Cowboys add 21 players on national signing day

Feb. 2—LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming football team added 21 players to its roster on national signing day Wednesday, including eight transfers and 13 high school commitments.

Eight of the 21 new players are on scholarships, and the other 13 are preferred walk-ons. Five of the 13 preferred walk-ons graduated high school in the state of Wyoming.

The new additions bring UW's recruiting class to 35 players after the school signed 14 student-athletes on early signing day in December. Out of the 35 players in this year's class, 22 will be on scholarship.

"We kept our foot on the gas pedal," UW coach Craig Bohl said during Wednesday's news conference."... We addressed a good portion of our needs on the first signing day, so I really think that we supplemented our roster coming into the 2023 season."

The program had a "three-prong approach" to this year's recruiting season, Bohl said. That included identifying needs in the transfer portal including at running back and wide receiver, building depth through traditional high school recruiting and utilizing walk-on spots to provide opportunities for younger players to eventually earn a scholarship down the road.

Scholarship players

The group of commitments on national signing day is highlighted by a trio of transfers. Wide receivers Ayir Asante, wide receiver Devin Boddie Jr. and safety Tyrecus Davis all joined the Cowboys via the transfer portal.

Asante earned second team All-Patriot League honors in three straight seasons playing at Holy Cross, an FCS school based in Worcester, Massachusetts. The senior is listed at 6-foot, 174 pounds and was an honorable mention freshman All-American by Hero Sports in 2019, according to UW.

"That's a program that's been producing some really good football players," UW executive director of recruiting Gordie Haug said. "We were familiar, coach Mike Grant had a connection out there, we got to know him and he came out on campus with his mom and grandmother. They're really affectionate people and they were really fired up about what Wyoming has and the resources we have to be able to develop them."

Boddie Jr. comes to Laramie after spending four seasons at Vanderbilt. The Memphis, Tennessee, product didn't see the field during his first two seasons at Vanderbilt but broke out for 29 catches for 263 yards and one touchdown in 2021.

Boddie had three catches for 61 yards four games this season before suffering a season-ending injury. The graduate entered the transfer portal in November with three seasons of eligibility remaining.

"When you watch his tape, even though some of it's limited, this last season, the year before he had a really productive year," Haug said. "He's another guy who we feel can do some different things in the passing game and help us out immediately."

Davis transferred to UW from Navarro Community College in Texas. Listed as a safety, Davis earned second team All-Southwest Junior College Conference honors at cornerback this fall.

"He's a really impactful, play with his hair on fire type of guy," Haug said. "He plays with a lot of passion. ...Expect him to be a big player for us in the future here."

Joining Asante, Boddie Jr. and Davis as scholarship players in this year's class are five high school signees, including two from Colorado, one from California, one from Wisconsin and one from Illinois.

Nathan Geiger, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive lineman out of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, was a second team all-state selection this fall in Class 5A. He joins one of the best offensive line rooms in the Mountain West.

"He really was a guy that we knew about," Haug said. "He was a little bit thinner his junior year, but we turned back around and watched his tape and went in and saw him go through wrestling workouts. He's a guy who is a very talented offensive lineman who has the size to be able to be a tackle for us. He's in our MO for development."

Running back Tyler Jacklish is a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and ranked No. 3 in California in rushing with 2,278 yards and 32 touchdowns, according to UW. He graduated from the same high school, Central Catholic High in Modesto, as UW running back Dawaiian McNeely.

"They're really good friends," Haug said. "His older brother and Dawaiian were in the same class and he kind of grew up with Dawaiian. I was excited for us to have an opportunity to sign him because I always knew he was a really good football player. ... He is very similar to what Dawaiian's skill set is going to be in the aspect that he's going to run hard."

Brandt Rice committed as an offensive lineman from Wausau, Wisconsin. The 6-foot-5, 290 pound lineman is a three-star recruit by 247 Sports and was ranked the No. 5 recruit in the state of Wisconsin.

"He's one of those guys that's going to be a meat and potatoes, get after people interior offensive lineman," Haug said.

Safety Jones Thomas was named the Front Range League defensive player of the year at Poudre High in Fort Collins, Colorado, according to UW. He earned all-state honors at both safety and wide receiver.

"He is a very interesting athlete," Haug said. "He's a track guy, his dad's the track coach there and his dad played at (Colorado State). He was a safety and wide receiver, but really was just a playmaker. He made a lot of plays and did a lot of things his senior year."

Kuba Tyszka is a 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive lineman from Norridge, Illinois. He also played defensive end at Ridgewood High and is a standout discus and shot put thrower.

"He is a guy that is very raw," Haug said. "But he is athletic, he can run and he meets that same mold of height and size to be able to grow into a guy who can be playing for us."

