The 2024 Recruiting Road So Far: Wyoming

Welcome to the twelfth and final piece of our twelve-part series that hopefully makes the dead period go by a bit quicker. These articles aim to provide a detailed look at what each team has done thus far on the recruiting trail and what work still needs to be put in before NLI day in February. One team a day will be featured this year in alphabetical order. Today will look at Wyoming.

Wyoming:

Wyoming was hopeful heading into the 2023 season, with their defense lining up to one of their best ever. Things started off as well as possible, with a double over-time upset victory against Texas Tech to open the season. They followed it up by beating Portland State and were tied with Texas going into the 4th before losing. They won the next three games, including an upset against Fresno State, and then fell to Air Force in one of the best Mountain West games of the season the following week. The Cowboys got destroyed by Boise State, won the Border War, and lost to UNLV before going on a three-game win streak to end the season, with the latter being the bowl game against Toledo and also the last game of Craig Bohl’s coaching career.

Because Coach Bohl handed the reigns to defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel, the retirement news did not impact their recruiting class. To see how they did this year, read below.

The Road So Far:

Wyoming has had a steady, if not spectacular, recruiting presence under Coach Bohl, and that continued in their 2024 class. Out of the 17 players in this class, all of them are high school players, which is a rarity these days. 8 are on offense, while 9 are coming in to play defense. The Cowboys did the majority of their work in the Midwest and Plains regions, signing players from Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, and California.

On the offensive side of the ball, Deyon Batiste has the size and athleticism to potentially give their offense another dimension at quarterback. Dontae Burch will be another talented running back in the position room. Chris Durr Jr. is a small, speedy wide receiver who is very different than the taller ones Wyoming usually recruit, but tight ends Hunter Kallstrom and Jake Wilson fit the mode of the taller targets they prefer to use in the passing game. Size is the word used to describe the trio of offensive linemen in this class. Braylon Jenkins will likely be a guard, but Brycen Lotz and Giovanni Poanozzo definitely project as tackles.

Looking at the defense, the Cowboys brought in two interior linemen from Texas in Garrett Combs and Nathan Murphy, and while they both need to add weight, they have the talent. On the ends, Alex Haswell and Eltoum Murgus both have great size and length, but again, it wouldn’t hurt for them to put some weight on over the next year or two. Adrian Onyiego, Dash Bauman, and Gary Rutherford are the linebackers signees for new DC Aaron Bohl to mold as he continues LB coach duties and all three of them has ideal height for the position. Lastly, Wyoming signed two defensive backs, Daegon Bryant and Tyrese Boss. The former will likely be a safety while the latter is almost sure to be a cornerback at the college level.

Number who signed in December: 17

Number who will enroll early: 3

247 Composite Rankings:

• Overall: 111th
• Recruiting: 111th
• Transfer: N/A

The Road Ahead:

Top Targets Remaining: WR, DB

Wyoming made some great gains signing this group in December, but they have some additional work to do in this class. They often aren’t very active in the transfer portal and it will be interesting to see if that changes with Coach Sawvel at the helm.

With only one wide receiver in the fold, it would make sense to add players there, especially as they continue to look to be more dynamic in the passing game going forward. Likewise, adding more defensive backs to this class would be beneficial as they continue to retool at this position of the defense. Wyoming did not lose as many players

With only one offensive lineman in the fold, it would make sense to add players there, especially given how many of their starters are upperclassmen. Likewise, it seems odd the Cowboys aren’t taking any linebackers so expect one or two to pop up before February. The same goes for tight end, which is a position Wyoming has featured heavily in their schemes over the years. Over the last two offseasons, the team has lot numerous players in the secondary. While they have added some high school players so far, one or two transfers would make sense to go along with those players.

As mentioned above, Wyoming’s use of the transfer portal is fairly new, but to a certain degree, it has become a necessity. Look for the Cowboys to add a few transfers in the next few weeks to go along with the group of signees listed above.

Previous Posts: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State

Coming next: Recruiting Month in February