (5:31) that got the extra year from COVID.
(5:33) And you had those leadership names that were around. (5:36) You had Easton, you had Frank Crum, (5:39) you had guys that were pretty old leaders on the team. (5:42) And we had a fantastic season, right, in 23.
(5:46) And it felt like last year, (5:47) we had almost what felt like a leadership hangover (5:50) on the sideline. (5:52) And you had a lot of guys coming into those roles (5:55) as leaders on the sideline who had never done it before. (5:59) And then this year, (6:00) it just, it kind of felt like more of a collective (6:02) across the sideline.
(6:03) Like you had somebody from each position group (6:06) Caden Barnett’s barking at the offensive line, (6:09) and Andrew Johnson’s in the defensive back huddle. (6:13) And then the coaches too. (6:14) And this is something I think was lost on people (6:16) is that, yeah, we had a first year head coach (6:20) that had been on the Wyoming coaching staff.
(6:23) But you take a look at the coaching staff for Wyoming, (6:24) you got a lot of guys that are in their first year, (6:26) second year, third year being a coordinator (6:29) or being one of the position coaches. (6:31) And it takes as much time for them to figure out, (6:33) you know, kind of who is who on the sideline (6:36) in terms of who’s gonna be the rah-rah guy, (6:39) who’s gonna be the discipline guy. (6:40) And then also just learning to coach together.
(6:42) It’s just like learning to play football together. (6:44) So I thought we cleaned up a lot of the, you know, (6:47) game management stuff that we had some issues with (6:49) last year. (6:49) It wasn’t perfect, (6:51) but it just, it felt like leadership was different (6:53) on the sideline this year versus last year.
(6:55) Eric, another thing I’ve kind of noticed (6:57) about Coach Sauvel is, (6:59) well, I mean, let’s be honest, (7:00) when you’re covering sports, (7:02) there’s even a name for it, CoachSpeak. (7:04) Coaches kind of answer certain things. (7:06) It was rampant in the NFL game last night (7:09) with the answers of some of the questions (7:11) they were getting.
(7:13) But I’ve noted that Coach Sauvel, (7:15) you go back to last year, (7:16) at the end of last year, (7:17) he said, we’re gonna do this, this, and this (7:19) starting right now, (7:20) and we’re gonna tear this down, (7:21) we’re gonna rebuild this up. (7:23) And at the time that he said it, (7:24) I’m like, okay, yeah, whatever. (7:26) Because you’re thinking it’s CoachSpeak.
(7:28) Listening to him now (7:30) and kind of just going through each position, (7:33) group, and things like that, (7:35) I think he does what he says he’s gonna do. (7:39) It’s not just CoachSpeak. (7:40) And then he is just remarkably transparent about it (7:45) in comparison to a lot of coaches, (7:46) especially the coach he replaced with Coach Bull.
(7:49) Coach Bull was, yes, there’s a football game on Saturday, (7:52) and we’ll see you there. (7:54) That was about it. (7:55) But yeah, he’s been very upfront and transparent (8:00) about what he’s wanted to do.
(8:02) And so when you talk about game day atmosphere (8:03) and as far as leadership and things like that, (8:07) I think that stuff was getting kind of cultivated (8:09) over the last nine months. (8:11) Yeah, and I guess this is broadcaster speak, right? (8:16) When you say that he’s a player’s coach, right? (8:19) And some people may not know what that means (8:21) if they’ve never been on the field (8:22) or been around a guy like that. (8:23) But he’s involved with his players.
(8:27) Like he commands from a point of authority. (8:31) But there’s no two ways about, you need to do this, (8:34) you need to do that, (8:35) and he’s point blank serious with them. (8:37) But he’s also their biggest champion.
(8:40) So those guys love playing for Coach Sauvel, (8:42) and I think that was the number one reason (8:44) that he became the guy. (8:45) And we kept so many guys out of the portal. (8:48) He kept what, I think, eight of the nine (8:50) that he said that he had on a list for this year.
(8:53) I think that speaks volumes about not only him as a coach, (8:57) but also your teammates, right? (8:58) Because those guys want to stick around (9:00) and play for their teammates, (9:01) or they like their teammates, (9:02) or they like the city of Laramie, (9:04) or they like the University of Wyoming. (9:06) And so being able to keep those guys in the portal (9:08) speaks to that, I think absolutely, (9:10) in terms of him as a coach. (9:12) And I tell you, man, if there’s anybody (9:15) that gets way less sleep than us broadcasters (9:18) this time of year, it’s a head coach (9:19) and a college football team, man.
(9:21) That’s year round for them, (9:22) building for this next year, (9:24) and then hoping all the pieces come together. (9:25) And I think we’re headed on the right track. (9:27) Yeah, no doubt at all.
