GALLERY: Svoboda, 18 Others Eager to Showcase Skills

LARAMIE -- The learning curve was a steep one for Evan Svoboda.

He had never laid a block or caught a football and the techniques of the position couldn't have been more foreign. Still, the 6-foot-5, 251-pound senior never deviated from his original goal: Playing in the NFL.

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That whatever-it-takes mindset helped him transition to the tight end spot after spending a lifetime under center.

"That's just kind of how I've always been," Svoboda said in 2024. "I just kind of put everybody ahead of me. It's just being selfless. I just want to do what's best for this team, what's best for these coaches and for the guys, my teammates."

It would've been real easy for the Mesa, Ariz., product to wave the white flag after losing his starting job late that fall. Statistically, he was the least-efficient quarterback in the FBS, completing just 49.1% of his passes to go along with eight interceptions and just five touchdown tosses.

The fan reaction online was brutal. That carried over into War Memorial Stadium, where Svoboda was booed when entering a game against Utah State in the fourth quarter.

Would you have blamed him for bolting?

Instead, he approached head coach Jay Sawvel with an idea: to switch positions.

"Whatever it takes to win -- I want to do that," Svoboda told him that November.

He did make that move, returning for his final season on the high plains. He snagged just 11 passes for 92 yards, but in his final game, he snatched a five-yard laser from his replacement, Kaden Anderson, in the end zone.

"It's been a while," Svoboda said from behind the podium postgame, flashing a smile. "It was fun, exciting. There was a guy who tried to come up behind me and I thought, 'this is going to be a tip, I might not get this.' It kind of just ended up in my hands and I got the job done."

Svoboda is one of 19 former players who will showcase his skills in front of NFL scouts Wednesday in Laramie at the program's annual Pro Day. Doors to the indoor practice facility will open at 9:30 a.m. and the event is open to the public.

Here are the other Cowboys who will participate:

* Jevon Davis not pictured

* In an earlier version of this story, it was stated that Cheyenne's Andrew Johnson will be competing in Pro Day. The former safety will not be in attendance. He was hired by the 157th Fighter Squadron in South Carolina where he will become a fighter pilot for the U.S. Air Force. We regret this error.