Three of the eight scholarship commits are on the offensive line, a tradition Haug has long established during his time at UW.

"That's what we what we always try to do, you have to take care of the trenches," Haug said. "You look at the first signing day, we hit on three big defensive tackles. We hit on two more offensive linemen. You always have to take care of the trenches offensively and defensively, because that's where games are won and lost. That emphasis is always going to be there."

Preferred walk-ons

UW added 13 more preferred walk-ons Wednesday morning, starting with three-star safety Miles Tucker from Pleasanton, California. Tucker was a first team All-East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division honors at linebacker and also played running back in high school, according to UW.

Other out of state walk-on commits include defensive end Ethan Day, offensive lineman Dante Gavito, defensive back Daylen Wilson, defensive lineman Jaxon Galica, fullback/tight end Cooper Mailand, defensive end Jordan Turnbull and offensive lineman Wyatt Walters.

Day is listed at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds and is a transfer from Modesto Community College in California. He was an All-Valley Conference honorable mention in his first college season.

Gavito is a transfer from Fort Lewis College in Colorado, where he played his freshman year on the offensive line. He played in eight games and started six and has three years of eligibility remaining.

At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Wilson will transfer to UW from Cal Lutheran University. As a sophomore this fall, Wilson played in 10 games and had 24 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, according to UW.

Galica comes to Laramie from Oshkosh West High in Wisconsin. The 6-foot-5, 230 pound defensive lineman was an All-Fox Valley Association All-Conference honorable mention as a senior.

Mailand played linebacker and fullback in high school and is also listed as a tight end at UW. The Dallas native had 157 total tackles and 72 solo tackles as a senior but will switch to the offensive side in college.

Turnbull is a 6-foot-5, 215 pound defensive end from Evergreen, Colorado. As a senior, Turnbull had 59 total tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, five sacks, four fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and one interception, according to UW.

Walters was a second-team all-state selection on the offensive line at Grandview High in Aurora, Colorado. He's listed at 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds coming into college.

The Cowboys signed five walk-ons who played their high school football in Wyoming, including Lucas Chappell (Star Valley), Jevon Davis (Kelly Walsh), Abraham Bangoura (Laramie), Cody Crawford (Natrona County) and Kayden LaFramboise (Thunder Basin). Chappell and Davis both transferred to UW while Bangoura, Crawford and LaFramboise will come to Laramie straight from high school.

Chappell graduated from Star Valley last year after earning 3A all-state honors for three consecutive seasons. He attended Snow College in Utah for a semester this fall before transferring to UW. He's listed as a defensive lineman at 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds.

Davis graduated from Kelly Walsh in 2020 and spent the past two years at Black Hills State in South Dakota. The 6-foot, 205-pound defensive back appeared in 10 games last season and collected 12 tackles.

Bangoura won't have to travel far to join the Cowboys. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound offensive lineman was a second team all-state offensive lineman this fall at Laramie.

Crawford will graduate from Natrona County this spring and was a first team all-state selection on both the offensive and defensive line. He committed to the Cowboys as a defensive tackle.

LaFramboise is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound wide receiver from Thunder Basin. He was a unanimous first-team all-state election at wide receiver and a second-team all-state defensive back.

Recruiting Wyoming, whether it be scholarships or walk-ons, was also a big emphasis for Bohl and Haug this offseason. Keeping the local talent in the state has been a proven formula for success, and the program wants that to continue with this year's class.

"Being able to continue to develop these Wyoming guys and have them play, that's huge," Haug said. "There's a map that these kids can follow and to understand. This isn't us just talking, the proof is in the pudding. To be able to get these home-grown kids that have wanted to wear the brown and gold their whole life, they're going to give their all. That's what it's all about."

UW has developed a culture of developing walk-on players into scholarship players. Marcus Epps, who will play in the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles later this month, started as a walk-on during his career in Laramie.

Haug expects that tradition to continue with this year's group of walk-ons.

"We treat everybody that walks into this building as equal," Haug said. "That's the biggest part about this. These guys are going to be guys because they're going to come in with a chip on their shoulder and they're going to challenge some guys. And that's what it's all about.

"I'm really excited. I think this might be one of the best walk-on classes that I've been around since I've been here."

The 21 new additions to the program will join 14 other student-athletes from the early signing period, including 13 high school students and one Division I transfer.

Seven of the 13 high school signees in the early signing class were three-star recruits, and six ranked inside the top 100 of their respective states. The Cowboys' only incoming transfer on early signing day, running back Harrison Waylee, joined UW from Northern Illinois after being named third team all-conference in the Mid-American Conference this fall.

Alex Taylor covers the University of Wyoming for WyoSports. He can be reached at ataylor@wyosports.net or 269-364-3560. Follow him on Twitter at @alex_m_taylor22.