(9:28) So of course, Wyoming hosting Northern Iowa tomorrow. (9:31) As you’ve looked at Northern Iowa, (9:33) what are you seeing, and what are you expecting (9:35) from that team in Laramie tomorrow? (9:37) You know, I watched about an hour of film (9:39) between yesterday and the day before, (9:41) and I’ll say this, their offensive line is real, fellas. (9:46) They’re old for a college football team these days.
(9:50) They’ve got, I think, three seniors, (9:51) a junior, and a sophomore on their offensive line. (9:54) They got some big boys. (9:55) Their right tackle, Lightfoot, I believe is his last, (9:58) or maybe Goodfoot is his last name.
(10:01) He’s 6’7″, 300, and he can move. (10:04) And all those guys are strong. (10:06) All those guys move really well on the run game.
(10:09) They’ve got a downhill runner in the backfield. (10:11) So our defensive tackles are in (10:13) for a little different flavor (10:14) than they saw last week against Akron, certainly, (10:17) just in terms of the size and the speed (10:18) that’s gonna be in front of them. (10:21) But by no means do they look like a superhuman (10:24) FCS team or anything like that.
(10:26) They will be able to run the football, (10:28) and that’ll come down to the game plan for the Cowboys. (10:31) And I like our chances offensively. (10:33) I don’t remember a receiver group this good (10:36) for the Cowboys in a really long time.
(10:38) And it feels like almost sacrilege to say (10:40) for the Wyoming Cowboys that we got (10:43) a great group of receivers, right? (10:44) Because we don’t really throw the football. (10:46) But who do you cover when Sargent’s on the field, (10:49) Durr’s on the field, Jackson’s on the field, (10:52) Gillenborg’s on the field? (10:53) I mean, you have so many targets out there, (10:56) and I don’t think speed-wise they’ve got a match (10:59) for our skill guys on the other side of the ball. (11:02) Well, the other position group, (11:04) I’m kind of anxious to see if he’s kind of… (11:07) I just said how transparent he is, (11:09) but I think one position group (11:10) that we haven’t really seen unleashed yet as well (11:13) was the running back room, (11:14) because we’ve read all the stuff about that, (11:17) and then Sam Scott carried it 29 times last week.
(11:21) So I don’t know that that’s gonna happen again, (11:24) but it seems like the running back room (11:27) is as deep as it’s been in a long time, too. (11:30) Yeah, he says they’re eight deep there. (11:33) Like, there could be eight guys (11:34) that touch the football this year.
(11:36) And I even, egg on my face, right, (11:38) when I did my keys to the game, (11:40) my little video segment on social media before the game, (11:43) I was like, can’t wait to see this running back room. (11:45) And we got Sam Scott on top of Sam Scott, (11:48) which, by the way, he ran phenomenal. (11:50) He did a great job, I thought, (11:52) of even getting a little bit lateral in that game, (11:55) which he’s not known for.
(11:56) But that’s something I also think… (11:59) I know I talked to you guys about this last year (12:00) during basketball season, after football season was over, (12:03) and something I think was lost on people a lot of the time (12:06) with Evan Sabota in the backfield (12:09) was that he was in there as a running back, a quarterback, (12:12) because we literally had no running backs last year. (12:16) And so I’m excited to see the depth. (12:18) I’d like to see if we’ve got kind of that third down back (12:21) in that mix, you know, (12:22) somebody that’s gonna be able to get out (12:23) and catch some stuff in the flats (12:25) and get downfield on screens and things like that.
(12:27) But if you can’t get fired up about Sam Scott (12:30) running the football at like 225, 230 straight downhill, (12:34) man, you’re in the… (12:34) We’re watching the wrong game. (12:36) That was exciting to watch him bruise people. (12:38) That’s Eric Pauly.
(12:39) He’s going to be in the booth with Keith Kelly tomorrow (12:42) for the Wyoming Cowboys radio broadcast (12:44) as they take on Northern Iowa. (12:46) Kickoff’s scheduled for two o’clock. (12:48) And of course, we’ll have the game live (12:49) right here in Lincoln County on the Spur.
(12:51) Eric, thank you for your time. (12:53) We appreciate it. (12:54) And yeah, warm up that elevator over there (12:57) at the New Memorial.
(12:58) Yeah, I’m up there, fellas. (12:59) Thank you guys. (13:00) And to all your listeners out there, (13:03) I know they already know it, (13:04) but you guys put on such an incredible product (13:06) during high school season.
(13:07) Man, I love watching your games when I get a chance, (13:08) and it’s the best product in the state. (13:10) You guys do a great job. (13:11) I appreciate that.
(13:12) We’ll see you in the Green River game in a few weeks. (13:15) All right, sounds good, fellas. (13:16) That’s Eric Pauly this morning, (13:18) joining us on First Bank of Wyoming Sports Friday.