Cowboy Football Hits Field Tuesday For Start of Spring Practice
From the desk of Nick Seeman/Wyoming Athletics
LARAMIE, Wyo. (March 25, 2024) – The Wyoming Cowboy football team opens spring practice on Tuesday afternoon under first-year head coach Jay Sawvel. The Cowboys bring a back a whole host of players with eight starters back on defense with seven on offense and one special teamer.
In total the Brown and Gold welcomes back 48 letterwinners.
The Cowboys will practice 15 times in the spring including the annual spring game on Saturday, April 27 at 1 p.m. at Cheyenne East High School.
Thoughts from Head Coach Jay Sawvel
“We got work done (Tuesday) and we will see tomorrow how it looks on film. It is just good to get back out on the field. There was a lot of energy and there was a lot of good spring so yeah, it’s exciting to just get started. There was the eagerness and the enthusiasm and the overall work ethic. We had a good pace going for us for a first practice.”
A Look at the Offense
All-Conference Returners on Offense/Special Teams
Harrison Waylee, Senior, RB
Wyoming has five offensive and special teams players returning who earned All-Mountain West Conference recognition in 2023.
Phil Steele, Second Team
Jack Walsh, Junior, OG
Phil Steele, Third Team
Returners for 2024 on Offense/Special Teams
Alex Brown, Senior, WR 39 Career Games
John Hoyland, Senior, PK 45 Career Games
Dawaiian McNeely, Senior, RB 26 Career Games
Evan Svoboda., Junior, QB 10 Career Games
Nofoafia Tulafono, Senior, C 36 Career Games
John Michael Gyllenborg, Junior, TE 25 Career Games
Will Pelissier, Graduate, WR 29 Career Games
Harrison Waylee, Senior, RB 32 Career Games, 10 at UW
Sam Scott, Junior, RB 35 Career Games
Devin Boddie, Jr., Junior, RB 32 Career Games, 13 at UW
Jack Walsh, Junior, OG 23 Career Games
Caden Barnett, Junior, OT 23 Career Games
Luke Sandy, Sophomore, OG 13 Career Games
Wes King, Sophomore, OG 13 Career Games
Returners for 2024 on Defense Jordan Bertagnole, Graduate, DT 43 Career Games
Wrook Brown, Junior, Nickel 25 Career Games
Tyrecus Davis, Senior, CB 9 Career Games
Wyett Ekeler, Senior, SS 39 Career Games
Gavin Meyer, Senior, NT 35 Career Games
DeVonne Harris, Graduate, DE 43 Career Games
Sabastian Harsh, Junior, DE 25 Career Games
Braden Siders, Junior DE 25 Career Games
Shae Suiaunoa, Graduate, LB 47 Career Games
Isaac White, Senior, FS 40 Career Games
Transfer Additions
Scholarship transfer players who are joining the Wyoming offense in 2024 include:
Alex Conn, Junior, OT Previous school: Iowa Western
D.J. Jones, Graduate, RB Previous school: North Carolina
Tyler King, Sophomore, WR Previous school: Texas Tech
Returning Statistical Leaders
Alex Brown, Senior, WR 8 catches, 106 yards
John Hoyland, Senior, PK 13 Made field goals, 56-yard long
Evan Svoboda., Junior, QB 200 yards passing, 80 rushing
John Michael Gyllenborg, Junior, TE 23 catches for 360 yards and three TD
Will Pelissier, Graduate, WR 7 catches for 79 yards and one TD
Harrison Waylee, Senior, RB 947 yards rushing, 94.7 per game, 5 TD
Sam Scott, Junior, RB 237 yards rushing, 11 catches for 77 yards
The key losses for the Wyoming offense
Ayir Asante, Graduate, WR Graduated
Frank Crum, Senior, OT Graduated
Ryan Marquez, Senior, WR Graduated
Andrew Peasley, Senior, QB Graduated
Treyton Welch, Senior, TE Graduated
Wyatt Wieland, Senior, WR Graduated
Career Notes on Offensive Returners
• Running back Harrison Waylee has rushed for 2,876 yards in his career with 15 touchdowns
• Waylee ranked 17th last season in active rushers in career rushing yards. He ranked No. 24 in the nation in rushing yards per game at 94.7
• Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg recorded the longest touchdown reception of the season for the Pokes with an 89-yard score against Hawaii.
• Wyoming returns most of the offensive line with the only loss being tackle Frank Crum. Nofofia Tulofono has played in 36 career games with Caden Barnett and Jack Walsh each playing 23 games. The group was on the Mid-Season Watch List for the Joe Moore Award, which goes to the best offensive line in the nation.
A Look at the Defense
All-Conference Returners on Defense: Wyoming has four defensive players returning who have earned All-Mountain West Conference recognition during the 2023 season. Those players are:
Jordan Bertagnole, Junior, DT
Phil Steele, First Team
Mountain West Coaches and Media, Second Team
Gavin Meyer, Senior, NT
Pro Football Focus, First Team
Phil Steele, Fourth Team
Sabastian Harsh, Junior, DE
Phil Steele, Third Team
Shae Suiaunoa, Graduate, DLB
Phil Steele, Third Team
Wyett Ekeler, Senior, DB
Phil Steele, Third Team
Top Returners for 2023 on Defense
Jordan Bertagnole, Graduate, DT 43 Career Games
Wrook Brown, Junior, Nickel 25 Career Games
Tyrecus Davis, Senior, CB 9 Career Games
Wyett Ekeler, Senior, SS 39 Career Games
Gavin Meyer, Senior, NT 35 Career Games
DeVonne Harris, Graduate, DE 43 Career Games
Sabastian Harsh, Junior, DE 25 Career Games
Braden Siders, Junior, DE 25 Career Games
Shae Suiaunoa, Graduate, LB 47 Career Games
Isaac White, Senior, FS 40 Career Games
Scholarship transfer players joining the defense
Evan Eller, Graduate, LB Previous school: Virgina Military Institute
Returning Statistical Leaders
Jordan Bertagnole, Graduate, DT 60 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s, 2 Sacks
Tyrecus Davis, Senior, CB 27 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 INT
Wyett Ekeler, Senior, SS 77 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s, 2 INT, 7 PBU
DeVonne Harris, Graduate, DE 35 Tackles, 4 TFL’s, 4 Sacks
Sabastian Harsh, Junior, DE 50 tackles, 9 TFL’s, 3 Sacks
Gavin Meyer, Senior, NT 26 tackles, 3.5 TFL’s, 1 blocked kick
Braden Siders, Junior, DE 26 tackles, 5 TFL’s, 4 Sacks
Shae Suiaunoa, Graduate, LB 93 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s, 2.5 Sacks
Isaac White, Senior, FS 61 Tackles, 1 INT, 7 PBU
Key Defensive Losses
Easton Gibbs, Senior, LB Graduated
Cole Godbout, Graduate, NT Graduated
Jakorey Hawkins, Senior, CB Graduated
Career Notes on Defensive Returners
• Defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole has recorded 23 tackle for loss in his career along with 10.5 sacks.
• Defensive ends DeVonne Harris and Sabastian Harsh along with Braden Siders have combined for 25 sacks with 12 from Harris, 10 from Siders and three from Harsh.
• Safeties Wyett Ekeler and Isaac White have combined for 313 career tackles. White has 162 with Ekeler adding 151.
• Linebacker Shae Suiaunoa has 179 for his career with the Cowboys. He is behind Bertagnole’s 180 for his UW career.
Open Practices on April 6 and April 13
Fans will get an opportunity to see the Cowboys in person with a pair of open practices alongside the spring game. The first open practice will be set for an 11 a.m. start, a youth football clinic will be held prior to practice at 10 a.m. Open practice on the April 13 time will be announced prior to the practice.
Youth Clinic on April 6
Join Cowboy Football on Saturday, April 6th for a free youth clinic. The clinic is open to all kids ages 6-12. The clinic will start at 10 AM and run for 45 minutes before the Cowboys practice. Check-in will start at 9:15 AM. Stick around after the clinic to watch the Cowboys practice! Want to bring more than 5 kids to the clinic? Email athleticsmarketing@uwyo.edu to get all the kids on the list!
Schedule of Events
9:15 AM - Check-in for clinic begins
10:00 AM - Youth Clinic
11:00 AM - Cowboy Football Practice (Open to the public)